- PuckPedia has Florida at $103,965,714 against a $104 million ceiling for 2026-27
- Brady Tkachuk’s $8.2 million cap hit is the biggest reason the sheet is this tight
- Read below for what Bill Zito can still do and why next summer is the harder problem
Florida has $34,286 in cap space. That is the whole cushion.
PuckPedia has the Panthers carrying $103,965,714 against a $104 million upper limit for 2026-27. There is not enough left over to add one player at the league minimum.
Blame the June blockbuster. Ottawa sent Brady Tkachuk to Florida, and the league could not get over the brothers landing on the same roster:
The price was three first-round picks and a second, and Tkachuk’s $8,205,714 cap hit dropped onto a roster that was already close to full. PuckPedia laid out the terms that night:
Minutes later the same account pegged Florida at $7.1 million in space with 19 active players signed. Bill Zito spent nearly all of it before camp:
Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid arrived to form a new goalie tandem. Garnet Hathaway came over from Philadelphia with the Flyers retaining $1.2 million, replacing some of the grit that walked when A.J. Greer signed in Anaheim.
Two smaller line items eat at the margin. Florida carries $150,000 in dead cap from a bonus carryover penalty, and Lars Eller has $250,000 in bonuses he is likely to hit.
Next summer is the harder one. Pro Hockey Rumors projects $9,734,286 in room for 2027-28 with 20 players signed, and Tkachuk reaches unrestricted free agency that July. A power winger with his resume clears $12 million on the open market without much trouble.
Dmitry Kulikov, Uvis Balinskis, Jonah Gadjovich, Cole Schwindt, Markstrom and Schmid all come off the books in the same offseason. Eetu Luostarinen’s cap hit also climbs from $3 million to $5 million. That $9.73 million goes quickly.
Detroit is sitting on $19,572,084 and still does not have a general manager. Zito has a finished roster and $34,286.
