Nine NHL teams enter the regular season carrying only “20 or 21 skaters” because of the league’s $82.5M salary cap, which is up only $1M after three years static at $81.5M, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Additionally, there are 13 teams already on long-term injured reserve “before they’ve basically even played a game.” The Maple Leafs, who are just $4 under the cap, “could barely fit a coffee run based on the room they had left,” while the Canucks “came over the top and became the first team ever to hit the number on the head. ” Johnston: “Needless to say, there’s going to be a lot of pressure on managers managing the cap in a season with so little flexibility” (“Insider Trading,” TSN, 10/11). FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW’s George Richards noted the Panthers set their initial roster for the 2022-23 NHL season and “will start with 20 players,” meaning “everyone on the roster will dress each night.” The Panthers will come in “just under the NHL salary cap limit” and will “have to get creative if any player gets hurt.” Normal bumps and bruises usually mean a “night off for the player and a chance for someone else to step in and get a chance,” but the Panthers do “not have such luxuries” (FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW, 10/11).
BACK TO NORMAL: SPORTSNET.ca’s Luke Fox wrote there is “trust that our first so-called ‘normal’ season in three winters will be devoid of viral outbreaks, dreary Zoom press conferences, and playoffs in July.” The NHL’s flagpole events will “take over some of the most fun towns in North America.” Fenway Park gets “taken over by the Winter Classic,” while All-Star weekend is “storming Fort Lauderdale Beach.” Both the draft and awards ceremony will “converge in Nashville.” More female hockey minds “occupy front office jobs than ever before,” and Sharks GM Mike Grier is about to “oversee the first NHL campaign by a black general manager” (SPORTSNET.ca, 10/11). In LA, Helene Elliott noted the NHL “will be back to normal this season,” as “normal as it gets in the NHL, that is.” The league will see the Coyotes “play in a 5,000-seat arena on the campus of Arizona State for at least two seasons while awaiting construction of a new home” (LA TIMES, 10/11).
MUTED START: In Toronto, Kevin McGran wondered “did anyone notice” the first two NHL regular-season games “have already been played” in Prague? McGran: “Does it even make sense? Shouldn’t the season opener be a big deal? I get to play games in Europe, but they should never open the season over there” (TORONTO STAR, 10/11).