The NHL owners' efforts to include a salary cap had contributed to the 1994–95 NHL lockout, which ended with other issues, but not a salary cap, being worked out between the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA). A notable instance of this was when the Detroit Red Wings stockpiled expensive high-end performers for their Stanley Cup-winning 2001–02 season the New York Rangers often also used a similar approach, offering massive contracts to marquee, veteran players. Like many professional sports leagues, the NHL has a salary cap to keep teams in larger markets (with more revenue) from signing all of the top players and extending their advantage over smaller-market franchises. It is a "hard" salary cap, meaning there are no exemptions (and thus no luxury tax penalties are required). The NHL salary cap is the total amount of money that National Hockey League (NHL) teams are allowed to pay their players.
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Max amount that NHL teams can pay players