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Video: Projected rise in salary cap could have some players ‘licking their lips’

Chicago Blackhawks v Vancouver CanucksVancouver

VANCOUVER, BC - NOVEMBER 23: during the third period in NHL action on November 23, 2012 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***

Rich Lam

A substantial projected increase in the salary cap for next season could mean greater salaries for some of hockey’s brightest stars.

That’s according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, who joined Liam McHugh of the NBC Sports Network on Wednesday to talk about items of interest from the NHL Board of Governors meetings. It’s believed the salary cap could increase to $71 million for next season - up from where it stands now at $64.3 million.

McKenzie highlighted two players - Chicago Blackhawks’ forwards Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane - who might particularly benefit from the cap going up. According to Capgeek.com, both come with a current cap hit of $6.3 million, and have contracts that are up at the end of the 2014-15 season.

“Well ... there’s a lot of agents and a lot of players who are licking their lips and looking at that $71 million cap next year and thinking, ‘Geez, the year after that, it will probably go to $75 (million), and then it will probably go to $80 (million), and then it will probably go to $85 million,’” said McKenize.

“And it won’t be long, maybe in the life of this current CBA, that it’s closer to $100 million than it is now.”

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