The NHL and NHLPA announced the salary cap range for 2026-27. The new upper limit means a player's salary can be up to $20.8 million, which could be interesting for stars who can sign contract extensions this summer.
The NHL and Players' Association announced the upper salary cap limit in 2026-27 will be $104 million, which means the maximum allowed player salary is more than $20 million.
Tuesday's announcement confirmed what the NHL and NHLPA agreed to in January 2025 as an expectation. The upper limit was expected to be $104 million in 2026-27 and $113.5 million in 2027-28.
The 2026-27 lower limit will be $76.9 million, and the midpoint will be $90.4 million.
The upper limit will be $8.5 million higher than in 2025-26. The floor will rise by $6.3 million.
Since the maximum salary a player can have is 20 percent of the current cap, it would be $20.8 million in 2026-27, as Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported on Wednesday before the announcement.
That would be the first time in the Salary Cap Era that an NHL player could have a salary of more than $20 million.
Although there could have been minor increases or decreases in the salary cap when the NHL and NHLPA agreed to numbers for 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 in January 2025, the predictability led to some huge contracts being signed over the past year.
Minnesota Wild left winger Kirill Kaprizov signed the richest contract in NHL history in terms of total value on Sept. 30, at $136 million over eight years. That's a $17-million cap hit.
Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth $13.5 million annually. As it stands, that will be the third-highest cap hit next season behind Kaprizov's $17 million and Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl's $14 million.
Some elite NHL stars will be eligible to sign a contract extension as of July 1, which makes the new $20.8-million maximum salary even more interesting.
Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Nikita Kucherov, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar and Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes are among those whose contracts expire after the 2026-27 campaign.
Pending RFAs whose contracts expire this off-season include Dallas Stars left winger Jason Robertson and Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard. San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini's entry-level contract runs another year, but he's eligible to sign an extension as of this July.
It's uncertain whether any team would feel these players deserve a salary of at least $20 million as of next season. Considering the maximum salary in 2025-26 is $19.1 million and was $17.6 million in 2024-25, teams have avoided paying the best of the best the maximum salary so far.
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