Jim Rutherford will have a little more money to spend to retain pending free agent Patric Hornqvist or whoever else the Penguins' general manager would like to sign.
On Friday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced at the NHL's Board of Governors meeting in Florida that the NHL salary cap will rise from $75 million to somewhere between $78-82 million for the 2018-19 season.
That is more than welcome news for the Penguins, who routinely spend up to the cap limit. They are currently just $762,876 under the cap, according to Spotrac.com. Only Ottawa and Dallas have less cap space available.
Re-signing Hornqvist would seem the most pressing contract concern for the Penguins. The Swedish power forward is in the final year of a five-year, $21.25 million deal he signed with Nashville in 2013 before being dealt by the Predators in exchange for James Neal in 2014.
Hornqvist will make $4.25 million this season but is expected to command significantly more on the open market after winning two Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh and averaging 22 goals per season. He has 11 goals this season, six of them on the power play, to match the team lead.
Rutherford has stated that a contract extension for Hornqvist is not likely to be worked out during this season. Hornqvist will likely try to match the contract of Washington's T.J. Oshie, who received an eight-year, $46 million extension last season. Both players are the same age, 30, and have posted similar numbers in the NHL.
The Penguins' other notable unrestricted free agents include defenseman Ian Cole, center Carter Rowney and enforcer Ryan Reaves.
The league's projected salary cap increase of at least $3 million would mark the biggest jump since it went from $64.3 million in 2013-14 to $69 million in 2014-15, according to the National Post. If the cap rises to $82 million, it will be the largest increase in league history, topping the $6.4 million jump between 2007-08 and 2008-09.