Logan Cooley finished outside the top 65 in NHL scoring last season, with 25 goals and 65 points in 75 games.
But according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli, the Utah Mammoth center turned down an eight-year contract extension that would have given him the 19th-highest cap hit in 2026-27 at $9.6 million.
Greedy? Perhaps.
But if he is, Cooley is not alone.
Ever since the salary cap went from $88 million last season to $95.5 million this year — it is expected to rise to $113.5 million in 2027-28 — NHLers are demanding more and more money than ever before, and possibly more than they actually deserve.
Last week, Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov signed an eight-year, $136-million extension that gave him the richest contract in NHL history, despite never being a top-three finalist for either the Art Ross, Rocket Richard or Hart Trophies. That same week, New Jersey defenseman Luke Hughes signed a seven-year contract that carried the same cap hit as two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar.
NHL, NHLPA To Increase Salary Cap Significantly Over Next Three Seasons
On top of the NHL salary cap's upper limit increasing to $95.5 million next season, the cap is expected to jump to $104 million and $113.5 million in the following two seasons.
In some ways, this is great for a league that is still far behind the NBA, NFL and MLB in regard to compensation for star players. If you are the NHLPA, then you want players to maximize their earning potential and pull up salaries for the rest of the league.
On the flip side, teams better be careful when writing cheques.
Just because the cap is rising does not mean there is an endless supply of money. If star players are going to earn more, then it ultimately means less to spend on depth players. As we saw with the Florida Panthers, which didn't have anyone making more than $10 million last year, those depth players are essential to winning a championship.
Which brings us to Cooley and the Mammoth.
According to capwages.com, only nine teams have spent less under the cap than Utah. Of those, only Carolina qualified for the playoffs last season. While you need to spend to have success, you also need to be smart with your money.
Cooley is currently on an entry-level contract that pays him $950,000. If he had received $9.6 million in annual salary, he would have been the highest-paid forward on the team by nearly $2 million.
How Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 Million Per Year Extension Impacts Maple Leafs’ Future Signings
It was just a matter of time until a talented player would reset the market, but few expected it to be Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov. The Russian star signed an eight-year, $136 million contract on Tuesday. The deal, which takes effect at the beginning of the 2026-27 season, sees the player earn $17 million in Average Annual Value (AAV) per season.
At his age and potential, maybe he would have proven this season that he deserves that kind of money. With the cap continuing to go up, maybe by Year 3 or 4, the deal would have looked like a bargain — at least from Utah's standpoint.
That's the challenge right now. NHLers are signing contracts based on the future rather than the present. They're projecting not only what the salary cap will look like a few years from now, but also what they're point totals will look like as well.
The question is how much is enough, and how long before a player fails to live up to his salary.
Cooley is 21 and has played in 157 games. Hughes has played in 155 games. We want to believe that they will continue to improve and will one day be elite franchise players. We want to think they are due for a breakout. But at the same time, they could also be due for a setback.
After all, we've been saying the same thing about the Rangers' Alexis Lafreniere, Kings' Quinton Byfield and Seattle's Matty Beniers, who are also young-ish top draft picks who are a year away from breaking out.
In reality, not everyone pans out. Not everyone becomes elite. And not everyone is worth $9.6 million.
Even though the cap is rising, teams still need to make smart decisions. And they still need to pay players what they are worth — not what they could be worth.
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