from Carol Schram at Forbes,

Barely a month into the NHL’s new calendar year, it’s hard not to cast an eye toward July 1, 2024.

That’s the day when the league’s salary cap ceiling will take its first significant jump since the summer of 2018, when the fiscal impact of the first season of the Vegas Golden Knights fuelled a larger-than-expected leap from $75 million up to $79.5 million.

With the books finally re-balanced after the players received more than their designated 50 percent share of a smaller-than-normal revenue pie when the impacts of COVID-19 were at their most severe, current estimates suggest an increase of $4 million should be expected in the summer of 2024, followed by a $4.5 million increase in 2025, per CapFriendly.

After two years of no increase followed by two years of just $1 million in growth, the boost is already eagerly anticipated by general managers, players and their agents — all of whom have been planning accordingly.

At the beginning of this month, players who are scheduled to become either restricted or unrestricted free agents next summer became eligible to sign contract extensions with their current teams. There’s no rush, but many of the league’s biggest stars typically re-up promptly, wanting remove the distraction of negotiations before the new season gets underway.

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