Report Suggests NHL Salary Cap Could Nearly Double, With Huge Implications for Maple Leafs

With the NHL implementing their new CBA rules early this season before fully overhauling things in 2026-27, the big talking point seems to revolve around an ever expanding salary cap and where that number could rise to.

We heard reports earlier that the league was looking to increase the cap to $113.5-million by 2029 and given its current trajectory and yearly record-breaking profits; it wouldn't be surprising to see.

However a new report takes those projections and turns them inside out and makes things even more explosive in the coming years.

An article from RG.org's Marco D'Amico reveals that a source close to the league anticipates that the cap could essentially double from it's current amount in about a decade or so:

Well uhh, that's a whole lotta moolah. While we can debate for days about whether or not having that much money is really a good thing for the fans (higher salaries tend to lead to higher prices) but for a team like the Maple Leafs it could create something wild.

If we assume the cap is $120-million in 2030, that means they will have enough to keep Auston Matthews around potentially as a lifer, extend Matthew Knies in his prime, and Morgan Rielly's contract doesn't really look too bad the more the cap grows.

But though the team has the potential to sign their stars long-term, what if they were able to not only do that but also bring in a couple of dangerous pieces as well?

A rising cap means Toronto can afford someone like Connor McDavid at $19-20M a season, and looking to the future, it's probably going to be the norm to see players sign for three or four years at lucrative AAV's.

$20-million might actually end up being just above the norm for some players, and depending on who is available in the coming years (Brandt Clarke comes to mind) that could end up being one of the pieces to create a superteam.

It will have to be a superteam built brick by brick, but Rome wasn't built in a day. It's going to have to be a cautious approach for sure though for the first time in a long time it feels like Toronto has the flexibility to make a big signing.

The salary cap doubling could create something incredible for Leafs Nation there's no question.

The issue is that every other team will also get the chance to spend, which could spell bad news in a few years.