Salary Cap question

bullz_rule21 · Jul 8, 2010

Hi guys, I'm mostly a Chicago Bulls fan but over the past 3 years i have been keeping an eye on the Hawks more and more.

My main question is how the NHL salary cap differs from the NBA. Does the NHL have a luxury tax in place should teams go over, or can teams not go over and must have a salary that is equivalent to what the league salary is at?

Thanks again guys and congrats on the Stanley Cup this year and I hope for another one next year for you guys!

Captain Iago · Jul 8, 2010

bullz_rule21 said:
Hi guys, I'm mostly a Chicago Bulls fan but over the past 3 years i have been keeping an eye on the Hawks more and more.

My main question is how the NHL salary cap differs from the NBA. Does the NHL have a luxury tax in place should teams go over, or can teams not go over and must have a salary that is equivalent to what the league salary is at?

Thanks again guys and congrats on the Stanley Cup this year and I hope for another one next year for you guys!

No, there is no luxury tax in the NHL.

All teams can go over the cap 10% during the off-season, but have to be under the cap before the season starts.

Teams can also go over the cap up to the amount of the total amount of Entry Level Contract bonuses players can achieve on the roster. If a player can not mathematically reach a performance bonus, the team can receive a credit of that amount off their salary cap. If bonuses put a team over the cap, then it counts against the cap for that team the next year (as we saw this off-season with the Hawks).