The NHL salary cap "could go up" to $80M "within the next four years," according to Elliotte Friedman of the CBC ("Prime Time Sports," Sportsnet 590, 8/20). CBSSPORTS.com's Brian Stubits noted NHL teams this summer are "dealing with a lack of salary cup space as it went down" to $64.3M after the lockout. A rise to $80M by '17-18 "won't be an issue for some of the teams in the league, they will surely welcome it." However, it "would be troublesome for the less-fortunate franchises out there." If the cap is "going up so is the floor" and if the cap were to rise to $80M in four years that "means the floor would be on the rise too." There is a "new formula to determine the floor" so it will not just be $16M less than the cap, "but will probably come in somewhere around" $59M. Considering that there are "a few organizations struggling to turn a profit leaving on the current floor, that could be worrisome" (CBSSPORTS.com, 8/21). SB NATION's Matt Brigidi wrote if the salary cap and floor "was an issue prior to the 2013 season, will four years really be enough time for clubs to rebound" under the new CBA? (SBNATION.com, 8/21).
