NHL Comissioner Gary Bettman and other NHL owners and GMs met for meetings in Florida Here's what went down at the meetings.
One day after Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer told Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic that the unfounded trade talk for Brady Tkachuk amounted to "solft tampering", commissioner Gary Bettman declined on the matter.
"I've been in board meetings for the last two days. I've heard the general. I don't have enough specifics to make any sort of comment. "Gary Bettman to The Athletic
The Sens owner was upset about a New York Post report that said the New York Rangers were targeting Tkachuk as a trade target and what irked him is that the 25 year old forward is udner contract for three more seasons beyond this one and hasn't once been involved in trade discussions.
Bettman would add in the same story:
"I don't like tampering, and obviously if somebody alleges tampering and it can be proven, there are consequences. But I'm not weighing in on any particular cases right now. When you have rules, you'd like the rules to be followed.""Bettman
GMs spoke at length about bringing back a negotiating window to better control talks with players on expiring contracts but that would require sign off from the NHL Players Association. Asked if he expects to conduct free agncy any differently on July 1, Bettman would say, "We'll have to see. That's something we'll discuss with the union."
The same story also talked about the potential of the salary cap. That's criticial for offseason planning. The salary cap for next season could be around $92.5 million which is up from the current $88 million. It could be higher depending on CBA talks with the NHLPA and whether there's a joint interest in building in to "phase in" to a higher salary cap.
As for CBA talks expect those to occur sometime in Februrary but Bettman meets with folks on an ongoing basis as we all know as the longest tenured commissoner in sports. The 4 Nations Face Off rosters have been unveiled but no Washington Capitals made the cut for the February tournament featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland.
The NHL believes it is close to finalizing an agreement with the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation to officially send it's players to Milan, Italy for the 2026 games.