The Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the league are going to be affected by what happens with the salary cap forcing management to be creative.
Nothing has been confirmed yet as to what is going to happen with the salary cap. The cap was initially going to increase to anywhere between $84 and $88 million, but the pause has created a serious issue for revenue which will have to push a new – and much lower – number on the Montreal Canadiens and the rest of the league.
A flat cap is the expected solution where the number remains at $81.5 million for some time to compensate for the loss of revenue and to keep escrow from skyrocketing. Compliance buyouts will be in place to help teams who are really up against it, and although the Habs don’t need one specifically, having a window to take some more money off the books couldn’t help.
Something important to remember is that a flat cap hasn’t been confirmed. Andy Strickland did have an exposition-like tweet yesterday saying players were told on a recent phone call that the cap will stay at $81.5 million, but there hasn’t been official word from the NHL or the NHLPA.
There is the option of a slight increase in the cap ceiling. Although it seemed unlikely, it really does look like professional sports in North America are trying to figure out a way to resume and start their respective seasons.
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Major League Baseball (The MLB) has had conversations with medical professionals and officers while the National Baseball League (NBA) are planning behind the scenes as well. The NHL will probably ride off the back of the NBA and follow their plan, but any and all plans won’t include fans in the stands.
Tickets are one thing to worry about though money from television/broadcasting deals is another. Think of all the stations who own the rights to playoff hockey. That’s what’s at stake here.
If the NHL returns and plays the playoffs in full, there could be room to increase the cap by a small amount with that being the flat number for the next three or so years. Say, for example, the NHL restarts over the summer, and a Stanley Cup is awarded in September. That could be enough to see the salary cap go up by $1.5 or $ 2 million, instead of a gradual increase – which we’ve seen since its creation in 2005.
Teams will be able to handle something like that, especially if they know about it in advance. If the Montreal Canadiens are aware that they’re only gaining another $2 million in space across three years, it’ll force Marc Bergevin to be creative and a little more stingy.
It’s not as if he’s throwing around horrible deals (Karl Alzner is an exemption). Bergevin has been on a run of signing his players to lower cap hits and lower term. He did that with Artturi Lehkonen, Joel Armia and Philip Danault and Max Domi are likely getting both off a subpar performance from his career season.
Brendan Gallagher may be the exception once he’s up, but the Montreal Canadiens will probably try to do smaller-scale contracts with the likes of Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Ryan Poheling once their up as well.
It’s going to be the new normal in the NHL for some time. At least until revenue earnings can increase to the point where the league can sustain a cap increase. But for the time being, every financial decision the Montreal Canadiens make will matter even more than before.