NHL Salary Cap to Increase to $64 Million in 2011-12

Everyone knew that the salary cap was going to go up for the 2011-12 season. The question, though, was how much would this increase be. TSN broke the story tonight.

The TSN report reads:

"

With the National Hockey League Entry Draft less than a week away and the potential for trades escalating this week and next with the free agency period looming, the salary cap will be going up by nearly $5 million next season.

Clubs and agents are being told next year's salary cap will be set at an upper limit of $64 million with a floor of $48 million.

During the 2010-11 season, the salary cap had an upper limit of $59.4 million.

The league's cap—entering its seventh season under the current collective bargaining agreement—has risen every year since the end of the NHL lockout when the cap was set at $39 million.

"

This is big news for many teams like the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs and countless others. Brad Richards is the top prize in the free-agent market, so these teams will now have some extra spending room.

This is also some bad news for some of the lower-end market teams. Teams like the Edmonton Oilers, the new Winnipeg franchise and countless others have small payrolls and budgets so they will be forced to spend up to meet the cap floor.

This announcement comes as a surprise because it was predicted to increase anywhere up to $63.5 million.

The draft and the start of free agency is just around the corner so expect many teams to make moves that will benefit them given this extra cap room.

If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, leave them in the section below.

Tom Urtz is a New York Rangers Featured Columnist and is a member of the Bleacher Report's Official 2011 NHL Draft Coverage Team. For more NHL draft news, updates and alerts about prospects.  Follow Tom Urtz on Twitter and at SportsHaze NYC.