Daly talks 2022-23 NHL season outlook in Q&A

HENDERSON, Nev. -- The NHL started to return to normal during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The arenas were full. The action was compelling. Despite disruptions earlier in the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the League ended up exceeding expectations and surpassing $5 billion in revenue for the first time.

"I view that as kind of a jumping-off point for this season," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said in a wide-ranging interview at the NHL North American Player Media Tour at Lifeguard Arena on Thursday. "People ask, 'Well, what are you looking for?' Just really continued growth. I mean, the game's never been in a better place than it is currently. We had record revenues last year in a year that was still impacted by COVID, so we're thinking the future's really bright, and it starts now."
The 2022-23 season sets up to be the first normal NHL season since 2018-19.
The NHL is going back to its usual calendar, with training camps opening Wednesday and the Stanley Cup Final scheduled to end in June. The League is going back overseas, with the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks opening the regular season in Prague on Oct. 7-8 and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche playing in Tampere, Finland, on Nov. 4-5 in the 2022 NHL Global Series.
The League will have a full slate of events, with the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins at Fenway Park in Boston on Jan. 2, the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in South Florida on Feb. 3-4, and the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series between the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh on Feb. 18.

The hope is that continued revenue growth will lead to an increase in the NHL salary cap sooner rather than later.
The cap is supposed to be tied to revenues, which the owners and players split 50-50 under the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement. A percentage of the players' salaries is usually withheld in escrow pending final accounting to ensure the 50-50 revenue split.
But the cap was $81.5 million from 2019-20 through last season and is $82.5 million this season because of an agreement the owners and players made during the pandemic, when revenues plummeted. In short, the cap can't rise materially until the players repay the owners an escrow debt to reestablish the 50-50 revenue split.
"Our projections indicate that it should be paid back soon," Daly said.
Daly said mostly likely the cap will increase $1 million for the 2023-24 season, but if revenues grow enough, it could increase further.
"We have very preliminary projections for this year," Daly said. "Based on where we finished last year, they probably exceed kind of earlier projections that we had. We still think it'll be another year before the cap goes up materially. But who knows? If we exceed our revenues to the same extent that we exceeded our projections last year, then maybe it could go up as early as next summer."
Daly touched on several other subjects in his Q&A with NHL.com:
What does it mean to the NHL that many young players are representing their teams at the North American Player Media Tour, such as 21-year-old trick-shot artist/Anaheim Ducks forward Trevor Zegras?
"I don't think the skill level's ever been higher, and that's a credit to really the player development that's going on around the world, not just in North America. We track on a regular basis where our players are coming from, where they're developing, how they're developing. We try to invest in that, because we think that's important as a league. Our clubs feel it's important. Prime that pump, and make sure the players are getting trained the right way, learning the right things.
"And I think the youngness shows in the personalities they bring to the game too. A hockey player today is probably a different animal than when I joined the League 25 years ago. They're far more comfortable being creative and coming out of the traditional hockey player mindset and being media personalities, not just hockey players."
What was the Seattle Kraken's impact in their first year since debuting as an NHL expansion team?
"Fantastic start. They built the team -- and when I say the team, not just the team on the ice, the organization -- the right way from the ground up, and they really connected with the community in lots of different ways. Obviously, they're members of the community now in a very positive way, and the fans have embraced that. So very successful first season.
"They probably would have enjoyed a couple more points, a couple more wins, but that'll come. That'll come with time. And I think the benefit of being an expansion franchise … Unfortunately for them, they've had to follow Vegas and Vegas' incredible success story on the ice, but you know, most expansion clubs are given leniency in being top quality competitively, so they'll get there."
The Kraken named Alexandra Mandrycky an assistant general manager Wednesday. She is the sixth woman to be named an assistant GM since January. What does that mean to the NHL and the game?
"I think it's a great trend, and I think you're going to see more of it. It increases every day. I read about another hiring every day that we wouldn't have seen five years ago, 10 years ago. I think it's going to be great for the game. Hearing from more people, and opening up to more people, is positive for our growth and will grow the game and the business of the game."
What are the reasons for the trend?
"I'll start with (NHL senior executive vice president) Kim Davis and her impact on the game. It goes beyond the NHL. She has impacted the organizing bodies of hockey in both Canada and the United States in very positive ways.
"I think the game has a different mindset in terms of being more welcoming and inclusive than we've had before. Even though we probably would have liked to have thought we were doing all the right things, you know, at the end of the day, there was always more we could do, and we're finding that extra gear now, and I think it's being reflected in how our clubs are creating their workforces as well, and I think it's a positive thing."
What are the next steps?
"More of the same, really. More of what we're doing. I think there's a lot of programs we've put into place, that Kim's group has put into place, but clubs quite frankly have put into place too, that are opening up areas to more people than in the past. We need to continue pushing that priority and pushing that agenda, and I think we're prepared to do it. Our owners and clubs have certainly shown their willingness to do it."
What is the state of the Arizona Coyotes as they move into a temporary arena this season and pursue a new permanent home?
"I would say positive. They made some ground up in the summer, when the Tempe City Council approved the tentative plan for the arena development in Tempe. That has one more level of approval to go, but they expect that to happen sometime this fall, so that's all positive.
"In the interim, they'll be playing at Arizona State University, as most people know. We've been very active with the club in making sure that facility is going to be ready for NHL hockey, to the extent it can be and will be.
"I think it'll be a tremendous fan experience. It's a relatively small venue. Everybody knows that. It can hold about 5,000 people. I expect the building to be full every night, and I expect there will be high level of enthusiasm, and I think actually it'll help the performance of the team on the ice, because they'll have an excited, small barn behind them."
Is this in line with other NHL teams that have played in small, temporary venues while waiting for permanent homes, such as the Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames and San Jose Sharks?
"Yes, and we're not that only sport that has done it, either. In the NFL, the Los Angeles Chargers needed a place to go in the short term, they were in a very small facility by NFL standards, two years in a soccer stadium. It's not unprecedented. You're right. It's not where the team will be long term, but it'll be fine in the short term."
How long are the Coyotes expected to play at Arizona State?
"I think they're guarding expectations, so I think worst case, it's three seasons in the small facility. Best case, it might be two."