Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Board of Governors receive salary cap update, discuss centennial season & expansion's...status quo

12/07/2015 at 10:52pm EST

The NHL's Board of Governors met on Monday, and NHL.com's Dan Rosen reports that the Board of Governors received an estimate as to where the 2016-17 salary cap's upper limit might lie...

The NHL's salary cap for the 2016-17 season could go up approximately $3 million, Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday at the Board of Governors meeting.

The salary cap for the 2015-16 season is $71.4 million. It increased $2.4 million from 2014-15 to 2015-16.

"We gave them a very, very, very rough projection on what the cap could conceivably be next season, which will be somewhere between where it is now and up $3 million, in that range," Commissioner Bettman said. "That will depend on a variety of factors."

And the Canadian Press's Stephen Whyno reports that the NHL is considering its options for its centennial season...

Plans for the NHL's centennial celebration are ongoing, and Bettman said the NHL had hired former IMG executive producer Steve Mayer as executive vice-president and executive producer, programming and creative development. Even though no announcements were made about what's to come in 2017, Toronto and Montreal are expected to be focal points.

"We think it's important to recognize the 100th anniversary of the league, which happens to be in conjunction with the 375th anniversary of the founding of Montreal, Canada's sesquicentennial and the 125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup," Bettman said. "We're looking forward to that."

But what are the plans regarding expansion? That's harder to determine, as the Associated Press notes:

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday there is no timetable for the league to decide on pending expansion applications from Las Vegas and Quebec City.

Bettman spoke after the league's executive committee reviewed presentations from the two cities in a three-hour meeting and then presented that information to the Board of Governors at the annual December meeting.

"The board will meet to vote when we decide there's something to be put to a vote," Bettman said. "That will really be after the executive committee begins and finishes deliberations and are prepared to make a recommendation."

Bettman said no decisions have been made on whether to add one, two or no teams at all.

Despite no action being taken at the meeting, Bettman said it does not mean the process has slowed down since Bill Foley's Black Knight Sports & Entertainment and Montreal-based communications giant Quebecor were chosen earlier this year from 16 expansion applicants.

"When I say there's no timeline, I know the steps we have to go through to get there," he said. "Could they be done in time for '17-18 start? Yes. Will they be? Maybe, maybe not."

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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