NHL Announces Higher Salary Cap for 2024-25; Exceeds Expectations

The NHL announced the official salary cap for the 2024-25 season and it’s a bit higher than expected.

The salary cap limit for next season is $88 million, rising from $83.5 million. The cap floor will be $65 million; however, given the sale of the Arizona Coyotes and relocation to Utah, no team is expected to struggle to meet the cap floor.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are projected to have about $13 million in salary cap space and about $10 million after signing restricted free agents.

In December, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman projected the cap to rise by 5% to $87.7 million. However, pursuant to the NHL CBA, it’s based on revenues that players and owners share 50/50, and revenues came in slightly stronger than forecasts. This is the first year in which the cap will rise significantly since 2020 when the NHL season was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, players received the majority of their compensation but were forced to repay the owners for the revenue loss due to the lack of Stanley Cup Playoffs and limited or no attendance for much of the following season.

The repayment was spread over several years, and the debt was satisfied this season.

Several players took short free-agent deals last July in order to cash in on the expected rise this summer. Several high-paid players, such as Tyler Bertuzzi, signed one-year deals so they could be free agents again when the cap rises.