NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Wednesday that the salary cap for the 2018-19 season will fall somewhere between $79.5-$80 million.
All things considered, it could’ve been a lot worse for Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford.
Relying on the industry standard when it comes to predicting salaries for restricted free agents, the Penguins would have a small — but somewhat workable — amount of breathing room should they do nothing before the start of free agency.
However, before we dive too deep into that, a couple of caveats are in order.
One, Rutherford avoiding any sort of action over the next few days at the NHL Draft isn’t likely whatsoever.