The NHL gave its first estimate for the 2028-29 salary cap at this week’s Board of Governors meeting, and according to multiple sources, it’s a whopper — $127.5 million. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)
The league and NHLPA are in the second of a three-season agreement that sent to the ceiling to record levels. This year’s number is $104 million and next year’s is $113.5 million.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said revenue projections for this coming season are approximately $8.1 billion in mixed currency, obviously a key factor in the rising total. If the 2028-29 guesstimate holds, it would also be the largest season-to-season jump of the cap era, at $14 million.
That’s going to be big challenge for some teams, especially some of the smaller Canadian markets earning revenues in their currency. But it’s a huge windfall for the players, after a summer where Leo Carlsson, Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar contracts set new stratospheres.
It is a new era for the NHL, and we’re all adjusting to it.
