NHL commissioner Gary Bettman met with reporters Friday following a board of governor’s meeting to state that next year’s salary cap would increase from 75 million to 78-82 million next year.
While it’s a huge help for teams facing a cap crunch like the Edmonton Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s a little less clear when it comes to how it affects the Canucks.
Given next year’s increase, we can estimate that the Canucks will have anywhere from $32-36 million dollars in cap space. That amount doesn’t include any potential extensions for key UFA and RFAs like the Sedins, Sven Baertschi, Troy Stecher, Derrick Pouliot, Erik Gudbranson, Markus Granlund, Jake Virtanen, and Thomas Vanek.