Gary Bettman delivers more bad news for the Bruins and their cap situation

Don Sweeney and the Bruins are not going to get any relief from the National Hockey League when it comes to their upcoming cap crunch. At least according to the rough numbers shared by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during his annual pre-Final press conference with the media this past weekend in Las Vegas.

Asked about where things stand with the salary cap after almost $6 billion in hockey related revenues this past season, Bettman shared that the league's $82.5 million salary cap will receive a modest increase for 2023-24.

"Based on our current projections, there’ll still be some escrow," Bettman revealed. "And that means that the cap will go up by a million dollars, give or take."

Bettman's update on the 2023-24 cap ceiling comes as a definite bummer, as there seemed to be hope that another strong year on the revenue front would’ve been enough for the league to move ahead with an actually noteworthy cap increase compared to the modest $1 million increase. Especially with the escrow debt down to a highly-manageable $70 million (almost 95 percent of the way paid off) from their agreement during the pandemic, according to multiple reports and confirmed by independent sources.

Talks of a sizable increase even came up in recent talks with the league and the NHLPA, per Bettman.

"We actually had a discussion about it [with NHLPA head Marty Walsh] and the fact of the matter is the cap changes by definition are inextricably interwoven with what the escrow amount is," Bettman ackowledged. "I think it's probably the safest to say that we’re going to live with the agreement as it was last negotiated, and it is what is.

"But having said that, I think it's overwhelmingly likely the following season there will be a more normal cap increase."

Factoring in the recent revenue figures, that ‘normal’ increase may even flirt with double digits, with some projecting a cap in the low-90 million range. If that's around the corner, there seems to be a legitimate case to be made for balancing it out that between two modest increases versus one gigantic one. Especially if you’re a player who is staring down a jump into free agency in 2023.

But, as Bettman said, ‘it is what it is’ seems to be the league's stance on that front.

DENVER, COLORADO – MAY 17: NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the media before the Avalanche play the Blues during Game 1 of the Second Round of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

For the Bruins, that means that Sweeney & Co. will begin their summer with a projected $4.9 million in cap space for a roster that has just 14 skaters and one goalie signed for 2023-24.

In essence, that's not enough.

That $4.9 million figure does include Boston's $4.5 million in bonus overages from the Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci contracts, and also includes Mike Reilly's $3 million cap hit. Now, there's nothing the Bruins can do about the $4.5 million overage, but there will be some sort of resolution on the Reilly front this year, whether that's through a buyout (that would create $2.6 million in space next year before a $1.33 penalty in 2024-25) or a trade involving him and his $3 million salary.

But still, a Reilly resolution alone isn't going to solve the Bruins’ cap issues. This is going to be a summer of pain for the Bruins, and Sweeney knows it.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 18: Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins attends the 2019 NHL Awards Nominee Media Availability at the Encore Las Vegas on June 18, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

"Our cap situation, we leveraged a little bit. Everybody knows our [bonus] overage at four and a half [million], so, we have some constraints, as do several other teams around the league," Sweeney said last month. "Our goal was to put the season on the absolute best roster we could put together and try and take a real legitimate run and we failed, no question. So, we have to pay that forward a little bit.

"That might mean we’re instituting younger players, that might mean roster changes, which we would like to make. That might mean I might be able to sign one of those three players or other unrestricted players. We have to address the two RFAs in [Trent] Frederic and [Jeremy] Swayman, which we will do. And roster changes are likely coming. You know, we’re not going to be the same team, but our mandate internally, collectively as a group, is we have a really strong core of guys that hopefully as Jim [Montgomery] was talking about, will continue to grow, will take leadership responsibility moving forward regardless of whether or not Patrice and David walk back through the door because they need to."

MONTREAL, CANADA – APRIL 13: Dmitry Orlov #81 of the Boston Bruins (C) celebrates his goal with teammates Tyler Bertuzzi #59 (L) and Charlie McAvoy #73 (R) during the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on April 13, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Barring everybody taking the grand daddy of hometown discounts for ‘one more run’ with the Bruins or filling out the roster with league-minimum additions, there's likely two or three (maybe even four!) contracts that’ll need to be moved off the Bruins’ books to help Sweeney ice a full Boston roster next year.

That's without getting into what the Bruins are going to have to explore if they’re serious about bringing 2023 deadline addition Tyler Bertuzzi back on a long-term deal.

(Just think about how valuable an extra three or four million dollars would be right now?)

But as Bettman says, it is what it is.

And for the Bruins, it's looking like truly inevitable pain.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC – JULY 07: President Cam Neely and General Manager Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins look on during Round One of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bell Centre on July 07, 2022. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.