Montreal and Boston will be the host cities for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February, the NHL announced Saturday along with releasing the schedule for the event.

In Montreal, Canada plays Sweden on Feb. 12, the U.S. plays Finland on Feb. 13, then a doubleheader B次元官网网址� Finland vs. Sweden and the U.S. vs. Canada B次元官网网址� awaits on Feb. 15.

In Boston, play resumes Feb. 17 with another doubleheader with Canada meeting Finland and Sweden meeting the U.S. The championship game is there on Feb. 20.

B次元官网网址淥ur national rightsholders, all of our national rightsholders in both countries will be carrying the games,B次元官网网址� NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in part of his annual news conference that precedes Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e delighted in the progress that weB次元官网网址檙e making and the ability to button down the plans.B次元官网网址�

National Hockey League Players Association director Marty Walsh said 90 NHL players will be taking part in the tournament. National federations will start releasing rosters B次元官网网址� six names apiece B次元官网网址� on June 28, with the rest of the rosters expected by the end of 2024.

Montreal and Boston stood out as host site options, the league said.

B次元官网网址淭wo iconic cities and we felt it was important to have some exposure, some venue in Canada as well as the United States,B次元官网网址� NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.

SALARY CAP

The NHL and the NHLPA announced shortly before BettmanB次元官网网址檚 news conference that the salary cap for next season will be $88 million, up $4.5 million from this season and up slightly B次元官网网址� $300,000 B次元官网网址� over what the projection was back in December.

B次元官网网址淚 know the general managers and the teams are excited to have more flexibility,B次元官网网址� Bettman said. B次元官网网址淎nd it means that the revenues are as robust as weB次元官网网址檝e been telling you all along.B次元官网网址�

The lower limit was set at $65 million, with a midpoint of $76.5 million.

Added Bettman: B次元官网网址淚 predict it will continue to go up.B次元官网网址�

MIAMI GAME?

There is no time of year where South Florida would offer a suitable climate for the NHL to play an outdoor game.

That is, unless it was indoors B次元官网网址� like at loanDepot Park, the 37,000-seat stadium in MiamiB次元官网网址檚 Little Havana neighborhood that the Miami Marlins call home.

B次元官网网址淚 havenB次元官网网址檛 been there, but I understand itB次元官网网址檚 very nice and it also has a roof and is air conditioned,B次元官网网址� Bettman said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not going to break any news today, but we are mindful of the fact that at some point, it would be good for the Panthers to be in an outdoor game. And so, we continue to explore options. B次元官网网址� We can only speculate what the future might hold.B次元官网网址�

ItB次元官网网址檚 not the first time the ballpark has been mentioned as a place for a traditional winter sport to play. When hearing last year that the San Antonio Spurs were going to break the NBA attendance record by playing the Golden State Warriors at the Alamodome, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra suggested trying to pack 100,000 people in the ballpark for an NBA game.

CUT-RESISTANT MATERIALS

Talks will continue on the notion of mandating certain cut-resistant equipment. That conversation was accelerated around the sport following the November death of American hockey player Adam Johnson from a skate blade to the neck in a game in England.

The NHL and the NHLPA have been studying skate cut injuries and how to reduce and avoid them for years.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no update other than to say that, obviously, the events of this year kind of opened everybodyB次元官网网址檚 eyes and brought a much bigger focus on it,B次元官网网址� Daly said.

MEDIA RIGHTS

Long before joining the NHL, Bettman was general counsel and a senior vice president of the NBA B次元官网网址� a league closing in on a new series of media rights deals that will last 11 years and are expected to have a total value of more than $70 billion.

That would be great for the NHL and other sports as well, Bettman said.

B次元官网网址淲hat it tells you is the marketplace for sports content is as robust as itB次元官网网址檚 ever been, despite predictions over the years of doom and gloom,B次元官网网址� Bettman said. B次元官网网址淚 find the prospects going forward very exciting for us as well, because as one of the four major sports we have extraordinarily valuable content.B次元官网网址�

Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press