The salary cap is projected to rise from $64.3M to almost $71M, an additional $6.7M for the next season per Adam Gretz at SBNation.
An interesting fact from that link:
The nearly $7 million increase is the largest year-to-year increase the cap has had since it was put into place prior to the 2005-06 season.
Before Leafs fans line up to high five each other realize that $2.6M of that cap space evaporates when Phil Kessel's new deal kicks in, and the Leafs will need to re-sign key players like Dion Phaneuf (UFA), James Reimer (RFA) and Cody Franson (RFA). They'll also need to extend or replace Mark Fraser and Paul Ranger and decide what to do with center Dave Bolland.
A silver lining: $2.5M in buyouts/retained salary disappears next year as the cap hits for Darcy Tucker, Colby Armstrong, Matt Frattin and Ben Scrivens come off the books.
The cap is certainly rising, but has it risen enough to help the Leafs add more talent? Is there UFA talent out there worth adding?
