The NHL salary cap "is going up again" for the '14-15 season, and Commissioner Gary Bettman hoped the exact figure "would be worked out with the players' association in time for the start of the two-day entry draft Friday in Philadelphia," according to Ira Podell of the AP. The final number is expected to be in the high $60M-low $70M range. That gives GMs "a guideline as they head into the draft and the free-agent shopping season" that begins on Tuesday. Bettman said, "There have been ongoing meetings, but our goal would be to move this as quickly as possible. But we have a dance partner and we want to make sure the music is playing appropriately and we're both hearing the same things." He added that number-crunching was "still being done to determine what the league's revenues were last season, but he declared they were at an all-time high." Bettman: "It is a record number, which is a testament to the strength of the game and our fans, and how competitive things are" (AP, 6/26).
LUCK OF THE DRAW: ESPN N.Y.'s Katie Strang cited sources as saying that the NHL BOG has "approved changes for next year's draft lottery system." Those changes, which must also be approved by the NHLPA, would "go into effect for the 2015 entry draft, a heavily anticipated class that features highly touted prospect Connor McDavid." A source said that the changes approved include the "compression of odds among the 14 non-playoff teams as well as increasing the number of selections determined by draft lottery law" (ESPNNY.com, 6/26). In Buffalo, John Vogl noted the lottery currently is used "to determine only the No. 1 overall pick," with the rest of the first round going in "reverse order of finish" (BUFFALONEWS.com, 6/26).
OLD MEETS NEW: In L.A., Lisa Dillman notes the "rapid reshuffling" of NHL GMs this offseason has "changed the dynamic of how the managers do business with one another." There have been six GM changes "since the end of the NHL regular season." With "so many new faces in new places, it has forced holdovers" such as Kings GM Dean Lombardi and Ducks GM Bob Murray to "forge new relationships." At a time when there is expected to be "a lot of high-profile moves at the NHL entry draft Friday and Saturday in Philadelphia, it has taken them out of their comfort zones" (L.A. TIMES, 6/27).
