from Larry Brooks of the New York Post,

NHL general managers are no longer operating under the assumption that the cap is going to increase next season.

The projected decline in the Canadian dollar — up at least temporarily a tick to 88 cents on the U.S. dollar as of Friday — has had an impact on discussions regarding extensions in at least three cases, front office sources have told The Post.

Further anecdotal evidence suggests these are not isolated instances.

Given the fixation of escrow under which the players currently are having 14 percent of their pay withheld, it certainly is a realistic possibility the NHLPA will not exercise a 5-percent escalator for 2015-16.

That might mean a stagnant cap in the $69 million range, which fall some $5 million to $6 million shy of previous optimistic projections.

continued and other topics including player talk on Ryan Clowe, Cory Schneider, Slava Voynov but it doesn't stop there...