Elliotte Friedman reports multiple teams are reluctant with NHL salary cap exceeding $100,000,000 in coming years

Elliotte Friedman reported that multiple teams are unsure about the NHL salary cap potentially exceeding $100 million in the coming years.

Friedman brought this up while discussing the recent blockbuster three-team trade that sent Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes.

He noted that the Avalanche likely felt they would not be able to match Rantanen's contract demands after Leon Draisaitl's $14 million per year deal with Edmonton. This trade may be a sign that some teams don't want to commit huge money to star players as the cap continues rising.

Currently, the NHL salary cap sits at $88 million, but it is projected to increase to around $92.5 million for next season. While appearing on Sportsnet's "Saturday Headlines" segment, Friedman stated:

"I think there is going to be one of the more interesting fundamental conversations around the league in the next little while. In two years, the cap is probably going to be over $100 million and there are teams that are not comfortable with that."

He went on to explain that some big market franchises will likely have no issues spending above $100 million as the cap rises. However, other teams are indicating they want to impose internal budgets below the maximum and some want to split.

“And I think what we saw today was a message from Colorado that there are going to be some teams, as this cap rises to the 100 million or more range, they're not going to be comfortable with going there," he added.

The top NHL cap hits highlight how expensive elite talent has become. Draisaitl's $14 million leads the way, followed by Auston Matthews at $13.25 million, Nathan MacKinnon at $12.6 million and Connor McDavid at $12.5 million.

Elliotte Friedman discusses the future trend of the NHL salary cap

Elliotte Friedman revealed that the teams are assuming the league will revert to a 50-50 split in revenues between owners and players in the next CBA.

“Everyone's assuming in the next CBA we're going back to 50-50,” Friedman said on a "32 Thoughts" podcast in November last year. “If that's the case, and again it depends on who you talk to, there are some estimates ... that think in two years, a 50-50 cap will be close to $110 million (NHL salary cap).”

If this proves to be the case, Friedman estimates that the NHL salary cap could reach close to $110 million within two years.