NHL reports are indirectly very good news for the Leafs.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly spoke with the New York Times, and what he had to say can only be viewed as great news for the Blackhawks. Daly has come out and stated that all reports of a stagnant salary cap, a cap that would see no or minimal increase next season, are inaccurate. Daly expects that despite the fall of the Canadian dollar he does not expect it to be a major concern. From the Times:

“I expect there to be a healthy rise in the salary cap for next season, the Canadian dollar would have to continue to fall in a material way for that to change.”

Daly knows that the Canadian dollar's value is a critical part of the success of the league, two of the NHL's biggest money making franchises are Toronto and Montreal and any significant hit to the Canadian dollar is also a significant hit to the NHL. But Daly isn't worried, again from the Times:

“The league is obviously healthier when the dollars are closer to par,” he said. “But I think the business success of the league and the clubs over the last several years stands on its own.”

So what does this mean for Toronto? It's not hard to see why a team that has over 20 million dollars invested in just 3 players was getting desperate to make a trade as news of the stagnant cap filtered in. If the NHL is correct it means that the Leafs, who have been rumored to be dangling players like Lupul and Kadri as trade bait, can now afford to remain patient, and wait for a better deal to come around, instead of having their hand forced into making a move.