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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins

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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 Atlantic Division, first up are the Bruins.

Boston Bruins

Current Cap Hit: $93,323,333 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Fraser Minten (two years, $816.7K)

Minten was brought in last season at the trade deadline as part of the return for Brandon Carlo.  While his ceiling might not be overly high, he’s viewed as a potential third-line middleman and those players can carry some value.  If he can establish himself as a full-timer over the next two seasons, a bridge deal should surpass the $2MM mark while a longer-term pact – if warranted – could run closer to the $5MM territory.  Given that it’s risky to sign lower-scoring players to long-term deals, a bridge deal feels like the most probable outcome at this time.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Viktor Arvidsson ($4MM, UFA)
F John Beecher ($900K, RFA)
D Jordan Harris ($825K, RFA)
D Andrew Peeke ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Jeffrey Viel ($775K, UFA)

Arvidsson was Boston’s biggest splash of the summer in terms of trying to add some extra scoring help to their roster, acquiring him from Edmonton in what amounted to a cap dump from the Oilers.  Despite that, he’s only a couple of years removed from a 59-point campaign but he has managed just 42 points in 85 games since then.  That’s still respectable production but he’ll need to bounce back a bit if he wants to get a raise next summer.  Otherwise, another short-term contract in this price range should be doable.

Beecher was a regular last season but didn’t produce much, notching just 11 points in 78 games while mostly playing on the fourth line.  That led to this deal, one that came in just above his qualifying offer.  Assuming his role is similar this season, arbitration rights should push him a little past his qualifying offer but it’s likely to be just over the $1MM mark.  Viel has seen very limited NHL action in recent seasons and is likely to remain at or near the minimum moving forward.

Peeke had a decent first full season with the Bruins.  While he wasn’t a full-time top-four player as he was at times in Columbus a few years back, he did spend a bit of time there while stabilizing the third pairing at others.  Right-shot blueliners are hard to come by so even if he stays at this level moving forward, another multi-year deal and an increase into the $3.5MM territory is attainable.  Harris took a cheap contract after being non-tendered by Columbus in June and appears to be their seventh defenseman to start the season.  Given his track record with Montreal in the past, he seems like a strong non-tender candidate for next summer, simply to avoid giving him arbitration rights.  Meanwhile, unless he can play somewhat of a regular role, he’s likely to stay close to the minimum salary as well.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Mikey Eyssimont ($1.45MM, UFA)
F Marat Khusnutdinov ($925K, RFA)
F Sean Kuraly ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Mason Lohrei ($3.2MM, RFA)
F Casey Mittelstadt ($5.8MM, UFA)
F Pavel Zacha ($4.75MM, UFA)

It has been an eventful couple of years for Mittelstadt.  The Sabres decided to move him for Bowen Byram at the 2024 deadline in a swap of younger core pieces.  Colorado then inked him to this deal, feeling he could be their longer-term solution as their second center.  However, he struggled with them, leading to this move to the Bruins back in March.  Still just 26, Mittelstadt is young enough to still potentially be an impact player offensively and has two seasons of more than 55 points under his belt.  If he can get back to even that level, a jump past $7MM per season is reasonable.  However, if his struggles continue, not only will he likely be on the move again within these next couple of years but he’ll also potentially be looking at a dip in salary.

Zacha was the focus of some trade speculation this summer after a dip in production from 59 to 47 points last season.  Still, that’s decent second-line production from a position that’s always in high demand.  Even if 47 is the new range for his output moving forward, Zacha should be in a spot to get a raise past the $5MM mark and a long-term agreement in 2027.  Kuraly is back for a second stint in Boston after signing with them this summer.  He has been a solid fourth liner for most of his career but this price tag provides a reasonable reference point for what his next contract should be; unless he can lock down a bigger role between now and then, it’s going to be hard for him to beat this by any sort of significant margin.

Eyssimont was also brought in via the open market in July with a deal that is his personal best.  A little younger than Kuraly, there could be a bit more earnings upside for him as he only has a couple of full-time NHL seasons under his belt so far.  That said, given that he’s a winger instead of a center, the ceiling for him might check in around the $2MM mark.  Khusnutdinov was brought in from Minnesota last season with Boston hoping that a fresh start could unlock some of the offensive potential he showed in Russia.  He’ll need to show it on this contract as he’s not a prototypical fit in a bottom-six role; if the production doesn’t improve between now and the 2027 offseason, he becomes a non-tender candidate.

Lohrei wound up playing a much bigger role than expected last season due to injuries and showed lots of offensive upside but some defensive warts as well, making a bridge deal like this one the inevitable outcome.  If he can build off that and clean up some of his in-zone concerns, a long-term contract could wind up doubling this price tag.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Henri Jokiharju ($3MM, UFA)
F Mark Kastelic ($1.567MM, UFA)
G Joonas Korpisalo ($3MM, UFA)*

*-Ottawa is paying an additional $1MM per season on Korpisalo’s deal.

Kastelic came to Boston as part of the trade that netted the Sens Linus Ullmark.  He was supposed to simply be a depth fourth liner for the Bruins but wound up playing a few extra minutes per game while being their leading hitter among forwards, earning him this extension in-season.  While this is more than a lot of fourth liners make, the fact he’s a center who wins faceoffs at an above-average clip also helped his value.  That said, given his offensive limitations, there’s going to be cap on his earnings upside that’s pretty close to this.

Jokiharju was added at the trade deadline to see how he might fit in with this group and the early returns were positive enough to land him this contract just before free agency opened.  Still just 26, he has shown flashes of top-four upside but consistency has been an issue.  If he can become a steady 18-20-minute player, he could see a pretty big jump on his next deal, especially as a coveted right-shot player.

After a rough year in Ottawa, Korpisalo was also in the Ullmark trade last year.  His first year with the Bruins was a bit better although his overall numbers were still a little below league average.  Even with the Senators paying down part of his deal, he’s on the pricier side for a backup without above-average play.  He’ll need to turn things around if he’s going to have any shot at a raise on his next contract.

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East Notes: Glendening, Senators, Sabres, George

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While Luke Glendening didn’t land on the season-opening roster for the Devils, that shouldn’t be interpreted as him not having made the team.  Per team reporter Amanda Stein (Twitter link), head coach Sheldon Keefe indicated that the veteran is expected to sign with the team before they depart on their season-opening road trip which begins Thursday in Carolina.  New Jersey has set up their roster for an in-season LTIR placement which should come as soon as Tuesday, opening up the cap room at that time to sign Glendening.  The 36-year-old had just seven points in 77 games with Tampa Bay last season but won 57% of his draws, making him a serviceable specialist on the fourth line.

Elsewhere in the East:

  • While the Senators placed winger Drake Batherson and defenseman Tyler Kleven on injured reserve today, neither have been ruled out for Thursday’s season opener, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Their IR placements were back-dated to when they were injured in training camp, meaning they technically have already served the required seven days.  Both players skated for about 45 minutes today but haven’t been cleared to return just yet.
  • Sabres winger Zach Benson (undisclosed) and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (upper body) returned to practice today as they work their way back from their respective injuries. Neither has been ruled out of Thursday’s season opener.  Meanwhile, winger Jordan Greenway (mid-body) and defenseman Owen Power (strain) skated on their own today.  Unlike Benson and Samuelsson, they’re not on the active roster as they were among the long list of players that landed on injured reserve today.  At this point, their availabilities for Thursday appear to be in question.
  • Despite playing in 33 games with the Islanders last season, Isaiah George was sent to the minors today. Speaking with reporters (video link), GM Mathieu Darche indicated that the 21-year-old had a strong camp but the decision was made to prioritize playing time, something he’ll get a lot of with Bridgeport but wouldn’t have received in New York as the eighth defender on the depth chart.

Mammoth Sign Kevin Rooney To One-Year Contract

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While Kevin Rooney’s tryout with the Devils didn’t lead to a contract with them, it helped lead to a contract elsewhere.  The Mammoth announced that they’ve signed the forward to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $775K at the NHL while PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that the AHL portion carries a $325K salary.

The 32-year-old has seen NHL action in each of the last nine seasons, the last three of which came with Calgary.  Last season, Rooney got into a career-best 70 games with the Flames, collecting five goals and five assists, while winning a little over 47% of his faceoffs and recording 109 hits on their fourth line.  For his career, he has 32 goals and 28 helpers in 330 career contests.

Rooney has also gotten into 242 career AHL contests over the years, spending time with both New Jersey’s and Calgary’s farm teams.  In those appearances, he has fared a lot better offensively, picking up 34 goals and 59 assists.  However, he hasn’t played regularly in the minors since 2022-23 when he got into 51 games with AHL Calgary.

Utah’s season-opening roster contained the maximum of 23 players.  Accordingly, they will either need to make a roster move to accommodate adding Rooney to their active roster where he’d likely serve as the 13th forward or Rooney will receive a non-roster designation and land on waivers on Tuesday to start the process of sending him to the minors.  Considering he went into camp with New Jersey without a guaranteed deal and accepted a two-way pact from the Mammoth, it would seem like there’s a good chance that Rooney would be claimed if Utah chooses to go the latter route with him.

Pacific Notes: Walman, Laferriere, Burroughs, Blueger

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While it was a good day off the ice today for Jake Walman with a seven-year extension in-hand, the on-ice news isn’t as good.  Team reporter Tony Brar relays (Twitter link) that the blueliner has suffered a setback in recovering from an undisclosed injury that has kept him out for most of the preseason.  Instead of being expected to suit up on Wednesday against Calgary, he is now listed as questionable.  The 29-year-old logged over 20 minutes a game both down and in the playoffs for the Oilers and is likely to play a similar top-four role this season; it just might take a little longer before his 2025-26 campaign actually gets underway.

More from the Pacific:

  • Initially concerned about his availability for opening night, the Kings now believe winger Alex Laferriere will be able to go. Eric Stephens of The Athletic notes (Twitter link) that the 23-year-old was on his usual line in practice, not long after head coach Jim Hiller expressed some doubt that he’d be available to play on Tuesday.  Laferriere is coming off a strong sophomore season that saw him notch 42 points in 77 games, earning him a three-year, $12.3MM contract this summer.
  • Still with the Kings, the team announced that they’ve placed defenseman Kyle Burroughs on injured reserve. The 30-year-old suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s preseason game against Utah.  Burroughs had a sparing role last season, appearing in just 33 games where he logged less than eight minutes per night.  For comparison, he averaged 19:09 in 2023-24 in San Jose.
  • Canucks center Teddy Blueger is ‘dinged up’, according to Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. Assistant coach Scott Young noted that the next few days will determine if he’s ultimately able to suit up in Thursday’s season opener.  The 31-year-old had 26 points and a career-high 104 hits in 82 games with Vancouver last season.

Snapshots: York, Chara, Warf

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The Philadelphia Flyers will be without Cam York to open their season, as the team announced he will begin the season on injured reserve. PHLY’s Charlie O’Connor reports York “has a lower-body issue” and while the Flyers see it as a day-to-day injury, York’s ailment has kept defenseman Dennis Gilbert on their season-opening roster. Gilbert was placed on waivers on Oct. 4 and cleared, but will now avoid reassignment back to the AHL while York recovers.

Remaining on the NHL roster despite clearing waivers has a negligible effect on Gilbert’s earnings. As he’s signed to a one-way contract, he’s owed his $850K salary regardless of which level he plays at. With that said, NHL players’ earnings are subject to escrow, while AHL players’ are not, meaning staying on the roster may actually (technically) cost Gilbert a marginal amount of money compared to what he would pocket if he was reassigned to the AHL. There are other factors to consider, such as pension credit received for every 20 games spent on an NHL roster and the additional practice time he’ll have to impress NHL coaches, that make this a valuable opportunity for Gilbert, even if it does come at the unfortunate cost of a day-to-day injury to York.

Some other notes from around the NHL:

  • The Boston Bruins announced today that former captain and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Zdeno Chara will see his number retired and raised to the rafters of TD Garden this season. Chara ranks third all-time in scoring by a Bruins defenseman, behind only legendary blueliners Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque. “Big Z” won the Norris Trophy in 2008-09 and also played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, and Washington Capitals across his 1,680-game NHL career.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that team president Doug Warf has resigned after a little over one year in his position. Warf, who oversaw all business operations for the Hurricanes and their arena, Lenovo Center, was officially announced as the team’s president in July of last year. Warf re-joined the Hurricanes in that post after previously working for the team from 2000-2017, according to the team’s press release. Regarding the news, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reported that Warf’s resignation can be traced to “a difference in alignment” between himself and team owner Tom Dundon.

Lightning’s Scott Sabourin Suspended Four Games, J.J. Moser Suspended Two Games

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10/6/25 5:35 PM: The NHL has also issued punishments to the Lightning organization and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper “for their actions culminating in the events” of Saturday’s contest, according to an official announcement.

The Lightning have been fined $100K, while Cooper himself has been fined $25K. Both fines were levied by the NHL’s Hockey Operations department and will go to charitable causes.

10/6/25 5:15 PM: Tampa Bay Lightning forward Scott Sabourin has been suspended four games for roughing committed against Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced today.

The play in question happened early in the Lightning’s preseason game Saturday in Florida. Sabourin delivered a clean check on Ekblad behind the net, but then after the check he, as the Department of Player Safety termed it in their ruling video, “delivered an un-gloved sucker punch to the head” of Ekblad. They noted a few key aspects that prompted such a significant suspension, which has been levied on top of the game misconduct Sabourin was already assessed.

Firstly, the Department of Player Safety noted that Sabourin delivered “a forceful, ungloved punch directly to Ekblad’s face.” They also took into account the previous history between the two clubs and the situation of the game to come to the conclusion that Sabourin’s actions were “intentional” and done “for the purpose of retribution and message-sending.”

Sabourin’s suspension is notable because he is not a full-time NHL player. Since the start of the 2022-23 season, Sabourin has played in just four NHL games and was originally reassigned to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, on Oct. 1 before he was called up on Oct. 4 for the team’s preseason contest against the Panthers.

Since he is likely to be back in Syracuse to begin the season – and for an indefinite period moving forward – this suspension will likely not have a short-term impact on Sabourin’s ability to dress for games. This four-game suspension does not apply in the AHL, meaning Sabourin must be on an NHL roster for four games in order for the suspension to be considered served.

Seeing as Sabourin has just four NHL games played over the last two seasons, it’s entirely possible that the 33-year-old AHL bruiser could face a long wait until his NHL game.

This is not Sabourin’s first time receiving supplemental discipline in his professional career, though it is his first NHL suspension. In 2020, he was fined $1.9K for unsportsmanlike conduct when he squirted an opposing player with a water bottle from the bench. In the AHL, Sabourin also has some disciplinary history: he was assessed an automatic one-game suspension after receiving an instigator penalty in 2017, suspended one game in 2021, and three games in 2024.

Sabourin is not the only Lightning player who is set to miss time due to conduct stemming from the same game. Defenseman J.J. Moser also had a hearing today with the Department of Player Safety, and was levied a two-game suspension. In Moser’s case, he has earned this suspension for boarding Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist. He was, like Sabourin, also assessed a game misconduct for the play.

The play in question occurred late in the first period, when Boqvist went to retrieve a puck in the offensive zone. Moser closed in on the Panthers forward and delivered a hit that the Department of Player Safety said drove “a defenseless Boqvist dangerously into the wall.”

The Department noted that the play was not a result of a sudden movement by Boqvist that changed a would-be legal body check into an illegal one – instead they noted that there was a level of intentionality from Moser in the play. Moser has not been fined or suspended thusfar in his NHL career, which alongside the nature of the play itself may have contributed in his lighter suspension compared to Sabourin.

Photo courtesy of Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Minor Transactions: 10/6/25

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The deadline for NHL clubs to ready their opening-night rosters has passed, and as a result there has been quite a bit of roster maneuvering around the NHL today. While some moves are more notable, such as the handful of waiver claims made today, there are a few moves that are more minor, such as expected reassignments or previously reported injuries being made official with IR placements. We’ll keep track of those moves here:

  • In preparing their final opening-night roster that can be viewed here, the Utah Mammoth reassigned a pair of first-round picks. 2023 12th overall pick Daniil But was reassigned to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, which is where he will begin his North American professional career. Meanwhile 2024 sixth overall pick Tij Iginla was loaned back to his WHL team, the Kelowna Rockets. But is a big 6’5 winger whose KHL teammate (and fellow 2023 first-rounder) Dmitry Simashev made the Utah roster today, and it’s expected that But won’t be in the AHL for too long. As for Iginla, this season is an opportunity for him to get his development back on track after unfortunate injury luck derailed his 2024-25 campaign.
  • The Ottawa Senators reassigned the players they placed on waivers Sunday to their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. Making up the group is Jan Jenik, Hayden Hodgson, Arthur Kaliyev, Mads Sogaard, and Lassi Thomson. 2024 seventh-overall pick Carter Yakemchuk was reassigned to Belleville, his Sept. 29 birthdate making him eligible to play in the AHL despite being a 2024 draft pick. In addition to those reassignments, the Senators placed Drake Batherson and Tyler Kleven on IR to further prepare their final roster. Batherson has been out since Sept. 24 with an upper-body injury on a projected two-week recovery timeline, while Kleven has been out since Sept. 21 with an undisclosed injury.
  • The Minnesota Wild reassigned forward Tyler Pitlick and netminder Cal Petersen to their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, today. Both players were placed on waivers yesterday and went unclaimed. Pitlick, 33, is a veteran of over 400 NHL games and scored 46 points in 59 AHL games last season for the Hartford Wolf Pack – he’ll likely be among the first players in line for a call-up in Iowa. Petersen, 30, was once a $5MM-a-year netminder for the Los Angeles Kings but did not play in the NHL in 2024-25. Signed to a one-year, $775K one-way deal, he’ll be the team’s organizational number-three netminder.
  • The Calgary Flames placed forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil on injured reserve today as part of their roster preparations, and also called up 2023 first-rounder Samuel Honzek. Huberdeau left Calgary’s preseason game at the start of the month with an undisclosed injury, and will miss at least the team’s season opener. Pospisil also exited the Flames’ Oct. 1 preseason game with an undisclosed injury, and will also miss the team’s first game at minimum. As a result, Honzek, 20, gets a spot on the roster in their absence. The 6’5 Slovak forward played his first season of North American pro hockey in 2024-25, scoring 21 points in 52 AHL games and also skating in five NHL contests.
  • The New York Rangers reassigned forward Brett Berard to AHL Hartford as part of their season-opening roster moves. Despite a solid training camp and preseason, the 23-year-old lost the battle for a middle-six role in New York to veteran Conor Sheary, a longtime favorite of first-year coach Mike Sullivan. The Rangers signed Sheary to a one-year deal earlier today. It’s a disappointing outcome for Berard, who looked to be making a real push for full-time NHL status last season. He skated in a career-high 35 NHL games, scoring 10 points to go alongside the 23 points he scored in 30 AHL contests.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs reassigned defenseman Ben Danford to the OHL’s Oshawa Generals as part of their season-opening roster preparations. Danford missed Maple Leafs training camp and preseason with a concussion, but has since been cleared for contact, paving the way for this reassignment. It’s the expected move for the 2024 31st overall pick, who is entering his fourth season of OHL duty. Danford scored 25 points in 61 games in Oshawa last season and will resume his post as one of the OHL’s top shutdown blueliners for 2025-26.
  • The Colorado Avalanche announced several roster moves to go alongside their announcement of an initial roster: Keaton Middleton, who cleared waivers today, has been reassigned to AHL Colorado, alongside Matthew Stienburg. Meanwhile Ronnie Attard, Sean Behrens, Jacob MacDonald, Logan O’Connor, and Nikita Prishchepov have been designated injured non-roster. Ilya Solovyov, who the team claimed off of waivers from the Calgary Flames last week, was also designated non-roster but he is not injured. Solovyov’s placement is due to the fact that, per the Denver Post’s Corey Masisiak, his visa to allow him to play in the United States has not yet been finalized. It should be noted that this is not an abnormal scenario for a player involved in a cross-border transaction between NHL clubs.
  • As part of their own season-opening roster moves, the Nashville Predators placed defenseman Nic Hague and forward Matthew Wood on injured reserve. Hague is out with an upper-body injury on a week-to-week timeline, while Wood is also considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury.

Capitals Reassign Ivan Miroshnichenko, Place Dylan McIlrath On IR

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The Washington Capitals have their opening 23-man roster in place. Following the clearance of their waiver placements yesterday, the team announced that they have reassigned forward Ivan Miroshnichenko and placed defenseman Dylan McIlrath on injured reserve.

The former 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft is entering his third season without a full-time role carved out on the Capitals. Despite possessing raw talent in size, speed, and shooting ability, Miroshnichenko has yet to fully realize his potential at the NHL level.

Since transitioning to North America for the 2023-24 campaign, Miroshnichenko has scored three goals and 10 points in 39 games with Washington, averaging 10:51 of ice time per game. He leaves something to be desired in his possession quality, but has been an unexpectedly positive addition on the defensive side of the puck.

He’s been expectedly better in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, scoring 32 goals and 67 points in 100 games, with another 10 goals and 17 points in 28 postseason contests. Although the team failed to win their third consecutive Calder Cup last year, Miroshnichenko was on the roster when they won the second half of their back-to-back in 2024. He’ll likely feature with the Capitals at some point during the 2025-26 season.

Meanwhile, has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the Capitals’ preseason contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets. During that game, although he assisted on the breakout that led to a Pierre-Luc Dubois goal, McIlrath left the game after the play and did not appear at practice the following day.

Initial reports suggested McIlrath would be out for about a week, and today’s designation appears to support that notion. He spent much of last season as Washington’s seventh defenseman, tallying two assists in 17 games with 28 PIMs.

Blue Jackets Place Christián Jaroš On Unconditional Waivers

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10/6/25: Jaroš has now found a place to play for the 2025-26 season. Per an official announcement, Jaroš has signed a one-year contract with Spartak Moscow. The signing returns Jaros to the KHL, the league he has played in since he last played in North America in 2021-22. Spartak currently sit sixth in the KHL’s Western Conference with a 5-4-3 record through 12 games played.

10/01/25: For the second time since debuting with the Ottawa Senators in the 2017-18 season, defenseman Christián Jaroš has been placed on unconditional waivers for contract termination. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced today that the two sides have agreed to a mutual termination should he clear unconditional waivers.

Surprisingly, today’s news comes three months to the day when the Blue Jackets first shared that they had signed Jaroš. He was projected to play for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters to start the year. There are no additional reports about his potential landing spot, but news may arrive tomorrow if he clears.

The Kosice, Slovakia native has spent the last three years in the KHL, split between the Avangard Omsk, Severstal Cherepovets, and CSKA Moskva. Throughout that stretch, the 29-year-old has scored eight goals and 42 points in 134 contests with a +16 rating.

He was largely unnoticeable throughout his playing days in the NHL, though he earned an extended look with the Senators during the 2018-19 campaign. From 2017 to 2022, Jaroš scored one goal and 14 points in 94 games with the Senators, San Jose Sharks, and New Jersey Devils, averaging 13:04 of ice time per game. He had been far more respectable with those teams’ respective AHL affiliates, registering five goals and 34 points in 90 games with a +16 rating.

Oilers Extend Connor McDavid, Jake Walman

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Edmonton’s biggest piece of offseason business is done on the eve of opening night. They’ve announced a two-year, $25MM extension to keep captain Connor McDavid off next year’s unrestricted free agent market. That’s a $12.5MM cap hit, the same as his current eight-year deal signed back in 2017 carries. It’s not just the Oilers’ generational talent inking a new deal, either. Defenseman Jake Walman has agreed to terms on a long-term extension, according to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. That deal will be a seven-year, $49MM contract with a $7MM cap hit, per Friedman.

According to PuckPedia, McDavid’s new deal will be largely paid out in signing bonuses as expected. In 2026-27, he’ll earn an $850K salary with a $13.4MM signing bonus, and in 2027-28, he’ll make a $900K salary with a $9.85MM signing bonus. He’ll have full no-movement protection in each year of the deal.

Meanwhile, a few hours later, PuckPedia shared that Walman’s contract breaks down as follows:

  • Year 1: $1.24MM salary, $6MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
  • Year 2: $2.5MM salary, $5MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
  • Year 3: $4MM salary, $4MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
  • Year 4: $2.565MM salary, $4MM signing bonus, full no-movement clause
  • Year 5: $5.565MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 15-team no trade clause
  • Year 6: $5.565MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 15-team no trade clause
  • Year 7: $5.565MM salary, $1MM signing bonus, 15-team no trade clause

In his first two years on the job, Edmonton general manager Stan Bowman has now been successful in renewing his two franchise cornerstones well before unrestricted free agency became a real threat. He went through a similar song and dance with Leon Draisaitl last year. However, unlike McDavid, Draisaitl’s commitment was long-term – an eight-year, $112MM extension in September 2024 that, at the time, carried the league’s highest cap hit at $14MM.

Draisaitl’s decision to extend came before the Oilers dropped a second straight Stanley Cup Final to the Panthers. Now 28 and entering his 11th NHL season, the context surrounding McDavid’s negotiations was markedly different as a result. The team has been knocking on the door for quite some time, but is now years deep into a contention window without a championship to show for it. With a bottom-five prospect pool and spending flexibility limited in recent seasons, there was an expectation that McDavid wanted the option to reach free agency in a few years, while still in his prime, if he hadn’t yet won a Cup with the Oilers.

But at least for the next few years, Edmonton’s contention window remains wide open with today’s news. McDavid is coming off an underwhelming regular season by his standards, one that saw him miss significant time with an injury for the first time since a fractured collarbone stole nearly half of his rookie season. He still managed to hit the 100-point mark in 67 appearances, but only 26 of them were goals, also his lowest output since his rookie year and one of the worst per-game efforts of his career.

That was all put to bed by another dominant postseason run that would have earned him MVP honors had Edmonton emerged victorious this time around – an honor he managed to win anyway in 2024 despite being on the losing end as well. In the Oilers’ back-to-back Final runs, McDavid has led the league in playoff scoring both times for a cumulative 15-60–75 line in 47 games. He’s established himself as one of the top playoff performers of all time in the process. He’s got 150 points in 96 games across seven trips to the postseason, making his 1.56 points per game third in league history behind Wayne Gretzky’s 1.84 and Mario Lemieux’s 1.61.

The regular-season numbers are similarly fantastic. Only twice in McDavid’s career has he managed not to hit the century mark – his rookie season and the 2019-20 campaign that COVID cut off with weeks left in the season. He enters Year 11 with 361 goals, 721 assists, and 1,082 points in 712 career games. That’s good for 1.52 points per game, also third all-time behind Gretzky (1.92) and Lemieux (1.88).

He and Draisaitl remain the co-headliners of a forward group that’s lost a bit of depth punch due to cap constraints, but still has Zach Hyman signed through 2028 and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins through 2029. McDavid’s deal coincides with the expiry of Hyman’s contract. It also marks an immense discount on his market value, which was close to – if not the max salary ($20MM-ish per season) – in order to help facilitate a long-awaited championship. If that doesn’t happen, it’s hard to envision a world in which McDavid doesn’t head elsewhere in the offseason of 2028.

As for Walman, it’s hard to find a player whose fortunes have changed as dramatically since last offseason as his. The 29-year-old is entering the final season of a three-year, $10.2MM contract extension he signed with the Red Wings back in 2023. Despite Walman averaging nearly 20 minutes per game in the first year of that deal and managing a 12-9–21 scoring line in 63 appearances – fine value for the money – Detroit opted to clear his contract. They even paid a second-round pick to the Sharks to take him on.

On a thin San Jose blue line, Walman quickly emerged as their No. 1 option. He averaged north of 23 games for the Sharks and responded with an offensive breakout, notching a 6-26–32 line in 50 appearances with a highly respectable -1 rating on a club that ended up finishing the season with a -102 goal differential. San Jose parlayed the lefty’s breakout by trading him to the Oilers at the deadline, netting a 2026 first-round pick in return in addition to the second-rounder they received from the Wings for taking on his contract in what remains one of the more puzzling trades in recent memory.

Walman’s production barely even took a hit despite slotting in as Edmonton’s No. 4 behind Evan Bouchard, Mattias Ekholm, and Darnell Nurse. He spent most of his time last year anchoring a third pairing with John Klingberg, but is now getting a look in the top four to start 2025-26, moving to his offside to play with a fellow lefty in Nurse. In 37 combined regular-season and playoff games with the Oilers after the move, Walman had a 3-15–18 scoring line with a +14 rating while still averaging north of 20 minutes per game.

A seven-year extension keeps the pending UFA under contract through the 2032-33 season, so Walman now carries the longest remaining term of any Oiler alongside Draisaitl and Trent Frederic. He’s also due to be their fifth-highest-paid skater next season behind Draisaitl, McDavid, Bouchard ($10.5MM), and Nurse ($9.25MM). With McDavid and Walman in tow, the Oilers now have $81.3MM committed to 14 players for 2026-27, per PuckPedia. That still leaves at least $22.7MM in flexibility to fill nine roster spots, a number that could grow if the salary cap exceeds its $104MM projection. They do still have a few notable UFAs left unsigned past this season, a class headlined by Ekholm and starting netminder Stuart Skinner.

Frank Seravalli of Bleacher Report and Victory+ was first to report notable progress on McDavid talks today. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was first to report the deal had gotten signed. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug was first on the two-year term.

Image courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

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