NHL Announces Salary Cap For 2015-16 Season
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TORONTO (CBSMiami/AP) – NHL teams with big roster decisions to make this summer have finally gotten word of what their financial limitations will be.
The NHL salary cap for the 2015-16 season will be $71.4 million - a $2.1 million increase from last season.
The new figure was announced Tuesday by the league and the NHL Players' Association.
The cap floor - the minimum an NHL team must spend - will be $52.8 million. The salary cap is determined by hockey-related revenue.
The NHLPA triggered its 5 percent escalator clause to increase the cap.
The Florida Panthers currently have $60.1 million committed to the 2015-16 team salary.
That number will go up when restricted free agents Jonathan Huberdeau and Jimmy Hayes are signed to new deals. General manager Dale Tallon has already indicated that it's a priority to sign both players to multi-year contracts.
The Panthers also are likely going to be adding some of the talented youngsters who played primarily in the AHL last season to their NHL roster in the coming months, such as Alex Petrovic, Rocco Grimaldi and Quentin Howden, just to name a few.
Florida will be hosting the 2015 NHL Entry Draft this weekend at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, with the first round happening on Friday night and rounds two through seven going down the following day.
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