MANALAPAN, Fla. – The NHL salary cap is set to be $92.4 million next season, with the potential to increase slightly pending possible negotiations between the league and the NHL Players’ Association, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Tuesday .

This season’s salary cap is $88 million.

Bettman also said at the end of the NHL Board of Governors’ two-day meeting at the Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa with NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly that the league is currently projecting revenue of $6.6 billion for this season.

“The cap under current guidelines in the collective bargaining agreement would increase by 5 percent,” Bettman said Tuesday. “As we look at revenue, we will have discussions with the players’ association about the escrow level and whether the cap can or should be adjusted a little further on an ongoing basis, but that is something we really need to work out with the players’ association and we are having those discussions.”

Bettman said these discussions with the NHLPA could be conducted separately from the upcoming collective bargaining negotiations.

“I wouldn’t necessarily view the CBA as the only time to make adjustments,” Bettman said. “We could decide to make an adjustment and then look at the CBA. We may decide to include everything in the package. It’s a little more free flowing.”

The NHL and NHLPA have met regularly, including just last week, Bettman said. The current plan is for both sides to begin formal discussions on a new CBA in February.

The current CBA expires in September 2026, but Bettman said the hope is to finalize the new agreement sometime in 2025, possibly before the Stanley Cup Finals.

Bettman also noted that items such as a new schedule format and extending the salary cap to the Stanley Cup Playoffs could be part of collective bargaining talks if they are of interest to both sides.

“I don’t want to make any predictions about collective bargaining,” Bettman said. “We currently have a very open and constructive relationship with the players’ association. I find the collaboration with (NHLPA executive director) Marty Walsh and (deputy executive director) Ron Hainsey, as well as Bill, very constructive, very professional, very warm. So we won’t make hasty predictions about what will happen, although we hope to do so as quickly and smoothly as possible.”

Daly said the league is in regular communication with the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation to finalize the NHL’s agreement with those governing bodies to allow players to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.

“We’re getting closer,” Daly said. “We exchanged a few more documents with the IOC and the IIHF on Friday. I remain confident that we will get there soon.”

Daly said the NHL recently received a positive update on the status of construction of the arena to be used for the Olympic hockey tournaments.

“They are still on track for completion in October and are looking to do a test event in December,” Daly said. “I know (NHLPA Senior Director of International Strategy and Growth) Rob Zepp has had the opportunity to be there over the last two weeks. He said impressive progress.”

The league announced last February that NHL players would compete in the 2026 Olympics pending agreements with the IOC and IIHF, with the intention of starting a regular rotation of Olympic participation and a World Cup of Hockey.

The NHL and NHLPA are hosting the four-nation duel with the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland from February 12th to 20th in Montreal and Boston.

Daly said the league continues to work with the IIHF to finalize plans for a hockey world championship in 2028. The board heard an update on that progress this week.

There is no date set for announcing plans for the World Cup.

“We had intensive discussions with them during the World Cup,” said Daly. “We have updated these discussions over time. We had a meeting with the IIHF in Toronto in November and expect to hear more from them at some point, hopefully before the end of the calendar year.”

Additionally, the Board of Governors heard presentations from Rogers Sportsnet executives, including Tony Staffieri, CEO and President of Rogers Communications, and Collette Watson, President of Rogers Sports and Media.

The NHL’s Canadian media rights agreement with Rogers expires after next season and Bettman said the league and Rogers will begin an exclusive negotiating window on Jan. 1.

“We thought it would be a good opportunity before we began these formal discussions for them to have an opportunity to speak to the board and talk about their view of the world and our relationship,” Bettman said. “I think it was very well received.”

V Foundation CEO Shane Jacobson spoke with the BOG about the first year of the relationship between the V Foundation and the NHL’s Hockey Fights Cancer Initiative.

“We’ve done a really good job together to raise awareness and raise money for research,” Bettman said.

Michael Rubin, CEO of Fanatics, the official supplier of the NHL jerseys, gave a presentation on the league’s transition from Adidas to Fanatics and how together they can continue to grow the league’s licensing business.

“We are in a very strong and good position after perhaps the best season we ever had last year,” said Bettman. “I think everything was fine.”