The Canadiens and Lightning are among the teams already in trouble with the salary cap for next year

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Jeff Drouin
May 27, 2022 (4:05 PM)

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Hockey is one of the only major sports where fans know by heart what almost every player on their team earns. This cap is a source of problems and head-scratching for the league's 32 GMs. It will be no different this summer when many teams will have to be resourceful to get out of the mess.

Last summer, the NHL announced that the cap would rise slightly to $82.5 million for the 2021-2022 season, before rising another $1 million next year to reach $83.5 million in 2022-2023.

The salary cap was supposed to be in the $90M range by the end of next season, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put an end to that. As a result of the salary cap freeze, the NHL has seen several teams, who were expecting the cap to increase, pushed into critical situations. These teams have been forced to move major pieces of their roster or negotiate solutions.

This Thursday, CapFriendly updated its system and moved its salary caps from the 2021-2022 season to the 2022-2023 season. This provided a glimpse of what next season's salary situations will look like for teams.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are currently $1,973,333 over the cap next year, while the Montreal Canadiens are also $171,309 over the cap. The Golden Knights will also likely be over the cap once bonuses are factored in as they only have $200,000 in space. The Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers round out the list of teams with the least cap space for next season. The Buffalo Sabres, meanwhile, are on the opposite end of the spectrum as they currently have $43,122,499 in space for next year.

We can all agree that there is probably a better solution for the NHL and its salary cap situation as it seeks to become one of the best leagues in North America. One thing is good for fans though, they will be treated to a whole summer of personnel moves as many try to free up some salary!