Around the NHL: Salary cap rises to $88 million, 4 Nations Face-Off slated for February 2025, and more!

This marks a significant increase from the 2023-24 cap hit of $83.5 million. The Calgary Flames will have a ton of space, as they are projected to have a cap hit of $68,800,834 with nearly $20 million remaining. That doesn’t even factor in a potential trade for Jacob Markstrom during this off-season.

On top of that, there aren’t a whole lot of players the Flames will need to sign. In the unrestricted free agent camp, A.J. Greer is their only forward, while the Flames will need to re-sign Oliver Kylington and Gilbert Dennis. As for their restricted free agents, Nikita Okhotyuk has signed with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League, while Dillion Dube is still under investigation, more on that here.

That leaves forward Adam Klapka, defenceman Ilya Solovyov, and goaltender Dustin Wolf. With that being said, there’ll be a ton of space if the Flames decide to add a notable free agent.

4 Nation Face-off schedule set

In the middle of next season, the league will go on break as the first ever 4 Nations Face-Off tournament will be held. Spanning eight days, four countries (Canada, United States, Sweden, and Finland) will play in tune-up games for the 2026 Olympics.

The tournament will be hosted at Bell Centre in Montréal, as well as TD Garden for the final two games of the round robin as well as the championship game on February 20, 2025. Moreover, Frank Seravalli noted that the first six selections for the four teams will be announced on June 28.

Notably missing from this tournament will be teams like Czechia, the most recent gold medalists at the World Championship, as well as Slovakia, Germany, and Switzerland. That means players David Pastrňák, Leon Draisaitl, Juraj Slafkovský, and Roman Josi won’t get to participate in this tournament. It’s fairly shortsighted in all honesty.

Florida Everblades three-peat as Kelly Cup Champions

Expansions in the southern United States have seen players like Auston Matthews (Arizona) and Jason Robertson (California) develop into some of the brightest stars in the league. Florida has also seen its fair share of stars, such as the Hughes brothers, Jakub Chychrun, and Shayne Gostisbehere.

Well, in the most recent half decade, the Tampa Bay Lightning have won two Stanley Cups, while the Florida Panthers are currently playing in their second straight Stanley Cup Final. Their ECHL affiliate, the Florida Everglades, won their third consecutive Kelly Cup championship on Saturday via an overtime goal by Matt Wedman.

With a 40-23-9 record, the team finished third in the South Division, making the playoffs by just four points. While they weren’t the dominant team in the regular season like they were during the 2021-22 season, the team lost just seven games en route to the cup.

Hopefully, their National Hockey League team can do the same!

PWHL news

It was announced on Friday that PWHL New York would be hiring Greg Fargo as their second coach in franchise history.

The Kingston, Ontario native played four seasons at Elmira College from 2002-20 before taking an assistant coaching job at Canisius College from 2006-2008. After that, he moved to be the head coach of Elmira College’s women’s team for four years, before spending eight seasons as the Colgate women’s team head coach.

In a more shocking move, PWHL Minnesota general manager Natalie Darwitz is leaving the franchise after winning the inaugural Walter Cup in five games.

According to Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Kuehl, the decision was made by the PWHL itself, instead of Darwitz or the Minnesota franchise. However, another report from Ian Kennedy of The Hockey News noted that the team’s captain, Kendall Coyne Schofield, as well as head coach Ken Klee, led the charge in getting Darwitz removed. It’s a very odd situation and isn’t a great look for the young league.