2026-27 Performance Bonus and 35+ Candidates
As NHL front offices gear up for free agency, managing the salary cap demands a delicate balance between risk and reward. While performance bonuses are often linked to elite rookies on entry-level contracts, the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) adds two additional avenues for performance-based incentives: injury comeback deals and contracts for 35-year-old or older veterans. These mechanisms enable teams to secure impactful players with low base salary cap hits, effectively deferring financial obligations until later.
If a team ends the fiscal year with earned bonuses exceeding their remaining cap space, the excess funds are carried over into the next league year as a direct salary cap penalty. This can significantly impact teams near the cap limit or heavily relying on LTIR. PuckPedia has detailed the upcoming free agents who qualify for these specialized incentive structures for the 2026-27 season.
To qualify for a performance-bonus-eligible contract via the injury route, a player must have 400 or more career games and have spent 100 or more days on Injured Reserve during the previous season. This structure allows franchises to take low-risk gambles on proven assets, while the financial incentives toward active roster availability and durability rather than pure scoring production.
Six players fit this criteria heading into free agency, including Derek Forbort (VAN), Alexander Kerfoot (UTA) Patrik Laine (MON), Petr Mrazek (ANA), Matt Murray (SEA), and Tomas Nosek (FLA).
For a team looking for top-six offensive upside, a player like Laine could be highly coveted on a bonus-laden deal, while teams seeking goaltending depth or penalty-killing options could turn to turn to Mrazek, Forbort, or Nosek under this low-risk umbrella.
Contracts signed by players who will be 35 or older by July 1 of the contract year are also eligible for performance bonuses on one-year deals. Front offices frequently use these to protect against sudden age-related decline, tying mid-six-figure bonuses to basic longevity milestones—such as reaching 10, 40, or 60 games played—or team-oriented postseason success.
The upcoming free agent class has an extensive group of veteran forwards eligible for this structure, including Jamie Benn (DAL), Evgenii Dadonov (NJD), Nicolas Deslauriers (CAR), Lars Eller (OTT), Nick Foligno (MIN), Claude Giroux (OTT), Luke Glendening (PHI), Erik Haula (NSH), Adam Henrique (EDM), Marcus Johansson (MIN), Patrick Kane (DET), Anders Lee (NYI), Gustav Nyquist (WPG), Alex Ovechkin (WSH), David Perron (OTT), Corey Perry (TBL), Ryan Reaves (SJ), Reilly Smith (VGS), Jonathan Toews (WPG), Garrett Wilson (PHI), James van Riemsdyk (DET), and Mats Zuccarello (MIN).
The blue line also features a robust market of eligible 35+ defensemen who can weaponize these flexible agreements. This group includes Zach Bogosian (MIN), Brent Burns (COL), John Carlson (ANA), Ian Cole (UTA), Radko Gudas (ANA), Travis Hamonic (DET), Nick Jensen (OTT), Nick Leddy (SJ), Jeff Petry (MIN), Luke Schenn (BUF), and Brendan Smith (CBJ).
Contending teams could use performance bonuses to maximize rosters with high-profile franchise icons like Ovechkin, Benn, Giroux, and Kane eligible for a flexible, low-base-salary structure. However, general managers must be cautious. A player hitting a games-played milestone in late March could trigger a cap overage, restricting cap space at the trade deadline or forcing a painful penalty on the 2027-28 books.
Snapshots: Wild, Avalanche, Liiga
Minnesota Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian is out tonight, with Jeff Petry slotting in, noted by Michael Russo of The Athletic. The soon-to-be 36-year-old, already not the fleetest of foot, has been battling a lower body injury which cost him Game 2 of the series. In nine playoff games, he’s averaging 12:45 a night, not surprisingly coming away with no points as a traditional shutdown rearguard.
Petry, another veteran at age 38, makes his third playoff appearance of the spring for the Wild after a five year hiatus, last doing so as a Canadien in 2021. No longer a high point-getter, Petry’s possession metrics at five-on-five have actually held steady, over the 53% mark in corsi for with the Wild in a small sample size.
Down three games to one in the series, it’s fair to wonder if this could be it for either of the veterans, if unable to extend their season tonight. Petry has the distinction of being one of seven remaining active players from the 2006 draft class, while Bogosian is one of two active former Atlanta Thrashers (the other being Evander Kane). Before that’s even any possibility though, the Wild have a prime chance to capitalize on a banged up Colorado lineup.
Elsewhere:
- On the opposite side, the Avalanche are again missing Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski, relayed by Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports. Colorado has run it back with their same lineup from Game 4’s win, featuring Jack Ahcan on the third pairing, plucked right from the AHL in the midst of the Calder Cup Playoffs, and Joel Kiviranta on the fourth line. Both Lehkonen and Malinski are out with upper-body ailments which have sidelined them since Game 3.
- Tappara have brought home the 2026 Liiga Championship, their fourth since 2022. They defeated KooKoo in Game 7, after a memorable series which had previously brought the longest postseason game in league history, a four overtime marathon where Columbus prospect Oiva Keskinen netted the game winner for the eventual champs. Projected 2026 first round picks Oliver Suvanto and Juho Piiparinen were also part of the championship roster, the forward and defenseman thought to be late-first round options. In terms of other notable names, the youngsters skating alongside former fifth overall selection Olli Juolevi, as well as 20-year-old top Tampa Bay prospect Benjamin Rautiainen.
Minnesota Wild Acquire Jeff Petry
The Minnesota Wild are adding a veteran presence to their backend ahead of the playoffs. According to a team announcement, the Wild have acquired Jeff Petry from the Florida Panthers for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick.
Included in Minnesota’s announcement were the conditions on the draft pick. If the Wild make it to the Western Conference Final, and Petry plays in 50% or more of the Wild’s playoff games heading into the Western Conference Final, the pick will upgrade to Minnesota’s fifth-round pick this season.
At this stage of his career, Petry, 38, is only fit for a depth role. This season, his first with the Panthers, he was relegated to a bottom-pairing role. Throughout the year, he has tallied eight assists in 58 games with a -10 rating, averaging 14:51 of ice time.
That’s largely what he turned into during his time with the Detroit Red Wings. Before moving to Sunrise, Petry spent two years in HockeyTown, scoring four goals and 32 points in 117 games. Unlike his time with the Panthers, Petry was typically in Detroit’s top-two defensive pairings.
Given his play with the Red Wings, it was no question why Petry had to settle for a one-year, league minimum contract last summer. Playing next to Ben Chiarot for much of last season, the pair finished with the lowest xGoals% in the league (for pairings that had played 400 or more minutes together) with a 41.3% output.
That trend has continued with Florida. According to Moneypuck, the combination of Uvis Balinskis and Petry has combined for a 46.6% xGoals% this season, ranking 65th out of 83 defensive pairings that have played 300 or more minutes together.
That makes the move more peculiar on Minnesota’s end. The team already had seven defensemen on the active roster before the trade and had multiple defensive assets in the AHL that have already played this season. At any rate, instead of spending potentially his last season in the NHL with a team outside of a playoff spot, Petry will have the opportunity to compete for the first Stanley Cup of his career.
Panthers Listening On Sergei Bobrovsky, A.J. Greer
The Panthers’ resounding 5-1 loss to the Devils last night dropped them to 14th in the Eastern Conference and 10 points out of a playoff spot, leaving their postseason chances at just 0.5%. That’s led them to broadcast to the league this morning that their pending UFAs are available for sale as rentals – most notably future Hall-of-Fame goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, per Pierre LeBrun of TSN. Depth forwards A.J. Greer, Tomáš Nosek, defenseman Jeff Petry, and backup netminder Daniil Tarasov are the Cats’ other soon-to-be free agents on the active roster, although LeBrun only mentioned Greer by name.
It’s a stunning but prudent reversal from the back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, who have simply been too hampered by injuries this season to make a fourth straight run to the Final, even if they did manage to squeak into a wild-card spot. While Bobrovsky is one of the more decorated netminders of this era with a pair of Vezinas, Cups, and All-Star nods each, he hasn’t done much to drag his club along, either.
He’s still their clear-cut starter in terms of usage, starting 42 games compared to Tarasov’s 19, and has a superior winning percentage to his #2 option. Tarasov has better individual statistics across the board, though, and Bobrovsky has been a bottom-five starting option by most every measure. Among the 33 goalies with at least 28 games played, Bobrovsky ranks 29th in goals against average (3.13), 32nd in save percentage (.873), and 31st in goals saved above expected (-15.9, per MoneyPuck).
That’s led to a reported gap in extension talks between the Cats and the man who backstopped them to their first two championships in franchise history. If Florida were still in any sort of playoff contention, that wouldn’t matter; they’d keep him in the fold and hope to work out a deal after the season ended. But with Bobrovsky now in his age-37 season with a career-worst showing, the Panthers are likely opening themselves up to the idea of parting ways with Bobrovsky this year, one way or another. With little hope of a postseason berth, they might as well get something for him.
This is all assuming there’s a market for goaltending help at the deadline at all. The Blues are also making similarly struggling starter Jordan Binnington available, saturating an already slim list of teams that may have a want or need for either. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported this morning that “many people I talk to around the league are skeptical that Bobrovsky would be traded, even as the Panthers fall out of the playoff race,” due in part to no team making a documented, aggressive push for a goalie so far.
Perhaps Greer, more typical trade deadline fourth-line rental fodder in line with the Wild picking up Michael McCarron and the Knights landing Cole Smith from the Predators last night, is a far more likely name to be on the move. The 29-year-old is a career enforcer type but has seen an elevation in ice time this season with all of Florida’s forward injuries. He’s responded with a career year, netting 11 goals and 22 points in 61 games with a 14.1% shooting rate and 159 hits.
Considering Nashville just netted a second-round pick for McCarron, who’s posted far less impressive offensive impacts this season but does carry added value as a strong-on-draws center, the Panthers could be in line to land a similar pick for Greer. Nosek just came off LTIR to make his season debut after a lengthy recovery period from knee surgery, so he won’t be landing anything above a mid-to-late-round selection if there’s even any interest. Petry’s struggled with just eight assists and a -10 rating in 58 outings this season, but should have a few callers, simply by virtue of him being a right-shot D-man with over 1,000 games of NHL experience.
As for Tarasov, it would be surprising to see him moved. The Cats are presumably focusing on an extension with him, potentially even making him their starting option next season in the increasingly likely event Bobrovsky isn’t brought back. That’s especially amid a weak free agent class, in which Tarasov’s .903 SV% this season leads the pack among goalies with double-digit starts.
Panthers Sign Jeff Petry
The Panthers have signed defenseman Jeff Petry to a league-minimum contract for 2025-26 with performance bonuses, according to Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic.
Remarkably, Petry has turned the worst season of his professional career into an agreement with the defending Stanley Cup champions. Although he was limited by injury during the 2024-25 campaign, Petry finished with one goal and eight points in 44 games with a -2 rating, which averages out to an 82-game average of two goals and 15 points.
His value appears even less favorable when examining some of his advanced metrics. Petry finished with a 43.2% CorsiFor% at even strength, which was the lowest of any defenseman on the Red Wings during the 2024-25 campaign. According to MoneyPuck, Petry had the lowest Expected Goals Creation on the Detroit team last season, indicating that the worst performances occurred when he was on the ice.
Nevertheless, he’ll be tasked with far less responsibility in Sunrise. The Panthers are retaining every member of their Stanley Cup-winning team, aside from Jaycob Megna, and Petry will immediately become the team’s seventh option. Petry will become the third right-handed defenseman on the team behind Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad, and he could fill in on occasion if they want to balance out their handedness.
At any rate, Petry’s numbers should improve in limited ice time, simply by being on a better team. Still, he’s a far cry from the defenseman he used to be during his prime with the Montreal Canadiens.
PHR’s Brennan McClain contributed significantly to this article.
Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Bruins, Battle Of Florida
To the dismay of Red Wings fans, the Original Six team set another franchise record this season by missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for a ninth consecutive season. Max Bultman of The Athletic summarized the Detroit Red Wings’ offseason plans, identifying players they are likely to part ways with this summer.
In his list of ‘possible farewells’, Bultman theorizes that Detroit will let Jeff Petry, Craig Smith, Tyler Motte, and Alex Lyon walk in free agency. Totalling a combined cap hit of more than $5MM, all four of the quartet could be easily replaced internally this offseason, allowing the Red Wings to pursue a higher-impact player.
Lastly, Bultman articulated that defenseman William Lagesson was the only surefire departure this summer. Lagesson largely operated as a depth defenseman this season, tallying one assist in seven games while averaging 14:34 of ice time, when not playing for their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins.
Other notes from the Atlantic Division:
- In an insightful article regarding the Boston Bruins’ head coaching search, Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period exposed a meaningful fact: the hiring General Manager may not be around for more than a year. Don Sweeney‘s contract concludes after the 2025-26 season, and although he’s received an endorsement from team President Cam Neely, plenty can change in a calendar year. For any heading coaching candidate considering joining the Bruins, job security will be something to weigh.
- Over the last several years, the ‘Battle of Florida’ between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers has been a must-see matchup since either team has represented the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final since the 2020 postseason. In the past two years, the Panthers have bested the Bolts, beating them in back-to-back opening-round matchups. In a quote from Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Lightning head coach Jon Cooper conceded the battle, saying, “It was our turn. Now it’s theirs.”
Red Wings Activate Jeff Petry, Assign Prospect Emmitt Finnie To AHL
After missing the previous 31 games with an undisclosed injury, Detroit Red Wings’ defenseman Jeff Petry has been removed from injured reserve and is in the lineup tonight against the Utah Hockey Club, per a team release. Petry, who last played Jan. 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, had recently returned to practice. He is skating with Simon Edvinsson on the team’s second defensive pairing. In his first full season in Detroit, Edvinsson has impressed with 26 points, 126 blocked shots, and a plus-4 rating in 65 games.
Although Petry has had just six points in 34 games to begin the year and a minus-seven rating, he has displayed offensive upside throughout his career. The 37-year-old veteran of nearly 1,000 career games has registered 383 points in the NHL and has added an additional 13 points in 48 career playoff tilts. Petry is in the final year of his contract and will be a free agent at season’s end. He had a $6.25MM cap hit this season.
While head coach Todd McLellan noted today that Petry can provide solid puck-moving abilities and a veteran presence for the team, he added the difficulty Petry will face in returning after such a lengthy absence. The Red Wings find themselves five points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card spot in the east.
The team also announced today that they reassigned forward Emmitt Finnie to the AHL from the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers. He has captained the Blazers this season while recording 37 goals and 84 points through 55 games. The team’s seventh round selection in 2023 draft is shooting up Detroit’s prospect rankings thanks to his lofty numbers on the season. Finnie, 19, appeared in three AHL contests last season with the Grand Rapids Griffins, but didn’t record a point.
Injury Notes: Red Wings, Romanov, Jensen
The Red Wings lost both defenseman Erik Gustafsson and winger Elmer Söderblom to undisclosed injuries in Tuesday’s loss to the Capitals, and it doesn’t look like they’re getting either back this weekend against Vegas. Neither practiced during today’s session, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports. The former could be facing a longer-term absence, head coach Todd McLellan said. That’s not good news for a tumbling Red Wings team, whose playoff hopes are close to evaporating after a 2-8-0 run in their last 10 games. Gustafsson is third in points among defenders with 18, trailing Simon Edvinsson and Moritz Seider. Söderblom, who’s seen time on the top line with Dylan Larkin as of late and has 3-6–9 in 22 games since being recalled in January, is day-to-day. They could be getting veteran defenseman Jeff Petry back in the lineup soon – he’s traveling with the club on their road trip after returning to practice but won’t play this weekend. He’s been out since early January with an undisclosed injury but had just six points in 34 games to begin the year with a minus-seven rating.
More from around the league:
- Islanders head coach Patrick Roy told reporters he doesn’t expect defenseman Alexander Romanov to draw in against the Canadiens tonight in a game with major postseason implications, per Andrew Gross of Newsday. He’s still dealing with the illness that held him out of Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over the Penguins. The 25-year-old is enjoying a strong season in career-high minutes, posting 4-14–18 with a plus-nine rating while averaging 22:46 per game. New York’s playoff chances could jump to 35% with a regulation win but drop to just 16% with a regulation loss, per MoneyPuck.
- Senators defenseman Nick Jensen remains unavailable tonight against Colorado, but he practiced with the club anyway, per TSN 1200 Ottawa. The 34-year-old righty will miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury. With the Sens having the first wild card spot in the East all but locked up, Travis Hamonic slides into top-four deployment alongside Thomas Chabot with Jensen out. Acquired from the Capitals in last summer’s Jakob Chychrun trade, Jensen is averaging 20:20 per game in Ottawa and leads the team with a +17 rating.
Red Wings’ Jeff Petry Undergoes Surgery, Out 6-8 Weeks
Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jeff Petry has undergone surgery to address an undisclosed injury and will miss the next six-to-eight weeks, per Frank Seravalli of the Daily Faceoff. No specifics of the injury were provided.
Petry has been out of the lineup since suffering an injury in the team’s January 3rd game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He left that game with roughly 10 minutes left in the third period after wrapping awkwardly around Columbus’ Kirill Marchenko while the latter took a shot. Petry went down immediately and took his time getting back up. It wasn’t clear what he hurt on the play. He was designated as day-to-day with injury immediately following the game, then landed on injured reserve three days later. Now, Petry will be a candidate for long-term injured reserve, as he pushes to return before Detroit’s season ends on April 17th.
Petry has dealt with numerous injuries this season. He missed time in early October with an upper-body injury, then sat out with a lower-body injury for parts of early December. In total, he’s only played in 34 of Detroit’s 52 games this season. The 37-year-old has just one goal and six points in the games he’s played in. He’s also recorded 12 penalty minutes, a -7, 56 blocked shots, and 39 hits. Petry was Detroit’s fourth-most utilized defender before falling to injury, averaging just over 19 minutes of ice time – behind Moritz Seider, Ben Chiarot, and Simon Edvinsson.
Petry is just four seasons removed from recording 42 points in 55 games with the 2020-21 Montreal Canadiens. He’s seen a gradual decrease in scoring ever since, netting 27, 31, and 24 over the last three seasons respectively. Those numbers have fallen off a cliff this season. That decrease, during an injury-riddled season, could motivate Petry to retire when his contract ends this summer. That thought may be in the back of his head through the rest of the season, though he hasn’t been ruled out for the year yet.
Red Wings Recall Ville Husso, Place Jeff Petry On IR
After Alex Lyon left last night’s game against Ottawa after one period due to an upper-body injury, it appears his availability for Friday’s contest versus Chicago is in some question. The team announced (Twitter links) that goaltender Ville Husso has been recalled from AHL Grand Rapids. To make room on the roster, defenseman Jeff Petry has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to January 2nd.
Husso is up with Detroit for the fifth time already this season after he cleared waivers back at the start of the season. The 29-year-old has played in eight games with the Red Wings so far in 2024-25, putting up a 3.47 GAA and a .877 SV%, numbers that don’t come close to justifying his $4.75MM price tag on a contract that expires at the end of the season.
However, he has fared quite better in his limited action with the Griffins. In eight appearances with them, Husso has a 1.86 GAA with a .935 SV% in his first taste of longer-term AHL time since the 2018-19 season. He is very close to reaching 30 days on the NHL roster and when that threshold is reached (or if he plays in two more games in Detroit), he’ll need to pass through waivers again before he can be returned to Grand Rapids.
As for Petry, he has missed the last two games with an undisclosed injury. The 37-year-old has had a quiet season offensively, notching just one goal and five assists in his first 37 outings although he’s still averaging over 19 minutes a night of playing time. The retroactive placement means he’ll have missed seven days before Friday’s matchup, meaning that he’ll be eligible to be activated as early as that game if he’s cleared to return.