Next season’s salary cap is certain to be a main topic of discussion when the N.H.L.’s Board of Governors meets Dec. 8 and 9 in Boca Raton, Fla.

The salary cap is tied to league revenue. When the Canadian dollar falls, the portion of league revenue generated by the N.H.L.’s seven Canadian teams diminishes as well. That affects the salary cap.

“It’s like throwing a dart at a dartboard — you make your best guess,” said Cyril Leeder, president of the Ottawa Senators. “We’ll be making contingency plans for if the cap goes up, cap stays the same, cap comes down. The league will advise us throughout the year.”

Daly still believes that the league will be OK as long as Canadian currency doesn't keep sliding downhill:

“The league is obviously healthier when the dollars are closer to par,” he said. “But I think the business success of the league and the clubs over the last several years stands on its own.”

[Conference Board of Canada economist Glen] Hodgson and other Canadian economists say the loonie would have to drop well below 85 cents to have a significant impact on the N.H.L.’s nearly $4 billion-a-year business. But, as Bettman has noted, the league watches the exchange rates every day. Its financial health depends on it.