Hockey fans were thrilled to learn that the NHL salary cap would "likely" increase significantly for the upcoming season. Bettman stated that player escrows were at an all-time high and that if they were to all be paid back, a significant cap increase would be granted. This would help both contending teams with limited cap space and those rebuilding teams who still have those expensive contracts.
The fact that just a small portion of what was anticipated to be added to the NHL salary cap is extremely disappointing , but hey, at least it's something, right?