from Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff,

The NHL is projecting a $1 million bump in the salary cap to $82.5 million next offseason ahead of the 2022-23 season, according to sources, which would mark the first rise in the league’s upper-limit since the COVID-19 significantly upended business operations, de-linked the cap from revenue and ballooned a billion-dollar debt load that players are working to pay back to owners.

Until then, the NHL will play a third straight season starting in October with a frozen $81.5 million salary cap, though teams and free agents gained flexibility this summer via the additional money pumped into the system by the Seattle Kraken joining as the league’s 32nd franchise.

A rise to $82.5 million in 2022-23 would likely trigger the start of a “lag formula,” as agreed upon in Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations between the NHL and NHL Players’ Association in 2020, that could see the salary cap climb $1 million each offseason until the escrow balance owed to owners is paid off.

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