Senior Editor at RG Media
September 15 marks the final implementation of the new NHL CBA changes, which will have varying consequences for the league. With changes to qualifying offers, E-Bug rules and player salaries/ signing bonuses, it’s a lot to process; even for an NHL GM.
The first big change will be the end of eight-year contracts. Max-term contracts for player extensions will be reduced from eight to seven years, while max terms for players signed as free agents or extended without being on that team’s reserve list as of the most recent trade deadline will go from seven years to six years.
The second big change will be tighter rules on how money is distributed throughout a contract. Teams will have less flexibility to create large salary swings from one season to the next, with a 20% limit tied to the first year and a 71% minimum compared to the contract's highest-paid season.
The third major change restricts signing bonuses to no more than 60% of the total value of an NHL contract over the life of a deal.
These changes have already affected some of the decisions made on players this summer and will also affect some of the discussions going on right now until September 15.
“It’s normal that teams see the cap rising and want to sign guys for as long and as quickly as possible to avoid dealing with the increases and player salaries on the horizon,” said a well-placed NHL source. “Just look at Vancouver. If they would have signed Quinn Hughes to an eight-year deal instead of a six-year deal, would he still be in Vancouver? Players are betting on themselves with a little more confidence though. Those five-year deals are becoming more popular. Getting a little more security would be nice for players, but at what price for teams? That’s the dance going on right now.”
And that’s the internal discussions going on with many teams right now trying to get their pending unrestricted and restricted free agents signed before these changes come in.
Here’s the gist on the big changes managers are trying to get ahead of.
Confidence Over Security
Outside of Ivan Demidov’s sweetheart, eight-year extension with the Montreal Canadiens, most of the top youngsters in the game signed between five and six-year deals.
The likes of Macklin Celebrini, Connor Bedard, Pavel Mintyukov, Simon Nemec, Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, Dan Vladar, Bowen Byram, Brandt Clarke and more signed mid-term deals when they would have been locked down to seven or, more likely, eight-year deals during or immediately following the Flat Cap era.
The biggest factor for this change? The cap is set to increase in such a way that players would be missing out on some big money, more so than those long-term deals signed between 2018 and 2023, if they were to go to max term now.
Unless it’s for a player who is nowhere near established, like Pittsburgh’s Ville Koivunen, or a cultural team-based trend like Ivan Demidov, teams are using the eight-year contracts as a negotiation tactic from now until September 15.
But it’s no longer as attractive a venture as it once was for top NHL players.
The Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes situations are perhaps the best examples of what's to come on the UFA side of things. Both players aren’t expected to go to max deals in their negotiations, opting more likely for short-term or, if lucky, mid-term deals; despite their teams pushing for longer.
“Would the Colorado Avalanche want to get Cale Makar signed to an eight-year deal? Absolutely. That’s something they would love to do, but it’s very unlikely that Cale does that right now. Same for Hughes,” said another NHL source.
“Both signed six-year deals at a time where everyone was signing for eight. They’re the two best defencemen in the game. They can sign short or medium term at upwards of $18M now, and get a final kick at the can at age 30 or 31 for more than what the max salary is today.”
Even sportsbooks like 5Gringos online sportsbook have no idea how it's going to turn out.
When you think of it that way, getting $18M over three or four years, and then potentially signing a longer-term deal in their early 30s over $20M does make sounder financial sense for players look to maximize their short career earnings window.
But then there are still cases of players that would prefer that security, like Drake Batherson in Ottawa. According to Bruce Garrioch, Batherson’s clan is looking for an eight-year deal before the September 16th deadline.
Part of it is the eight-year deal and being able to get that long-term security, but another aspect potentially pushing his clan to seek out a deal now would be the structure of his prospective new deal as well,
The term is only just part of the equation.
The End of the Contract Sweet Spot
For general managers, one of the most valuable tools in building an NHL roster has always been leveraging term. Signing a player in his late 20s or very early 30s to a long-term contract can allow a team to lower the average annual value of the deal by spreading the money over more seasons.
It’s sound logic. A player may be worth $12 million a year when he is 30, but the expectation is that his production will decline as he moves into his mid-to-late 30s. If the team can structure a long-term contract with more money paid while the player is at his peak and less money in the later years, everyone can get something out of the arrangement. The player gets security and guaranteed money, while the team gets a lower cap hit and control of the player for many seasons.
“Front-loading contracts was a normal feature dating back to the start of the salary cap era with those 12 or 13-year contracts we saw,” said an NHL executive. “It either allowed youngsters coming off their entry-level contracts to cash in right away, or get players in their primes paid quickly while getting theme security on the backend.”
The most recent contracts signed by Alex Tuch and Nick Schmaltz provide a good look at how this strategy has worked. Tuch, who was 30 this summer when he signed his eight-year, $84 million contract, carries a $10.5 million cap hit.
But his actual compensation starts at $15.7 million in the first season, falls to $11.775 million in the second, $9.425 million in the third and then settles at $9.42 million for the final five seasons. Schmaltz, also 30 when he signed his eight-year, $64 million deal, carries an $8 million cap hit while earning $10 million in each of the first three seasons, $8 million in the next two and $6 million in each of the final three.
There is an important reason these two contracts are useful examples. They were signed just before the new CBA's contract structure restrictions are set to take effect. They show the type of flexibility that GMs had immediately before the rules changed.
Tuch's deal, for example, has a $15.7 million first season compared with $9.42 million in each of the final five. Schmaltz's contract drops from $10 million at the beginning to $6 million at the end.
That is where the new CBA closes one of the more creative avenues available to NHL front offices: heavily front-loaded deals.
The difference between any two years in a contract is now restricted to 20% of the first year's compensation, while the lowest year cannot be less than 71% of the highest year. In practical terms, a GM can still use long-term contracts to spread out a player's cap hit, but cannot make the salary curve nearly as dramatic.
The old strategy was to pay a player more while he was expected to be at his best and gradually reduce the real salary as he aged. The new rules force the money to remain much more consistent from beginning to end.
That could fundamentally change how GMs approach contract negotiations.
“When someone says Drake Batherson is looking for $10-$11M similar to how Alex Tuch just signed, it also has to do with how that deal was structured. It’s not all about AAV,” said a well-placed Eastern Conference source.
Consider a hypothetical 30-year-old worth $12 million per season on a four-year contract. Under the old thinking, a team might have been able to offer eight years at something closer to $9.5 or $10 million per season, knowing that the player would be earning less during the final years when his performance was expected to decline.
The player gets an extra four years of security, while the team gets a lower cap hit and eight years of control.
Under the new rules, that trade-off still exists, but it is less advantageous to the team because the back half of the contract cannot be discounted as heavily. For the player, front-loading also allows the player to access a significant amount of his contract earnings, if not the majority, earlier.
Long-term contracts remain a powerful tool, but the NHL has taken away much of the financial creativity that made those contracts so attractive in the first place.
But wait, there’s more!6d 
The Hockey NewsThe Hockey News The Hockey News Sitting in the Bell Centre during the Canadiens’ playoff run in mid-May, Xavier Villeneuve found himself paying attention to something beyond the game itself. As the crowd roared and the building shook around him, the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada defenseman tried to imagine what it would feel like to be on the ice rather than watching from the stands.
“Honestly, I was trying to imagine being there on the ice at that moment,” Villeneuve said. “It’s crazy to see there were 21,000 people screaming at you. And honestly, I’m a guy who, the more there is pressure, the more I’m going to perform.”
That answer captures much of what defines Villeneuve as a prospect. Throughout a draft season that included a significant injury, a deep playoff run, the scrutiny that comes with NHL scouting attention and the decision to continue his development at Boston University, the 18-year-old consistently approached challenges with a level-headed perspective that scouts often look for in young defensemen. While his offensive ability has long been evident, the way he handled adversity this season may ultimately become just as important to his NHL projection.
The offensive production alone makes Villeneuve difficult to ignore. After recording 62 points in 61 games during the 2024-25 season, he followed it up with 38 points in 37 games during his draft year despite missing significant time because of injury. He then elevated his play in the postseason, producing 14 points in 17 playoff games while helping lead one of the QMJHL’s strongest teams on a deep run.
Those numbers have long established Villeneuve as one of the more gifted offensive defensemen available in the 2026 draft class. Sportaza online sportsbook had him pegged as a 1st-round pick, along with Elite Prospects, TSN and more.What evaluators have spent the past year trying to determine is how the rest of his game is progressing and how his overall profile projects at higher levels. Villeneuve, for his part, appears well aware of those questions and equally aware that the next phase of his development will be about proving he can answer them.
The biggest challenge Villeneuve faced during his draft season had nothing to do with an opposing forecheck or a difficult matchup. Instead, it was an injury that interrupted his momentum during the most important year of his hockey career and forced him to spend weeks away from game action while NHL teams continued evaluating the draft class.
“It wasn’t easy,” Villeneuve admitted. “Honestly, my game dipped a little. I played about 10 games where I played through my injury. It’s not an excuse. My game wasn’t perfect. But it was part of it.”
The uncertainty proved almost as frustrating as the injury itself. Villeneuve knew he wasn’t playing at the level he expected from himself, but he also didn’t know how long he would be sidelined once he stepped away from the lineup.1mo The Hockey News The Canadiens have made it clear over the past several drafts that they are not simply looking for talent. They are looking for rare combinations of traits.
When the organization selected Gleb Pugachyov with the 26th overall pick, it was not just drafting another big winger. Montreal was betting on one of hockey’s most difficult player types to find: a physically imposing forward who can skate at a high level while possessing legitimate offensive upside.
Montreal had identified Pugachyov as one of the players it hoped would still be available if it kept its late first-round selection. It is believed that the Canadiens had Pugachyov comfortably inside the top 20 on their draft board.
Despite Betting lines like Sportaza online sportsbook had a 75% chance that Kent Hughes would succeed in his trade options involving the pick, the Canadiens’ interest in the Russian winger was genuine.
It is easy to understand why.
At 6-foot-3, Pugachyov already plays a pro-style game. He finishes checks, protects the puck, wins battles along the boards and drives play with his strength. Unlike many power forwards, however, his skating is considered one of his greatest assets, allowing him to pressure defenders, recover quickly and play with pace.
That combination has become increasingly rare in today’s NHL, where teams are constantly searching for players capable of impacting games physically without sacrificing speed.
Whether Pugachyov ultimately develops into a middle-six winger or something more, the Canadiens clearly believe they have added one of the draft’s more intriguing long-term projects.
What Scouts Are Saying
The common thread among scouts is easy to identify: Everyone sees an NHL player. The only real debate is whether Pugachyov tops out as an effective third-line power forward or develops into the type of top-six winger every contender covets.
For NHL.com’s Mike Morreale, the offensive upside is very real.
“He’s a big, strong top-six winger. Smooth skater, good puck protection and can drive play through his size and skill. He backchecks really hard and has the ability to beat defenders one-on-one. Real powerful shot and exhibits natural instincts on the cycle. Good playmaker on the power play, plays big minutes.”
Mark Edwards of Hockey Prospect loved both the player and the fit in Montreal, admitting he was surprised Pugachyov lasted long enough for the Canadiens to select him.
“I thought Montreal would be a great landing spot but didn’t think he would slide out of the top 20. They obviously jumped on him when he got within reach. He is more skilled than given credit for, and it’s so hard to find these hard-hitting guys now. Love the fit. Made me think back to Tom Wilson in his draft year, but I feel like Pug is slightly ahead of Wilson skill-wise at the same stage of their development. I loved the pick. Give him two more years, and he will start creating some havoc and space out there for the Habs’ big guns.”
Anthony Donati of Draft Hockey Pros projects Pugachyov into Montreal’s lineup a little differently, believing the Canadiens’ depth may ultimately dictate his role more than his ability.
“I see him as a third-line right wing on the Habs because they already have everything. But he has real upside and could be a top-six player on another team.”
Several NHL scouts echoed similar sentiments, viewing Pugachyov as a player with one of the safer floors in this year’s draft because of his skating and physical maturity.
One public scout described him as a player who already projects as a valuable NHL contributor while leaving the door open for considerably more.
“Our scouts saw him as a premium third-liner in the NHL. At the 26th pick, that’s a very interesting gamble, considering his physical tools and his skating. If the skills can be further developed, watch out.”
Another evaluator came away impressed not only by Pugachyov’s game but also by the person behind the player.
“He was impressive in the interview we had with him, and he plays with such force that you can feel confident in his floor being an NHL player. But that shot is heavy, and his skating will make him a handful to deal with.”
Others believe the ceiling is even higher.
One NHL source believes Pugachyov has the potential to become the type of player contenders spend years trying to acquire.
“Top-six upside for me, and if he hits his ceiling, he’s the kind of player teams sacrifice good assets to acquire as they try to contend.”
Another NHL scout also referenced Tom Wilson when describing Pugachyov’s development curve while adding another intriguing comparison.
“I see bottom-six potential with upside. Remember, Tom Wilson didn’t have the best offensive metrics in his draft year either. He has the shooting and skating ability to fall somewhere between a Tom Wilson and a Mason Marchment.”1mo The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News For most of his hockey life, Caleb Malhotra has carried a name people recognized before they recognized his game.
The son of longtime NHL center and current Vancouver Canucks head coach Manny Malhotra, he grew up around the sport, around NHL players and coaches, and around the expectations that naturally come with a recognizable hockey surname. Yet as his draft year unfolded, something changed. The conversations surrounding Caleb stopped focusing on who his father was and started focusing on who he had become.
That shift didn’t happen overnight.
A year ago, Malhotra was playing in the BCHL with the Chilliwack Chiefs, producing 26 points in 44 games. Scouts saw a smart two-way center with good size, strong habits and plenty of hockey sense, but few projected the offensive breakout that was about to come.
Malhotra, however, never doubted it.2mo The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News Mathis Preston’s draft year was not a straight line.
Health issues, a significant roster turnover in Spokane, and a midseason trade combined to derail what had once looked like a clear upward trajectory. The production remained solid, but consistency proved difficult to find, and for stretches, so did momentum.
But if the season felt uneven, it did not end that way.
Three weeks removed from the U-18 World Championship, Preston’s performance on the international stage offered a timely reminder of his upside. With 6 points in 5 games, and a more complete game than he showed during parts of the WHL season, he finished his draft year on a strong note and quietly worked his way back into the first-round conversation.
“I think there were a lot of ups and downs this year,” Preston said. “Obviously with the trade and then getting hurt right away, it was challenging. But I think a little adversity never hurts. I’ve always had confidence in myself and my game, so I knew this was a good opportunity for me to kind of showcase myself and just get back to playing my game again.”3mo The Hockey News Maddox Dagenais’ season did not unfold the way many expected, but that may be exactly what makes his trajectory toward the 2026 NHL Draft so compelling. Once viewed primarily as a skilled, high-end forward, the Quebec product reshaped his identity in real time, turning a slow start into a statement finish. In a draft year where projections can shift quickly, his late surge has started to influence both scouting conversations.
What changed was not just production, but approach. Dagenais leaned into a more physical, assertive style that better matched his frame and skill set, evolving into a true power forward presence. That shift has made him far more difficult to contain and far more intriguing to evaluate, especially for teams looking to add size with pace. As his game rounded out, so too did his standing, with his name climbing lists and quietly altering the hockey odds surrounding where he might land come draft day.
Now, with the NHL Combine in Buffalo approaching, Dagenais finds himself in a different position than he was just a few months ago. Confidence, physicality, and consistency have reshaped his profile, turning him into one of the more dynamic risers in the class. If his second half is any indication, both teams and analysts may need to keep adjusting their expectations as his development continues.3mo The Hockey News Wyatt Cullen’s draft year could have quietly slipped away before it ever had the chance to take shape.
Instead, it has turned into one of the most compelling rise stories in the 2026 NHL Draft class.
After missing the opening months of the season with a significant injury, Cullen didn’t just return to form. He rebuilt his game, grew into his body, and delivered his best hockey when it mattered most. By the time he stepped onto the ice at the U-18 World Championships with Team USA, he was no longer chasing relevance. He was commanding it.
Now listed at roughly 6-foot-1 and around 180 pounds after a major growth spurt over the past year, the U.S. National Team Development Program forward has paired physical development with a sharp upward performance curve. His production with the NTDP this season, where he recorded 16 goals and 45 points in 40 games for the U-18s, only tells part of the story.
But his breakout performance at the U-18 World Championships, which saw him record three goals and nine points in 5 games for Team USA, confirmed what scouts had already begun to see down the stretch.
Cullen is not just trending upward. He is accelerating.3mo The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News The Hockey News 
