PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The NHL Board of Governors on Thursday was given a projection on what the salary cap could be for the 2017-18 season, but Commissioner Gary Bettman declined to give out details during his press conference following the meeting.
The salary cap for this season is $73 million, up from $71.4 million last season.
"There's always a range, but it's something we're going to have to look at very carefully in terms of how maybe best to approach it," Commissioner Bettman said. "The cap could range from where it is now to a couple or so million up, but we're going to all have to focus on what makes most sense going forward."
Commissioner Bettman declined to give a specific answer when he asked if the cap could potentially stay flat or go down.
"The answer to that is one that I would prefer to discuss with the [NHL] Players' Association first," he said.
Vegas Golden Knights trademark
The NHL said Thursday it doesn't believe the application to register the name Vegas Golden Knights with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will be an issue that requires a name or logo change for the expansion franchise.
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued a letter to the NHL on Wednesday that said it declined to register the Golden Knights trademark because of an existing intercollegiate registration with that name (College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York).
The NHL has until June 7, 2017, to issue a response to the Patent and Trademark Office.
"It was a surprise to us that they did not register our trademark," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Thursday. "We think under applicable legal precedent we clearly qualify for that registration. The legal test is really confusion, and we don't think there really is any, particularly with the intercollegiate athletic registration that is involved here with a college that doesn't even have an ice hockey program. We clearly do not think that there will be any confusion."
Daly said the expansion franchise will continue to use its name and logo that were revealed Nov. 22.
"We have every expectation we'll ultimately get that registration," Daly said. "There are multiple levels of review in terms of applying for that registration, and as we sit here today we currently enjoy strong common law trademark rights as well as registration in the state of Nevada. From our perspective, it's much to do about nothing."
Commissioner Bettman mentioned examples of franchises in different leagues using the same nickname.
"If you're thinking about this not from a legal aspect per se, but practically, many teams in professional sports have the same name in two different sports and you have colleges and pro teams," Commissioner Bettman said. "Examples: Giants in football and baseball, Rangers in hockey and baseball, Panthers in hockey and football. You have Hurricanes in college and pro, Ducks in college and pro, Bruins. It's unfortunate that we have to go through a process and it got so much attention, but we don't view this as an issue."
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