Gary Bettman punishes six NHL teams with salary cap penalties
In an unsurprising turn of events, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is making more enemies after it was reported that he has punished several teams with salary cap overage penalties.
NHL Insider Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff recently reported that Gary Bettman is hitting several teams with overage penalties for the upcoming season. This includes at least six teams who have accrued more than $1 million in overage, making this a record high.
Part of that was planned, pre-spending a portion of the projected $4.3m increase. Some wasn't."
There are currently eleven teams on the list, with the Edmonton Oilers facing the heftiest fine. Other teams include the Dallas Stars and Washington Capitals.
The amount that exceeds the cap is applied as a penalty in the next season.
Overage teams: EDM, DAL, WSH, LAK, NJD, MTL, OTT, NYR, MIN, PHI, BOS"
Given the intentionality of carrying overage penalties, fans have become divided on their team's choices in the regular season. Other fans have argued on whether or not this strategy constitutes cheating.
With most of the teams on the list focusing on the playoffs, it is hard to know how they plan to manage this decreased cap space. Hopefully whatever decisions they made this season will not hurt them in the next.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 23 | 676 ANSWERS Gary Bettman punishes six NHL teams with salary cap penalties Are Gary Bettman's penalties for these teams appropriate? | ||
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| Some | 237 | 35.1 % |
| None | 246 | 36.4 % |
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![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531292.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
