The NHL announced a spike in the salary cap ceiling for the next three years. And big-spending teams should be hugely relieved.
The NHL announced a spike in the salary cap ceiling for the next three years. And big-spending teams should be hugely relieved.
The NHL and NHL Players' Association announced Friday the approximate financial numbers for the league’s salary cap in the next three seasons. And the new salary cap ceiling numbers will provide considerable relief for teams that are up against the upper cap limit and that will be in that position for the foreseeable future.
The league’s current cap ceiling of $88 million is projected to rise to $95.5 million in 2025-26, then to $104 million in 2026-27, and finally, to $113.5 million in 2027-28. That’s a total increase of $25.5 million – and that’s manna from heaven to NHL GMs trying to put as much talent on their roster as possible. And particular franchises are breathing a huge sigh of relief with this cap ceiling announcement.
The NHL’s big-money teams that always spend to the cap limit will welcome this news. The Toronto Maple Leafs, for instance, have been worried about keeping their core of elite talent intact, and they were possibly going to be forced to break up the ‘Core Four’ of Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner and William Nylander this summer.
It’ll still be difficult to pay Marner and Tavares their market costs when they become UFAs at the end of this season, but with an extra $7.5 million to spend next season – and with evolving star winger Matthew Knies scheduled to be an RFA next year – they’re going to have more wiggle room to not only keep the current group together but potentially, to add another veteran player or two to augment the core.
Other teams that are tight to the cap are also very much relieved to hear Friday’s news.
In Manhattan, the Rangers always spend to the cap ceiling, and you’d better believe they’ll be using every penny of the increased cap limit to remain in the thick of things when it comes to free agency and trades.
The Rangers already have $76.8-million locked up in cap space for next season, and they have a slew of RFAs to pay – most notably, defenseman K’Andre Miller. Every dollar counts, and the Rangers are going to need it to stay competitive.
Meanwhile, the Oilers have $74 million in cap space locked up for next season, and they still have to give star defenseman and pending RFA Evan Bouchard a new deal.
And when superstar Connor McDavid needs a raise from his current salary of $12.5 million when he becomes a UFA in the summer of 2026, Edmonton will have to make him the highest-paid player in the game, because there’s no question many teams would be willing to do that for McDavid. It's going to be tight for them, but this new cap ceiling will be very helpful to ice a strong lineup.
In Denver, the Avalanche just cleared out a ton of cap space in the blockbuster Mikko Rantanen trade, and even if they give Martin Necas a good bump in pay from his current salary of $6.5 million, the Avs will eventually have a ton of cap space to use on new acquisitions. Superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are already locked in until at least 2027, but for next season, they're already committed to $87.3 million, so that extra $8.2 million will be a lifesaver.
Finally, the Florida Panthers have $72.5 million in contracts for next season, and they’ve got star defenseman Aaron Ekblad and star winger Sam Bennett both scheduled as UFAs this summer. For argument’s sake, let’s say Florida pays Ekblad $8-9-million on an extension, and Bennett gets a new deal in the $6-7-million range. That’s $14-16-million on top of the Panthers’ current deals with players, and that means they’re going to have to fill out their roster with the $6-or-$7-million or so that’s left over. Quite the challenge.
Most, if not all teams will welcome the cap increase, but some franchises need it more than others. It’s good news all around, and while a new collective bargaining agreement has to be hashed out in 2026, it’s safe to say that business is quite good at the moment, and a lockout or strike won’t be on the horizon.
The next few years are part of a record boom for the league, and the players and team owners are going to be overjoyed to split up a far bigger financial pot than they have right now. And teams will breathe the biggest sigh of relief when that extra cash becomes available.
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