On June 8, the Commissioner of the NHL, Gary Bettman, announced the salary cap for the 2024-25 season will be $300,000 higher than the original forecast. While it is just a 3.4% higher increase than the forecasted $87.7 million, it is still great news for two reasons. First, the move means the NHL is in better financial shape than initially expected. While it is not a guarantee that future hikes in the salary cap will be higher, it means they will most likely be higher.
On top of that, the Coyotes’ struggles in Arizona have been no secret. They had been playing in a college rink with a capacity of just 5,000 fans, and there was no promise of a bigger rink in the near future. With the team relocating to Utah and playing in an arena that will seat over 18,000 fans, it has to be a good financial move for the team and the NHL. That in itself should mean a higher salary cap in years to come.
Related: 3 Key Moves for Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving This Offseason
If the Toronto Maple Leafs decide to keep the present core intact, something that seems more likely with what we are hearing from general manager Brad Treliving lately, having more money to play with, even if it is just 3.4% more, has to be good news. The upcoming season would always be a tight one cap-wise for the Maple Leafs.
If the 2024-25 Season Were to Begin Tomorrow
One of our goals today is to figure out if the 2024-25 season were to start tomorrow, what would be the best possible lineup the Maple Leafs could put on the ice using players they presently have with signed contracts. That would include 12 forwards, six defencemen, and two goalies for a 20-man roster. Our second goal is to see how much cap space the Maple Leafs will have remaining, which they can use to improve the roster.
Note: We are just guessing what the lines would or could look like using the present lineup.
The Current Maple Leafs Forwards
| Matthew Knies ($925,000) | Auston Matthews ($13.25 million) | Mitch Marner ($10.9 million) |
| Easton Cowan ($905,000) | John Tavares ($11 million) | William Nylander ($11.5 million) |
| Bobby McMann ($1.35 million) | Pontus Holmberg ($800,000) | Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1 million) |
| Fraser Minton ($816,000) | David Kampf ($2.4 million) | Ryan Reaves… |
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