With escalator, next season's NHL salary cap projected at $74M

It will be a few months yet before NHL executives have a firm handle on next season's salary parameters, but on Wednesday, they were provided a high-water mark.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly revealed at the general manager meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., that the salary cap will rise to $74 million should the CBA's five percent escalator be triggered, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli,

If that built-in clause - which depends on growth factor - isn't enacted, the cap will stay flat, and close to the current $71.4-million ceiling.

For now, and given the state of the Canadian dollar, teams will likely plan for a flat number, and then have a little extra wiggle room should the salary cap indeed rise.

The $74-million projection is $500,000 less than the estimate NHL commissioner Gary Bettman pointed to in December.

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