Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting a non-Red Wings-related bit of news that should be noted for Detroit fans, because Friedman’s comments regarding a soaring salary cap going forward = legitimate questions as to whether Chris Ilitch’s Red Wings will be allowed to spend to the upper limit thereof:
The NHL gave its first estimate for the 2028-29 salary cap at this week’s Board of Governors meeting, and according to multiple sources, it’s a whopper — $127.5 million. (All figures in U.S. dollars.)
The league and NHLPA are in the second of a three-season agreement that sent to the ceiling to record levels. This year’s number is $104 million and next year’s is $113.5 million.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said revenue projections for this coming season are approximately $8.1 billion in mixed currency, obviously a key factor in the rising total. If the 2028-29 guesstimate holds, it would also be the largest season-to-season jump of the cap era, at $14 million.
Even now, the Red Wings have a PuckPedia-estimated $19.51 million dollars in cap space, with Simon Edvinsson likely to sign in the $8-10 million range.
That extra money could have been used to sign a free agent forward to bridge the gap left by Patrick Kane’s departure, but it was not used for any purpose…
And if the cap blows up toward $130 million, more teams will be “haves” and “have-nots” depending on how and whether their respective ownership(s) choose to “spend to the cap.”
