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Falling Canadian dollar could cause ‘huge swing’ in salary cap

San Jose Sharks v Los Angeles Kings - Game Seven

in Game Seven of the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Staples Center on May 28, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.

Jeff Gross

A falling Canadian dollar is expected to have a significant impact on the NHL’s salary cap for next season, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi has been told.

“We found out, to our chagrin and surprise the other day, we had been told the cap was going to be $71 [million] and now with the Canadian dollar having tanked, that the cap could be as low as $68 [million]. That’s a huge swing,” Lombardi said, per the Los Angeles Times.

Via CapGeek, you can see why this could be an issue for Lombardi:

Cap

That’s the top 10 cap payrolls for 2014-15, with the number of players under contract in the far right column.

Now, a few of those teams will get relief via compliance buyouts (see: the Brad Richards debate in New York). And there will no doubt be some trades.

But it will still be interesting to see where the final cap number falls, and what impact that could have on personnel decisions.

PS -- Only two of the seven Canadian teams (Montreal and Toronto) appear likely to make the playoffs, if that’s relevant here.

PPS -- And even if it’s not, wow, only two?