FILE - In this June 6, 2019, file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference before Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins in Boston. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, NHL owners and players divide hockey-related revenue 50/50, and if player salaries exceed that split a certain percentage is withheld in escrow to make it even. The Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and fellow players have lost upwards of 10% of their pay to escrow over the past seven seasons, which is why 25 of 31 NHL Players’ Association representatives surveyed by The Associated Press and Canadian Press named escrow as the biggest bargaining issue with September deadlines looming to terminate the current CBA effective the fall of 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

FILE - In this June 6, 2019, file photo, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman speaks during a news conference before Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final between the St. Louis Blues and the Boston Bruins in Boston. Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, NHL owners and players divide hockey-related revenue 50/50, and if player salaries exceed that split a certain percentage is withheld in escrow to make it even. The Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews and fellow players have lost upwards of 10% of their pay to escrow over the past seven seasons, which is why 25 of 31 NHL Players’ Association representatives surveyed by The Associated Press and Canadian Press named escrow as the biggest bargaining issue with September deadlines looming to terminate the current CBA effective the fall of 2020. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — The NHL salary cap for next season will be between $81.5 and $82 million, which is at least $1 million lower than initially projected, The Associated Press has confirmed.

The figure was disclosed Friday by a person with direct knowledge of the situation to the AP on condition of anonymity because it hasn’t been formally finalized and isn’t expected to be released until Saturday. The Athletic first reported the figures.

Initial projections had the salary cap increasing to $83 million from $79.5 million last season. The cap is calculated on a percentage of league revenue from the previous season. It goes into effect once the NHL’s free agency period opens on July 1, which coincides with the league’s new year.

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The lower than expected figure will place a pinch on teams already at or near the cap figure by restricting their ability to add or re-sign players.

The Winnipeg Jets, for example, are shedding contracts to make room to eventually re-sign forwards Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Winnipeg recently traded defenseman Jacob Trouba to the New York Rangers, who are at the other end of the cap spectrum with nearly $20 million in cap space available.

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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

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