Elliotte Friedman Confirms Bad News for NHL Teams Hoping to Lock Up Their Young Stars

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that it is more competitive than ever for teams trying to sign their young stars to contracts, as salaries are skyrocketing.

The NHL salary cap will grow by a substantial amount over the next three seasons, putting additional weight on small-market clubs like Ottawa, Nashville, and Winnipeg, as well as others, to name a few.

With players compensated in U.S. dollars, exchange rate fluctuations and increasing payrolls can further contribute to the burden for these smaller franchises.

The freshly inked 7.7 billion Canadian television deal between Rogers and the NHL will be used to generate more revenue to help ease some player costs for Canadian clubs.

But since the league is so ticket-reliant, fans should also be bracing for a bump at the gate, and this is due to teams needing more money to pay their young stars.

While the economy itself is shifting, no rush is planned to change how hockey-related revenues are calculated, and thus, the overall financial structure of the league is not going to shift.

The Sport Continues to Rise in Popularity, Bumping Up Player Salaries Even Further

League officials and team representatives anticipate the sport to continue on its path of rising popularity and profitability. Expansion is also widely anticipated, with some speculating the NHL will grow to 34 teams at some point in the coming years.

At the same time, also increasing in tension are player contract negotiations, per NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on his recent '32 Thoughts Podcast.'

'I have several agents who say to me, especially with younger players...they're even more competitive than ever when it comes to their contracts.'

- Elliotte Friedman