Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Video: Will GMs “be stuck in spending limbo” this summer?

Gary Bettman

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the media during a news conference on Tuesday, July 27 2010, at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, about the upcoming NHL’s Winter Classic hockey game scheduled to be played outdoors at Heinz Field. The New Year’s Day game will be between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

AP

The salary cap will probably increase this summer, but that might change when the NHL and NHLPA agree on a new CBA. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wants GMs to take a “business as usual” approach until the league has a new CBA, but will they?

It’s worth noting that several teams have already locked up some of their unrestricted free agents to big extensions over the past couple of months. Ales Hemsky, Tuomo Ruutu, and Mikhail Grabovski have all signed extensions that will reportedly come with annual cap hits in the $4.75 million to $5.5 million range, and those three players aren’t putting up star caliber numbers this season. So it’s still safe to say that GMs will spend this summer, but they might practice a little more restraint than they would have under normal circumstances.