Bill Daly said today prior to Game 1 that the salary cap for the 2017-2018 season will be flat or slightly up without the 5% cap inflator from the players.

The NHLPA and the players say every year they don’t plan to exercise the 5% inflator but at the end of the day they opt to exercise it which is short-term gain with a higher cap but crushes the players escrow.

The league projects the cap to be around $73-$74 million without the 5% inflator but would increase to the $77 million neighborhood if the players exercise the 5% inflator.