Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2025-26 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Central Division, next up are the Predators.
Nashville Predators
Current Cap Hit: $86,158,961 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Zachary L’Heureux (one year, $863.3K)
F Fedor Svechkov (one year, $925K)
F Matthew Wood (two years, $950K)
Potential Bonuses
Svechkov: $212.5K
Wood: $500K
Total: $712.5K
Wood signed late last season after finishing up his college campaign and held his own in limited action. Assuming he remains in his bottom-six role to start this year, it seems unlikely he’ll hit either of his ‘A’ bonuses and that would have him safely on the path to a bridge deal. Svechkov came up in late November and never looked back although his production was rather limited. It seems likely he’ll get a bigger opportunity this season which could give him an outside chance at his ‘A’ bonus. But barring a huge uptick in production, he’s also likely heading for a bridge deal, one that should push past the $2MM mark if he remains a regular this season.
L’Heureux spent most of the season with the Predators where he brought plenty of physicality but not a ton of production to the table, understandable given his limited role. Like the others, the offense simply isn’t there to justify a long-term deal so he’s also heading for a bridge deal, one that again should come in around $2MM if this season is a repeat of last.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
G Justus Annunen ($837.5K, RFA)
D Justin Barron ($1.15MM, RFA)
D Nick Blankenburg ($775K, UFA)
F Michael Bunting ($4.5MM, UFA)
D Andreas Englund ($775K, UFA)
F Erik Haula ($3.15MM, UFA)
F Michael McCarron ($900K, UFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($775K, UFA)
F Cole Smith ($1MM, UFA)
D Spencer Stastney ($825K, RFA)
Bunting was brought in near the trade deadline with GM Barry Trotz opting for a player-for-player swap instead of being a straight seller. He hasn’t had the same type of success offensively since leaving Toronto and will need to push that point total more toward the mid-40s if he wants any sort of notable raise. Otherwise, another contract in this range seems likely. Haula came over from New Jersey this summer following a tough year although he’s averaged 40 points over the previous three seasons. If he gets back to that range, he should be able to get a raise and another multi-year pact, even at 35, which he’ll be in March. If this winds up being a repeat of last season, he might still be able to get two years but it’d be surprising to see him match let alone beat this price tag.
Smith saw his point total drop by nearly half last season despite nearly identical playing time. Still, he’s a big part of their penalty kill and throws the body around. A late-bloomer (he wasn’t a regular until 27), Smith has enough of a track record now that he could conceivably double his current price tag even with the limited output. McCarron hasn’t lived up to his draft billing but has settled in as a serviceable bottom-six checking center who is above-average at the faceoff dot and plays with an edge. Those elements will be appealing which could plausibly allow him to push past $2MM next summer.
Barron was acquired from Montreal midseason in another player-for-player swap, this time with veteran Alexandre Carrier going the other way. While the change of scenery allowed Barron to play a much bigger role, he didn’t do a whole lot with it. Still, he’s likely to push past the 200-game mark this coming season and will have arbitration eligibility this time around with a $1.2MM qualifying offer. Doubling that might be tough but he could come close.
The other four blueliners are all in a similar boat. They’ve been fringe third-pairing defenders in recent years while also seeing time in the minors. Two or three will make the team and if one stands out, he could push past $1MM next summer. The rest will likely stay at the league minimum salary which jumps to $850K in 2026-27. Notably, Stastney will need to play in at least 29 NHL games this season to retain his RFA rights. Otherwise, he’ll become a Group Six unrestricted free agent.
Annunen played a little better after coming over in an early-season trade from Colorado but his numbers were still below average. Just 25 with a fairly limited track record at the top level, it’s not a situation where Nashville should be looking to give up on him but he hasn’t shown enough to earn a long-term pact either. He has one RFA-eligible year left after this and the prudent move for both sides might be another two-year deal, one that would push the price to around $1.5MM, giving him a bit of stability while allowing the team a bit more time to evaluate his longer-term fit as the second-string option. If he bounces back with more of an NHL-average year, the cost could come closer to $2MM on that deal.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Nicklaus Perbix ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Ryan O’Reilly ($4.5MM, UFA)
As was the case with most of their veterans last season, O’Reilly underachieved offensively but he was still a two-way contributor. Between that and his contract, he was highly sought after at the trade deadline but nothing materialized. Even with the drop in production, this is a more than acceptable price tag for O’Reilly for now but at 34 with a lot of miles on him, that could change. Assuming he stays in this range a little longer, he could still beat this on a short-term deal two years from now.
Perbix comes over from Tampa Bay where he saw his playing time drop by more than two minutes a game last season. However, he has shown himself to be a capable third-pairing option, with some underlying numbers suggesting he could be capable of more. This contract suggested teams weren’t willing to bank on that just yet but if he can latch on to a bigger role, his next deal could land closer to the $3.75MM mark. If not, this is a reasonable floor for a third-pairing right-shot piece.
Signed Through 2027-28
D Roman Josi ($9.059MM, UFA)
F Steven Stamkos ($8MM, UFA)
Stamkos leaving the Lightning last summer was quite a surprise for many but his performance last season suggests Tampa Bay was wise to hold firm to their number which was lower than what Stamkos wanted. While 53 points is still respectable, that’s not worthy of an $8MM price tag and at 35, there is some concern that the decline will continue. If so, this could be a troublesome contract before long while a rebound would only delay those concerns a little longer.
When healthy, Josi remains a legitimate all-situations number one defenseman. And this price tag for that type of role is a team-friendly one. However, Josi missed a big chunk of last season with what was eventually labelled as Postural Tachycardia Syndrome and while the team announced that he is recovering well and should be ready to start this season, it’s something that doesn’t have a cure, only treatments. Now 35, a decline in performance should be coming at some point soon and there could be some lingering concern from his diagnosis. With that in mind, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team try to manage Josi’s minutes a bit more moving forward, perhaps not having him in that high-end number one role.
Signed Through 2028-29
D Nicolas Hague ($5.5MM, UFA)
F Jonathan Marchessault ($5.5MM, UFA)
While Marchessault also saw his point total drop, he still finished second in the team in scoring with 56 points, near his average from the previous few seasons so it’s not too bad of a deal so far. Still, he turns 35 in December and has four years left which isn’t ideal and played a role in trade speculation over the summer although a move never materialized. As is the case with Stamkos and Josi earlier, this might be their last contracts.
Hague might have been one of the biggest surprise moves of the offseason. Nashville dealt two serviceable veterans in Colton Sissons (with salary retention) and Jeremy Lauzon to Vegas to get him and then signed him to a contract that no one saw coming. In his time with the Golden Knights, Hague has been a capable fifth option who can move up a spot in a pinch. Now, he’s being paid like a 20-plus-minute number three defender, a role he’s never had before. The Preds clearly feel he can get to that level but this deal is a big question mark in the meantime.
Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer
F Filip Forsberg ($8.5MM through 2029-30)
G Juuse Saros ($7.74MM through 2032-33)
D Brady Skjei ($7MM through 2030-31)
Forsberg didn’t get back to the 90-point level a year ago but still managed 35 goals and 41 assists. In this marketplace, that’s at least still fair-market value. Assuming some of the other veteran contributors can rebound, he should be able to stay around that point total for a few more seasons, making it a deal that should hold up relatively well overall.
That can’t be said for Skjei’s contract just yet, however. His first season with Nashville saw him struggle when asked to take on a bigger role and while his offensive production was still decent, his defensive zone play was an issue. That’s not good for someone who was supposed to be a key contributor defensively. Another season or two like that could have the Predators looking to get out of the deal fairly quickly.
Saros only starts his deal now after signing an early extension last summer which, in hindsight, might not have been the way to go for the Preds. Like most of the team, he struggled considerably last season, posting the highest GAA (2.98) and the lowest SV% (.895) of his career. His track record suggests he should bounce back and if he does, this will be a fair-market contract. But if not, this will be an anchor on their books for the long haul.
Still To Sign
With a pair of 30-plus-point seasons under his belt already, Evangelista has shown he can be a capable secondary contributor but at the same time, he isn’t a viable candidate for a long-term deal either. With a bridge deal probably making sense for both sides, it’s a bit surprising that they haven’t gotten a deal done yet. The recent three-year deal Calgary gave Connor Zary worth $3.775MM per season could become an intriguing comparable in negotiations.
Buyouts
F Matt Duchene ($6.556MM in 2025-26, $1.556MM from 2026-27 through 2028-29)
F Kyle Turris ($2MM through 2027-28)
Retained Salary Transactions
D Mattias Ekholm ($250K in 2025-26)
F Colton Sissons ($1.429MM in 2025-26)
Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty
None
Best Value: (non-entry-level) O’Reilly
Worst Value: Hague
Looking Ahead
Even after they sign Evangelista, the Predators should have between $6MM and $7MM of cap space heading into the season which is plenty to work with. If they rebound and get back into playoff contention, they’ll have ample room to add. On the flip side, if they sell, one concern is that two of their three retention slots are already gone, meaning they can only pay down one of their potential trade candidates. That’s not the most ideal situation to be in.
The good news is that things look up beyond this season. Those retentions will be off the books, as is another $5MM from Duchene’s buyout charge. Those, coupled with their expiring deals, give Trotz around $40MM to work with next summer. Even with the high-priced spending from last summer, the Predators are well-positioned to try to make another splash or two over the next couple of years.
Photos courtesy of Jerome Miron and Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.