- NHL informed teams Wednesday the 2026-27 salary cap will jump to a record $104 million
- The $8.5 million increase is the biggest year-to-year jump in cap history
- Read below for the full payroll range, max salary, and what it means for free agency
The NHL just set the bar for next summer’s spending spree.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Wednesday that the league officially informed teams the 2026-27 salary cap will land at $104 million. That’s a jump of $8.5 million from this year’s $95.5 million figure and the biggest single-year increase in cap history.
Friedman shared the full payroll range:
That breaks down to a $76.9 million floor, a $90.4 million midpoint, a $104 million ceiling, and a maximum individual salary of $20.8 million. The max works out to 20 percent of the upper limit, the same formula the league has always used.
This is also the first time the cap has crossed into nine figures since it was introduced in 2005-06. Teams have spent most of the past two decades operating in a tighter window, with year-over-year bumps usually around $4 to $5 million. A jump like this changes the math in a hurry.
The new cap should crank up the noise around this summer’s free-agent class. The market isn’t loaded with stars, but veterans like Buffalo Sabres forward Alex Tuch and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh figure to cash in on the extra spending power.
Down the road, the 2027 UFA class might be the bigger story. Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, and Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes are all set to hit the open market that summer if they don’t sign extensions first. Kucherov recently said he isn’t focused on his next contract while the Lightning are still playing, though the cap math just got a lot more interesting.
Projections tied to the NHL/NHLPA agreement have the cap climbing again to $113.5 million in 2027-28, with more increases expected after that. The flat-cap era is officially in the rearview, and the league’s biggest paydays are still ahead.
