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  6. article_body => "<p>For the first time since the 2009-10 season, the NHL&#39;s salary cap could stay flat next year, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.espn.com\/blog\/craig-custance\/insider\/post?id=8493\" target=\"_blank\">reports ESPN&#39;s Craig Custance<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed at the latest NHL&#39;s Board of Governors meeting that the projected ceiling for the 2017-18 campaign could be an increase between zero and $2 million, which isn&#39;t exactly encouraging considering the projection at this time of year is normally an optimistic one.<\/p>\n<p>That means the salary cap may be closer to &mdash; or at&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;the $73 million it&#39;s at right now.<\/p>\n<p>In the last four years, the cap has increased by $4.3 million in 2013-14, $4.7 million in 2014-15, $2.4 million in 2015-16 and $1.6 million in 2016-17.&nbsp;The number continues to descend, and it affects big-budget teams like the Blackhawks the most.<\/p>\n<p>It makes it especially difficult for the Blackhawks to navigate because they own two of the highest paid players in the league in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, both of whom carry a $10.5 million cap hit through 2022-23. It&#39;s a great problem to have, though.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[SHOP:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/shop.nbcsports.com\/NBC_Chicago_Blackhawks\/partnerid\/13747\" target=\"_blank\">Gear up, Blackhawks fans!<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.capfriendly.com\/teams\/blackhawks\" target=\"_blank\">According to capfriendly.com<\/a>, Chicago currently has&nbsp;$60.6 million tied up to 14 players &mdash;&nbsp;eight forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender &mdash;&nbsp;next season. If the cap stays the same, that means the Blackhawks must fill out the rest of their roster with fewer than $13 million to work with&nbsp;and still have to sign Artemi Panarin to a long-term extension.<\/p>\n<p>And they may need to move salary to do it, with the potential cap overages crunching things even more.<\/p>\n<p>On the open market, Panarin would probably be able to earn Vladimir Tarasenko money &mdash;&nbsp;a seven-year deal that carries a $7.5 million cap hit&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;but if he prefers to remain in Chicago, the contract would likely be in the range of&nbsp;Johnny Gaudreau&#39;s six-year deal with an annual average value of $6.75 million.<\/p>\n<p>With the expansion draft looming, the Blackhawks know they&#39;re going to lose a player to Las Vegas in the offseason. The two likely candidates, as it stands, are Marcus Kruger and Trevor van Riemsdyk, and the former would free up $3 million in cap space&nbsp;while the latter $825,000.<\/p>\n<p>If that won&#39;t get the job done, the Blackhawks may be forced to part ways with a core player such as Brent Seabrook and his eight-year, $55 million contract,&nbsp;although he has a full no-movement clause until 2021-22 and&nbsp;it would be very hard to imagine since you&#39;re trying to maximize your current championship window.<\/p>\n<p>Anything is possible, however, after seeing promising young guys like Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw shipped out of Chicago due to a tight budget.<\/p>\n<p>It&#39;s a challenge general manager Stan Bowman has certainly already been thinking about, and a stagnant salary cap doesn&#39;t make things any easier.<\/p>\n"
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Blackhawks

Blackhawks

For the first time since the 2009-10 season, the NHL's salary cap could stay flat next year, reports ESPN's Craig Custance.

Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed at the latest NHL's Board of Governors meeting that the projected ceiling for the 2017-18 campaign could be an increase between zero and $2 million, which isn't exactly encouraging considering the projection at this time of year is normally an optimistic one.

That means the salary cap may be closer to — or at — the $73 million it's at right now.

In the last four years, the cap has increased by $4.3 million in 2013-14, $4.7 million in 2014-15, $2.4 million in 2015-16 and $1.6 million in 2016-17. The number continues to descend, and it affects big-budget teams like the Blackhawks the most.

It makes it especially difficult for the Blackhawks to navigate because they own two of the highest paid players in the league in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, both of whom carry a $10.5 million cap hit through 2022-23. It's a great problem to have, though.

[SHOP: Gear up, Blackhawks fans!]

According to capfriendly.com, Chicago currently has $60.6 million tied up to 14 players — eight forwards, five defensemen and one goaltender — next season. If the cap stays the same, that means the Blackhawks must fill out the rest of their roster with fewer than $13 million to work with and still have to sign Artemi Panarin to a long-term extension.

 

And they may need to move salary to do it, with the potential cap overages crunching things even more.

On the open market, Panarin would probably be able to earn Vladimir Tarasenko money — a seven-year deal that carries a $7.5 million cap hit — but if he prefers to remain in Chicago, the contract would likely be in the range of Johnny Gaudreau's six-year deal with an annual average value of $6.75 million.

With the expansion draft looming, the Blackhawks know they're going to lose a player to Las Vegas in the offseason. The two likely candidates, as it stands, are Marcus Kruger and Trevor van Riemsdyk, and the former would free up $3 million in cap space while the latter $825,000.

If that won't get the job done, the Blackhawks may be forced to part ways with a core player such as Brent Seabrook and his eight-year, $55 million contract, although he has a full no-movement clause until 2021-22 and it would be very hard to imagine since you're trying to maximize your current championship window.

Anything is possible, however, after seeing promising young guys like Brandon Saad and Andrew Shaw shipped out of Chicago due to a tight budget.

It's a challenge general manager Stan Bowman has certainly already been thinking about, and a stagnant salary cap doesn't make things any easier.