TSN’s Bob McKenzie just tweeted that the salary cap is going up for the 2010-11 season:
Given the Nashville Predators‘ recent history of spending around $4-5 million above the floor in recent seasons (a trend which is likely to continue), I would suggest targeting a value of $47 million or so*** for roster speculation purposes this summer – David Poile will need to keep some budget flexibility available for a possible acquisition during the season if the team has a chance to make a playoff run.
This goes in line with some of the guesswork I engaged in over the weekend.
***The NHL’s revenue sharing system (Article 49 of the CBA) is designed to allow a recipient team with an average cost structure to afford a payroll about 25% of the way from the salary floor to the salary cap.