NHL reaffirms its preliminary salary cap for 2025-26

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Axel Williams
October 2, 2024 (11:47)

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Overall, the NHL salary cap is something that has always been very important to teams and players around the league.

There is a very good reason for this. Of course, the salary cap is instrumental in deciding how a team is able to build itself. Teams have to be smart with the cap, otherwise, they run the risk of going over. Moreover, you want to maximize how many stars you can have on one roster, while still being able to go out and get some depth.

Yesterday, it was revealed by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet that the preliminary salary cap for next season has been set at $92.5 million. However, this could rise if the NHL permits it.

Around the NHL, Gary Bettman recently spoke on the topic of expansion. As you will read, the league is not interested in adding any teams right now. Instead, its focus is on the CBA and making sure everyone is happy at the negotiating table.

"We feel no compulsion to do it right now," Bettman said. "We just came off our most successful season in our history, we've got collective bargaining to deal with, we've got new media arrangements to do in Canada in the next couple of years. If something came in and checked all the boxes, and we felt that it might make sense, we might consider it. But we're not there right now, and it seems like everybody is, on the one hand, pushing us with, 'Why don't you expand,' and at the same time saying, 'Why would you expand?' So, it's not a front-burner topic right now."

Do you believe that the salary cap is more or less where you thought it would be? Let us know in the poll down below and stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world. We will continue to keep you informed on all of your favorite players and teams.