Toronto Maple Leafs: Impact of proposed Salary Cap increase
By Paul Taylor
With the salary cap set to increase between $3-6 million (US) next season, this will only help the Toronto Maple Leafs as they aim to lock up their young talent long-term.
Life is good for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fans these days. They have stability in the front office, they are among the top teams in the league and have an excellent core of young players.
And it’s that last point in particular which should be kept in mind, when considering recent events. As per a report from Sportsnet, the NHL salary cap is set to increase by at least $3 million (US) next season.
In fact, projections say the increase could actually be as much as $7 million for the 2018-19 campaign, up from this season’s figure of $75 million. The announcement was made by commissioner Gary Bettman on Friday morning in Florida, at the conclusion of the board of governors meeting.
Interestingly, Bettman would prefer for any increase to be as low as possible. As reported by Sportsnet, he said:
"“My preference is to keep the cap as low as possible because then the escrow is low. We’re projecting from our standpoint that the final escrow when it’s settled out and we disperse it will be a single-digit escrow from player salaries for last season.”"
As one of the more profitable franchises in the NHL, you assume the Toronto Maple Leafs have a different perspective, at least in terms of strengthening the team. And this is where we come back to the long-term future of their young talent.
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More specifically, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner. Of the three, it’s pretty clear Matthews will be the first one to get his long-term extension, which is where the additional $3-6 million is so valuable.
Turning to Nylander, while the extra salary cap space helps, it does not guarantee the Leafs will go down a similar path so quickly. As we wrote recently, the front office likely still want to see more from him, so don’t be surprised if he signs a bridge deal in the summer.
As for Marner, the Leafs will not need to look at his situation until after next season. And by that point, the salary will have increased once again, meaning there is little for fans to worry about when it comes to their trio of young superstars.
As a closing point, even though Bettman would prefer any salary cap increase to remain as low as possible, he still acknowledges business is good. As per TSN‘s Frank Seravalli, he said:
"“We’re having an extraordinarily healthy growth in revenues. The league has never been healthier. The game has never been healthier. Our franchises have never been healthier.”"
Times are good for the NHL. And they’re set to be even better for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Now it’s your turn – what have you taken away from the projected salary cap increase? And how do you see it impacting the Leafs specifically? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.