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, first up are the Blackhawks.
Chicago Blackhawks
Current Cap Hit: $76,837,976 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Nolan Allan (one year, $825K)
F Connor Bedard (one year, $950K)
D Kevin Korchinski (one year, $918.3K)
D Artyom Levshunov (two years, $975K)
F Frank Nazar (one year, $950K)
D Sam Rinzel (two years, $941.7K)
Potential Bonuses
Bedard: $3.5MM
Korchinski: $1MM
Levshunov: $3.25MM
Nazar: $900K
Rinzel: $500K
Total: $9.15MM
Bedard’s second contract has long been a discussion point. Frankly, it was already being speculated about before he even signed his first deal. But while he has led Chicago in scoring in each of his first two NHL seasons, he hasn’t been as dominant as some thought he might be. Still, he’s tracking to be worth $10MM or more on a long-term deal, an amount that could go up if he gets closer to the point-per-game mark this season. However, knowing there are big jumps coming to the cap for at least the next two years, this might be a case where a bridge deal makes sense, setting him up to cash in a couple of years from now when he’s ideally more established as an elite player. A bridge agreement would still likely run past the $7MM mark. He should hit his $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses while the ‘B’ ones are unlikely.
Nazar earned himself a quick recall and never looked back as he got better as the second half of the season went on. He just signed a new deal which we’ll get to later on but for here, some of his four ‘A’ bonuses should be achievable.
Levshunov played enough to officially burn the first year of his deal but not accrue a season toward UFA eligibility, meaning the Blackhawks still have seven seasons of club control. Assuming they push him to play the full NHL season this time around, he should have a chance at a couple of his ‘A’ bonuses and could have him in a position to bypass a bridge deal and sign a long-term contract. It’s a bit early to predict that one but we’ve seen post-ELC contracts for key blueliners push past $8MM in recent years. Rinzel got his feet wet at the NHL level late last season and was quite impressive, putting him in line to have a full-time spot barring a rough training camp. Like Levshunov, it’s too early to predict a deal (he’s only nine games into his pro career) but if he progresses as expected, his second contract could be pricey while his ‘A’ bonuses will be reachable.
Korchinski was a regular with Chicago in his first professional season but spent the bulk of last season with AHL Rockford. He could go back to the IceHogs but if he stays with the Blackhawks, it’s likely to be in a third-pairing role. If that happens, a short-term second contract would make sense for both sides, one that should check in below $2MM. He has four A’ bonuses in his deal but it seems unlikely he’ll reach any unless he plays a bigger role than expected and is quite productive. Allan split time between the NHL and AHL last season as well although he played twice as many NHL games as AHL ones. He had limited minutes when he was in the lineup and projects to have a similar role this season. That has him in line for a bridge contract in the $1.5MM range.
Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level
G Laurent Brossoit ($3.3MM, UFA)
F Jason Dickinson ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Nick Foligno ($4.5MM, UFA)
G Spencer Knight ($4.5MM, RFA)
F Sam Lafferty ($2MM, UFA)
F Ilya Mikheyev ($4.038MM, UFA)*
D Connor Murphy ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Lukas Reichel ($1.2MM, RFA)
D Shea Weber ($7.857MM, UFA)
*-Vancouver is retaining an additional $712.5K on Mikheyev’s deal.
When Chicago re-signed Foligno to a short-term contract, they knew they were likely to be paying a bit of a premium for him. But he wound up playing a fair-sized role while being reasonably productive. He seems like a candidate to be moved by the trade deadline and if he wants to take one last chance at a Stanley Cup when he’s nearing the age of 39, it will need to be a much cheaper deal although some of that can be recovered with some reasonably achievable bonuses. Dickinson was kept at a similar premium and after a couple of decent seasons, last year was a step in the wrong direction as he dealt with injuries while his output was closer to the other years in his career. If he remains that type of player next season, his next deal might be closer to half of this amount.
It wasn’t always pretty for Mikheyev last season but he did put up a 20-goal performance and took a regular turn on the penalty kill, a reasonable showing for someone acquired as a cap dump. It would be surprising to see him beat his current price tag next year but a multi-year agreement in the $3.5MM range wouldn’t be shocking. Lafferty had a particularly rough season with Buffalo last year and a repeat of that performance could have him in PTO territory next summer. Assuming he goes back to the level of previous seasons, a small dip in pay would be more realistic. Reichel seems to be tracking in the wrong direction as his ice time dropped to under 12 minutes a night last season with middling offensive numbers. With him not being UFA-eligible until 2029, another two-year bridge deal might be coming his way, one that would likely check in below $2MM per season if this season is similar to last.
Weber is with his fourth different organization since it was determined that his playing days were over back in 2021. He’s LTIR-eligible but with how far Chicago is below the cap, they shouldn’t need to put him on there. He’ll quietly come off the books next year and that will be that.
Knight was the centerpiece of the Seth Jones trade back around the trade deadline. For a player who was touted as a future starter at the time he was drafted, he has less than 100 NHL appearances over parts of six seasons. Still, he showed last season that he could still be on that trajectory. He isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028 so another short-term deal is possible, one that should check in a little above his current price tag. Meanwhile, a long-term agreement likely pushes past $6MM per season. Brossoit didn’t play at all last season due to a knee injury. Assuming he’s cleared for this year, he might have to start in the minors which wouldn’t bode well for his future earnings. But if he’s able to stay healthy in the minors, he could still surpass the $1MM mark on a one-year deal next summer. If he’s up in the NHL and fares well, something a little less than this might be doable.
Signed Through 2026-27
F Andre Burakovsky ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Louis Crevier ($900K, RFA)
F Landon Slaggert ($900K, RFA)
G Arvid Soderblom ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Teuvo Teravainen ($5.4MM, UFA)
Burakovsky was acquired from Seattle in a cap-clearing move this summer. He isn’t the 61-point forward he was a few years ago with Colorado but they’ll be counting on him to be a floor-raiser in the middle six. That’s a fair bit of money for someone in that role but they’re clearly comfortable paying it. Teravainen was brought in to be a floor-raiser himself last summer and was one of the team’s top point-getters. They have to be pleased with how the first year went and if Teravainen can stay around the same point total, he could probably land another three-year pact in this price range. Slaggert has been up and down since turning pro but the one-way nature suggests he might be eyed as a regular in Chicago this season, albeit in a limited role. If he can stick as even a fourth liner, arbitration eligibility could give him a shot at doubling this in 2027.
Crevier has shown some promise in his limited time on the third pairing over the past two seasons and his size (six-foot-eight) is something that few blueliners possess. He may ultimately be someone with limited overall upside but if he can carve out a niche as a physical penalty killer and hold his own on the third pairing, he can carve out a reasonable career for himself. If he does that over the next couple of years, he could land closer to the $2.5MM mark.
Soderblom bounced back relatively well last season after a 2023-24 campaign that was nothing short of a disaster. Even though the overall numbers weren’t great (he didn’t have the greatest of teams in front of him, after all), Chicago saw fit to give him a longer look. He should have the inside track on the backup spot over Brossoit and will need to take another step forward if he wants a shot at beating this contract two years from now.
