As the salary cap keeps getting higher, will teams resort to an internal cap?

[sawchuk1971]

I watched the saturday headlines show on HNIC and friedman and macclean speculated that since the salary cap keeps growing higher, there might be several teams won't be able to afford to pay a higher cap figure.

If the cap was like $100 million, some teams could not afford that amount. They would resort to a internal cap like $80 mil, that enough for them to afford.

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[Headshot77]

Yes, absolutely they will. The concept of an internal cap was a lot more prevalent a decade ago before the cap stagnated. It'll come back into vogue.

 

[Yukon Joe]

When Atlanta moved to Winnipeg almost 14 years ago the new Jets announced they would be a "mid-cap" team - not at the cap floor, but not at the cap ceiling either. Which they were for several years.

As they perceived they had a Stanley Cup window open they've now spent to the cap for the past several years. But I could definitely see them going back to an internal budget - same as a number of other clubs.

 

[dj4aces]

I would argue that some teams already do or have previously done this at some point in the cap era.

 

[rojac]

The NHL cap system is designed for teamsk camp hits to average out to the midpoint.

 

[Tawnos]

The NHL cap system is designed for teamsk camp hits to average out to the midpoint.

For sure. Part of the reason escrow was such a problem was because almost every team was above the midpoint. IIRC the year before Covid it was something like 27 of 31 teams.