Outside of the Edmonton Oilers' big-money commitment to Connor McDavid, the NHL offseason has been relatively quiet, perhaps in part because of a steady and modest salary cap.
If Canadian interest rates are hiked after a Wednesday meeting by the Bank of Canada, however, there might ultimately be more cashflow across the league.
That's according to Ken Campbell, of The Hockey News, who reported Monday that recent high marks for the Canadian dollar against the American dollar bode well for NHL revenues and should "make Gary Bettman happy."
One-third of all league revenue, Campbell notes, is generated in Canadian funds. And if the value of the Canadian dollar, which closed at 78 cents to the American dollar Friday and dipped slightly on Monday to 77.59 cents, keeps approaching and exceeding its high marks for the year, NHL revenues could jump by tens of millions of American dollars in 2018.
If the Canadian dollar were to gain seven cents, that would bump that revenue figure up by more than $90 million U.S. dollars. Those revenues are split 50-50 between the players and the league, which would put $45 million more into the players' share, which would account for an increase of about $1.45 million per team.
Noting that Canadian dollar values have influenced NHL revenues before, such as when 60-cent marks were the norm and "there was very real concern over the future of the Oilers, Flames and Senators," Campbell said the potential revenue growth "also has to do with how the league and teams hedge against the Canadian dollars fluctuation."
