The players could pay off their debt this season and the cap could go up higher next season
Daily FaceOff: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the Board of Governors meeting earlier this week that it’s possible that the players could pay the owners back what they owe them and if they do, the salary cap could go up $4.5 million next season.
“I’m told the players owe somewhere in the neighborhood of $400-$500 million, so let’s call it a ballpark of $450 million at the start of this season for what they need to pay back.
So, what does revenue need to hit in order to pay that back? I’m told the NHL exceeded expectations last year, they were sort of hoping for a $5 or $5.2 billion season and I was told they ended up closer to $5.4 billion in hockey-related revenue. In order to pay that debt back, they need to be in the range of $5.5 to $5.7 billion in revenue. All of that is a lot to say, you need to sell a lot of stuff in order to make that happen, including tickets, advertising, and jersey ad sales, in order to really pump that number up.”
If the debt isn’t paid off, the cap will only go up by a $1 million next season.
A few injury notes
Ryan Rishaug: Edmonton Oilers forward Dylan Holloway didn’t play last night and is listed as day-to-day.
If it’s a concussion, Holloway could miss some time.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman: Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg has an upper-body injury. Broberg has been skating with their AHL team and is questionable for this weekend.
TSN 1200: Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith said that goaltender Cam Talbot was talking some shots but is still weeks away from returning.
Vancouver Canucks: Defenseman Riley Stillman left last night’s game early.
Stillman’s last shift ended with this high hit. #Canucks https://t.co/UQ4HjPeAIB pic.twitter.com/GmNZWyzVXu
— Lachlan Irvine (@LachInTheCrease) October 21, 2022