There will be no increase in the salary cap for the 2017-2018 National Hockey League season, reports The New York Post's Larry Brooks.

Sources tell Brooks that the National Hockey League Players' Association isn't prepared to activate the escalator for next season, leaving the cap at close to $73 million (USD).

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The situation arises because of league revenue seeing no growth over the past year and the players choosing to accept the flat cap, rather than risking further escrow losses.

Brooks notes that concern over stagnant revenue will likely lead to the PA appointing Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios as a special ombudsman in preparation for upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. The players can opt out of the current CBA prior to the 2019-2020 season. There is also the idea of creating a committee of active players to support the union, but this would not constitute a challenge to NHLPA president Donald Fehr.

One of the main sources of frustration for the PA was the removal of Olympics participation from the CBA in negotiations during the last lockout. Brooks reports that another World Cup of Hockey - currently the only best-on-best international tournament in which NHL compete - is no certainty either because players have yet to receive any revenue from last fall's edition of the tournament. The PA is entitled to half of the tournament's net proceeds, meaning that any payout will be modest.