The on and off again saga that is the NHL Escalator Clause has taken another sharp turn.
The NHLPA, who was widely expected to raise the cap to $78 million and then nope, totally not doing that, is now reportedly voting to raise the salary cap to $75 million. For the salary cap-strapped Washington Capitals, this is welcome news.
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun has your updates.
The NHLPA's Executive Board is currently voting on a $75-million salary cap upper limit according to NHLPA spokesperson. (con't)
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 16, 2017
Once the vote is complete, and if the vote is yes, the cap for next season can be announced. That could be anytime from today through Monday
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 16, 2017
vote consists of all the player reps. So could take more than a day. We'll see.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 16, 2017
The NHL had hoped to have the cap number announced by end of business today; before Vegas starts talking to FAs Sunday.
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 16, 2017
It appears the NHLPA opted to only use part of the escalator clause to reach this number.
If approved, it would raise the cap from its current level of $73 million; however, it would not quite match the $76 million figure that the league pegged in March.
It’s not clear how the union came up with the $75 million figure. It’s possible that only part of the five percent growth factor was used — say, 1.5 to 2.5 percent — with the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights making that more palatable for free agents.
Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan was optimistic that the team could re-sign at least one of its big four unrestricted free agents (TJ Oshie, Justin Williams, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Karl Alzner) if the salary cap went up.
“I like Oshie,” MacLellan said. “Of the UFAs, he’s a good fit. It’s going to depend on what the salary cap number is, plus what he’s looking for.”
The Capitals have 11 restricted and unrestricted free agents including Evgeny Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Nate Schmidt, and Philipp Grubauer.
On Saturday, LeBrun updated his followers on where things stood with the vote.
NHLPA still in the process of gathering votes from player reps on the salary cap… Many GMs anxiously waiting for closure on that
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 17, 2017
Raising the cap when NHL revenue is flat is a bit of a gamble as explained by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman before the Stanley Cup Final.
“Obviously the higher the cap goes, the more exacerbated the escrow problem becomes,” Bettman said. “Certainly our position with the players’ association has been that we’ll manage the cap tighter and keep it lower to try to address the escrow situation, if that’s your preference.”
Headline photo: Bruce Bennett
