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NHL salary cap set at $73 million for 2016-17 season

By Dave Stevenson

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; A general view of the NHL shield logo before the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NHL salary cap for the 2016-17 regular season has been set at $73 million.

One of the biggest mysteries of the NHL offseason is waiting for the league to confirm the official salary cap ceiling. It determines how teams will go about their business during the offseason because even a difference of $1 million can be the difference between signing a player and having to pass on them. The league has confirmed that the salary cap ceiling for the 2016-17 season will be $73 million.

It rose to $73 million because the players decided to use their escalator clause which increased the salary cap ceiling by five percent, leading to an increase of $1.6 million. Had it not been for the recent declining value of the Canadian dollar, it likely would have been even higher.

Another important figure tied to the salary cap in the NHL is the salary cap floor. While the salary cap ceiling can be considered to be the maximum that teams can spend, the salary cap floor can be considered to be the minimum that they must spend. That number has been set at $54 million.

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The salary cap ceiling was expected to be somewhere around $74 million. With it being at $73 million, that could lead to certain teams having to slice payroll to stay under the ceiling. Teams that need to spend more money in order to get to the floor could take advantage of that. According to General Fanager, the Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche, Winnipeg Jets, and Ottawa Senators are each under the salary cap floor, though that doesn’t factor in restricted free agents. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the lone team that are currently over the cap ceiling.

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