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Montreal owner would 'prefer' a strong Canadian dollar for NHL bottom line

Josh Cooper
BROSSARD, CANADA - MAY 2: Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson speaks to the media during the introduction of Marc Bergevin as General Manager at the Bell SportsPlex on May 2, 2012 in Brossard, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images) (Getty Images)

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson sees even the slightest of drops in the Canadian dollar as an issue for the NHL

Though increasing league revenues are viewed as a positive for the league and its bottom line, a weak Loonie has the ability to make life worse on Canadian franchise.

“It’s simple math, there’s a salary cap and when the Canadian dollar goes down a penny your profitability goes down as well,” Molson said in an interview with Puck Daddy after the second day of the NHL’s Board of Governors meetings. But there are also some offsets and natural hedges with the league. For sure a weak Canadian dollar – Canadian teams would prefer a strong Canadian dollar.”

On Monday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the declining Canadian dollar and what it means for the league's overall business. Bettman said the NHL’s salary cap could go up $3 million for next season. Currently the cap is at $71.4 million. The Canadiens were recently rated the NHL’s second-most valuable franchise according to Forbes.

"While there's a lot of speculation as to what the declining Canadian dollar relative to the U.S. dollar means, most of that commentary and speculation is a little off of the mark," Bettman said.

The Canadian dollar wasn’t the only topic of interest to the Habs owner. There was chatter about expansion during the Board of Governors. One of the areas looking for a team is Quebec City, which would create a natural rival for the Canadiens.

“I stay in touch with the NHL. They’re leading the whole process,” Molson said. “I stay informed just like any other owner and at this stage there hasn’t been any discussion as a group of owners for what we want to do or what we don’t want to do, we’ve had the facts presented to us and they continue to evaluate them.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!