Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 – Pro Hockey Rumors

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Toronto Maple Leafs

By Brian La Rose | at March 1, 2026 9:00 pm

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, last up are the Maple Leafs.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Current Cap Hit: $94,621,472 (under the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Easton Cowan (three years, $873.5K)

After a strong junior career, Cowan made the jump directly to the NHL and has been a capable player in a limited role. They’ll be hoping that he can move into a top-six role before too long (potentially as soon as next season) which could change his trajectory quickly. At this point, it seems more likely that he’d get a bridge deal (potentially in the $3MM to $4MM range) but if he becomes a top-six piece fairly soon and sticks, he could also wind up with a longer-term deal which could cost as much as double that amount.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

D Matt Benning ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Calle Jarnkrok ($2.1MM, UFA)
F Scott Laughton ($1.5MM, RFA)*
F Matias Maccelli ($3.425MM, RFA)
F Bobby McMann ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Nicholas Robertson ($1.825MM, RFA)
D Troy Stecher ($787.5K, UFA)

*-Philadelphia is retaining an additional $1.5MM on Laughton’s contract.

Maccelli was brought in from Utah in the hopes that he’d help replace some of the playmaking that left when Mitch Marner went to Vegas. Instead, he has bounced up and down and even in and out of the lineup as a healthy scratch at times while not producing as much as they hoped for. Owed a $4.11MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights, he’s a strong non-tender candidate unless they work out a cheaper deal closer to his current price before then. Laughton has seen his production tumble since joining Toronto. However, he’s still a strong defensive player and is having a career year at the faceoff dot. That should be enough to earn him at least a small raise on a multi-year pact even with his offensive struggles.

Jarnkrok is not the impactful utility player he was earlier in his career, resulting in several healthy scratches. If he doesn’t wind up going back overseas this summer, he’s probably looking at a contract closer to the league minimum. Robertson has taken some strides this season, putting him on pace for a career year while having arbitration rights this summer. A jump to the $3MM range isn’t unrealistic as a result.

McMann will be one of the more intriguing UFA options this summer, especially since a lot of the top players have already re-signed. Barring injury, he’s a lock for his second straight 20-goal season and will get there despite playing time that is in the low end for a second liner and is more like a high-end third liner. Tripling his current price seems quite likely; a bidding war could push it into the $5MM range.

Benning hasn’t been up with Toronto for most of the season and only gets a passing mention here because $100K is on their books as a dead cap charge while he’s with the Marlies. Stecher, meanwhile, has been a very serviceable waiver claim from Edmonton, going from a fringe blueliner to someone logging 20 minutes a night. Still, given how he has bounced around and is generally viewed as more of a depth player, he probably won’t get a huge boost on his next deal. Doubling this could be doable, however, which would be a nice outcome for someone who was on waivers just a few months ago.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Simon Benoit ($1.35MM, UFA)
D Brandon Carlo ($3.485MM, UFA)*
D Philippe Myers ($850K, UFA)
F Nicolas Roy ($3MM, UFA)

*-Boston is retaining an additional $615K on Carlo’s contract.

Roy came over from Vegas in the Marner sign-and-trade and has basically been the effective third liner he has been for most of his career. The price tag for those types of players has ticked up in recent years and should continue to do so in a more inflated cap environment. A bump to the $4MM territory could be doable while Laughton’s next contract this coming summer could serve as a good indicator of where Roy’s could land.

Toronto paid a high price to land Carlo at the trade deadline last season and it hasn’t quite worked out so far. Never a big point producer, even his defensive game has slipped a bit. Even so, he’ll be UFA-eligible at the age of 30 and is a big, right-shot player. Those elements should still land him a raise unless his play really falls off a cliff between now and then. A multi-year pact in the $4.5MM range might be the floor right now with a bump up from that if his performance rebounds next season.

Benoit has been a serviceable third-pairing player for most of his career but his limitations are well-known. It’s plausible that he stays in this area (even a jump to $1.5MM or so wouldn’t be surprising) but it seems unlikely that he’d command more than that unless he suddenly becomes more of a top-four option. Myers was once a quality prospect in Philadelphia but has been more of a fringe player in recent years. He’s likely to stay at the minimum salary and even securing a one-way deal isn’t a guarantee at this point.

Signed Through 2027-28

F Max Domi ($3.75MM, UFA)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Dakota Joshua ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Steven Lorentz ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Auston Matthews ($13.25MM, UFA)
G Joseph Woll ($3.67MM, UFA)

Matthews has opted for a shorter-term contract in each of his two non-entry-level negotiations. The idea was that doing so set him up best for a big payday. It worked the first time as this deal was briefly the record-setter for AAV. It’s hard to project that happening again, knowing some other contracts that have since been signed (and others to come) but if Matthews is open to a long-term pact this time around, a jump past the $15MM mark could be realistic, as long as his offensive drop this season isn’t a sign of things to come. However, if he wants another shorter-term agreement, the price tag could run a little higher but still not challenge for another league record.

Domi’s first season in Toronto was good enough to land him the multi-year commitment that he had been seeking for a while. Things haven’t gone as well since then, however. While he’s a strong playmaker, his lack of goals, a smaller stature, and a penchant for penalties could result in his market being more restricted than most again. Barring an improvement in his production over the next couple of years, he might have a hard time matching this price and term on his next contract.

Joshua was acquired over the offseason from Vancouver with the hopes that a change of scenery could get him back to his 2023-24 level. That hasn’t exactly happened as he has played more like a fourth liner making third-line money. He will need to rebound considerably in the back half of the deal to have any chance of matching this on his next contract. Lorentz rebounded well last season after a limited 2023-24 campaign in Florida and was able to earn some stability with this deal. For a fourth liner who can kill penalties, this is a reasonable contract but with his limited offensive upside, he’s probably not going to be able to command much more down the road.

Ekman-Larsson opted for stability as well back in 2024 with this deal, a four-year pact that takes him through his age-36 season. After a more limited role in Florida following a buyout from Vancouver, he has been deployed regularly in a top-four role and has thrived. Given how much he has played over the years, there could be some concern of him slowing down at the back of the contract but right now, this is definitely one of their better bargains.

When healthy, Woll has looked like a legitimate NHL starting goaltender. However, staying healthy has been a challenge in recent years which has limited his earnings upside. If he has a good year or two on this deal and can play 50-plus games, doubling this price tag is certainly realistic. However, if he continues to be in the 35-40-game range (either through injuries or being in a straight platoon), Woll might be more in the $5MM territory moving forward.

Signed Through 2028-29

F John Tavares ($4.389MM, UFA)

Tavares provided a reasonable return on one of the then-priciest deals in NHL history but now in the back stage of his career, he wasn’t going to come close to $11MM on this contract. But the pendulum swung the other way with a price tag that is well below market value and even has deferrals (which are no longer legal moving forward). A second center at this price is a big bargain for Toronto and should be for a little while yet.

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Matthew Knies ($7.75MM through 2030-31)
D Jake McCabe ($4.513MM through 2029-30)
F William Nylander ($11.5MM through 2031-32)
D Morgan Rielly ($7.5MM through 2029-30)
G Anthony Stolarz ($2.5MM in 2025-26, $3.75MM from 2026-27 through 2029-30)
D Chris Tanev ($4.5MM through 2029-30)

Nylander is in the second season of his contract, one that’s definitely on the high-cost side but overall, his production continues to make him worthy of the deal. As the Upper Limit is set to grow quicker in the next few years, this could very well wind up checking in as a below-market pact at some point. Knies didn’t sign for the maximum term this summer, nor did he take a bridge deal either. Interestingly, he signed a pact that only bought Toronto one extra year of club control while allowing him to hit the open market in his prime. The trade-off to that is that the contract already carries a favorable price tag for Toronto with the value only increasing from here. A jump past $10MM should be doable if he remains a top-line piece throughout this contract.

Rielly’s contract has bounced around a bit on the value scale over the first few years. At his best, he was a legitimate number one blueliner who produced more than enough offensively in that spot. Slotted there, this contract looked like a bargain. But things haven’t gone as well the last couple of years. His production is down, as is his ice time; he’s now second on the back end in ATOI. With some defensive miscues, the valuation of the deal starts to skew a bit in the other direction. Right now, it’s a touch on the high side relative to the role he plays and if he stays as a number two for a while, it should hold up okay. But if he drops to the second pairing at some point with another drop in production, then it could be more problematic.

Since joining Toronto back in 2023, McCabe has taken on more responsibility to the point where he is now their most-used blueliner. While he’s ideally more of a second-pairing option, this contract is still on the lower end for that role, particularly with deferrals keeping the price point down. It should hold up quite well over the next several seasons. The same can’t be said about Tanev. Signing a blueliner with a history of injury issues and some tough minutes when healthy to a deal that takes him until he’s 40 carried some risks, especially in the back half. But doing this kept the cap hit to a more manageable amount so the potential reward was worth the risk. Tanev’s first year was strong but multiple injuries have made this season a write-off. Being in and out of the lineup isn’t ideal from a cap perspective (taking SELTIR off the table) but that’s where things might be for the next couple of years.

Stolarz had a very strong first year with the Maple Leafs, leading the league in save percentage for the second straight season but still only made 34 appearances. That took starter money off the table and ultimately resulted in an extension at more of a platoon rate. Injuries have limited him this season but if he can even get back to being an above-average backup, this deal should hold up fine.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

$626,230

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Tavares
Worst Value: Joshua

Looking Ahead

After spending most of the season in LTIR, the Maple Leafs recently dipped out of it, giving them a chance to bank some cap space before the trade deadline. They won’t be able to leverage it too much, especially since they’re expected to sell given their place in the standings but they’ll have more flexibility compared to simply operating in LTIR.

The books look pretty clean for the summer. They have around $20MM in cap space with McMann and Laughton being the UFAs of note that would cut into that if re-signed (and if they’re still in the organization after next week). Robertson will be due a raise as well but otherwise, GM Brad Treliving will have a lot of wiggle room heading into free agency, especially since only a few roster spots will need to be filled. They may very well spend themselves into being right against the Upper Limit again but at the moment, Toronto is in good shape from a longer-term cap perspective.

Photos courtesy of Nick Turchiaro and Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

8 comments Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Toronto Maple Leafs Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Tampa Bay Lightning

By Brian La Rose | at February 14, 2026 4:01 pm

Tampa Bay Lightning

Current Cap Hit: $96,287,774 (over the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Dominic James (two years, $910K)

Potential Bonuses
James: $102.5K

James declined to sign with Chicago and instead opted to go to free agency to get a better shot at NHL playing time. It took a bit of time but he has been up for most of the season, albeit in a bottom-six role. He should be able to get some of his games played bonus, an amount that might roll over to next year’s cap given Tampa’s cap situation. If James can stay in this role through next season, doubling this price tag could be doable.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Oliver Bjorkstrand ($5.4MM, UFA)
D Declan Carlile ($775K, UFA)
F Curtis Douglas ($775K, UFA)
D Darren Raddysh ($975K, UFA)

Bjorkstrand was the big pickup up front at the deadline last season with the fact he had an extra year left on his deal justifying a high price tag in terms of what they paid to get him. Back in the summer, a price tag in the $7MM range seemed feasible but he has been quieter than expected this season. That could lower the cost a bit on a longer-term deal but he also might be a candidate to take a one-year pact somewhere in the hopes of bolstering his value. That market could be fairly lucrative given how thinned out the UFA market has gotten so even with his struggles, he’s still heading for a raise. Douglas has played sparingly this season and while his NHL price will go up thanks to the increase in minimum salary, it’d be surprising if he received a one-way deal.

Raddysh has become one of the most interesting players in the upcoming UFA class. He quietly put up 30-plus points in back-to-back seasons which already made him a bargain at this price tag but this year, he’s hovering around 22 minutes and a point per game. Oh, and he’s a right-shot player too, the side always in maximum demand. The price tag for defensemen who can produce at a point per game can jump close to the $10MM per season range. It’s not feasible to think that Raddysh is going to land there given his smaller track record but something in the $6MM range could very well be doable. That’s still quite a jump for someone who was still trying to become a full-time regular just a few years ago.

Carlile is getting his first taste of extended NHL action and is holding his own in a limited role. He’s probably not going to jump too far past the $850K minimum salary but a one-way deal is a realistic goal to strive for.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Charle-Edouard D’Astous ($775K in 2025-26, $875K in 2026-27, UFA)
F Zemgus Girgensons ($850K, UFA)
F Gage Goncalves ($1.2MM, UFA)
F Pontus Holmberg ($1.55MM, UFA)
G Jonas Johansson ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Nikita Kucherov ($9.5MM, UFA)
D Emil Martinsen Lilleberg ($800K, RFA)

Even as one of the top-paid wingers in the league when this contract first started, Kucherov has been a bargain for the Lightning. Even if he agrees to keep taking a bit below market value, market value has jumped with the sharper increases to the salary cap. On the other hand, he’ll be entering his age-34 contract when this deal begins. A short-term deal could push the AAV into the $13MM or more range unless he wants to leave a lot of money on the table. I explored what a longer-term deal could look like in an effort to keep the price tag a little lower in a mailbag; if Tampa Bay wants to go six years, they could get an AAV more around the $10MM to $10.5MM range if all went well.

Holmberg has fit in nicely in his first season with Tampa Bay after being non-tendered by Toronto to avoid arbitration. The fact he can play center (even though he hasn’t much with the Lightning) will help his market value. If he can stay in a third-line role next season, doubling this price tag could be doable.

Goncalves has given Tampa Bay a bit of offense from the bottom six which is good but players like him often become non-tender candidates with teams wanting to keep their depth spots a little cheaper. With arbitration rights putting him in a spot to likely push for more than $2MM per season, Goncalves could be another in this trend. Girgensons had a tough first year in Tampa Bay but has been better this season, moving onto the third line. Still, at this stage of his career, teams will likely view him as a low-cost fourth liner. A small raise should be doable unless he wants to leave money on the table again to play for a contender.

Lilleberg has been a nice depth pickup after Arizona gave up his draft rights and a contract below the minimum next season (even after being boosted to reflect the new minimum salary) is a nice bonus. Value-wise, he’s a player who could seemingly land around the $1.5MM to $2MM mark but like Goncalves, his arbitration eligibility could work against him should he be unsigned by the end of June 2027. D’Astous has also been a nice find in free agency and quickly went from a player earmarked for AHL Syracuse to someone who has seen time in the top four. Even his in-season extension looks like a team-friendly one. If he stays as a top-four piece, a jump to the $3MM range could be realistic.

Johansson has been a below-average netminder throughout his career but with the Lightning having a high-end starter, they’ve opted for a low-cost second-string option. If he’s content with the role he has, another short-term deal around this price point is doable for him.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Maxwell Crozier ($775K, UFA)
G Andrei Vasilevskiy ($9.5MM, UFA)

Crozier is a full-time NHL player for the first time this season and understandably has had a limited role when he has been in the lineup. But a seventh defender at the league minimum for a few years is still reasonable value. The goal for Crozier will be to work his way into a full-time lineup spot which will need to happen for him to comfortably eclipse the $1MM mark on his next contract.

After a rough 2023-24 season by his standards, Vasilevskiy has bounced back to Vezina-level form and is providing a good return on this price tag. Like Kucherov, he’ll be heading into his age-34 contract and a long-term pact is going to be needed to keep this price tag down a bit. He’s someone who could aim to pass Igor Shesterkin’s $11.5MM AAV although if it’s a longer-term agreement, it could check in closer to where it is now.

Signed Through 2028-29

D Victor Hedman ($8MM, UFA)
D Ryan McDonagh ($6.75MM in 2025-26, $4.1MM from 2026-27 through 2028-29)
F Nick Paul ($3.15MM, UFA)

Paul’s deal raised some eyebrows at the time as seven years to a player who only once had more than 20 points carried some risk. However, he has become one of Tampa Bay’s more versatile players and the increasing salary cap makes it a deal they shouldn’t have much issue carrying. It’s not impossible to think that he could get a small raise on his next deal as well.

Hedman has been an anchor on Tampa Bay’s back end for 17 years and even if his ice time is cut down by the end of this contract, he’ll have provided plenty of surplus value by then. However, time catches up to everyone and he’ll be a few months shy of 39 when his next potential deal might start. From there, it might make sense to go year-to-year to allow for some performance bonuses, giving the team a bit more flexibility cap-wise. But even with that, it’d be hard to project him matching his current deal, even in a higher cap environment. McDonagh isn’t the top-pairing player he was early in his career but is still a solid top-four player. If he can stay in that role for the first two seasons at least of his next contract, it should age well even though he’ll be 40 when it expires.

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

D Erik Cernak ($5.2MM through 2030-31)
F Anthony Cirelli ($6.25MM through 2030-31)
F Yanni Gourde ($2.333MM through 2030-31)
F Jake Guentzel ($9MM through 2030-31)
F Brandon Hagel ($6.5MM through 2031-32)
D J.J. Moser ($3.375MM in 2025-26, $6.75MM from 2026-27 through 2033-34)
F Brayden Point ($9.5MM through 2029-30)

At his best, Point has been a 90-plus-point player, giving the Lightning high-end production with responsible two-way play. However, his output has tapered off a bit the last couple of years (including this one, when healthy), making this deal not as much of a bargain as it might have seemed a couple of years ago. That said, he’s still a solid number one center and unless his production really tapers off, he’ll be in the double-digit AAV on his next deal. Guentzel opted to forego free agency to sign after the Lightning acquired his rights while deciding to part with Steven Stamkos. That move has worked out well so far with Guentzel producing over a point per game so far with the Lightning. He should be able to stay in that territory for a while, giving them a solid return in the process.

Hagel’s journey has been an interesting one. Drafted by Buffalo but unsigned, Montreal then passed on signing him after bringing him in to rookie camp. He eventually signed with Chicago and then was dealt for two first-round picks, a price that felt crazy at the time. It doesn’t anymore. Hagel was on a bargain deal at the time and this current contract is also very much a club-friendly pact. After being more of a second liner early in his career, he’s now a legitimate top-line player who happens to now be making second-line money for the long haul. It might not be long before this contract becomes their best value.

Cirelli’s offense has run a bit hot and cold while on this contract. However, he’s one of the NHL’s top defensive forwards and, as long as his current injury isn’t a long-term one, he should reach the 20-goal mark for the third straight year. He’s a strong second option behind Point at a price tag that’s now well below market value for that particular spot on the depth chart. It was surprising that Tampa Bay was able to afford to re-sign Gourde. It was especially surprising that he received a six-year deal at the age of 33 but that allowed the cap hit to be low enough. For now, they’re getting a good return on the deal but as he ages and slows down, that probably won’t be the case. On the other hand, the AAV is low enough to be manageable even if it becomes a negative-value pact.

Cernak signed his deal at the same time as Cirelli with the hope that the two would be long-term key core players. Cirelli fits the bill but Cernak has been more of a fourth defender than a key cog. While he’s a solid defensive defenseman, he’s not providing a lot of bang for the buck overall, especially with injuries creeping up most years; he’s only played in more than 70 games just once. Moser was a key part of the return for Mikhail Sergachev and has fit in quite well, as evidenced by the long-term extension he inked not long ago. His track record is enough to suggest that a big jump offensively likely isn’t coming but if he can hold his own in top-pairing minutes, kill penalties, and put up around 30 points, his new price tag should hold up well in the new cap environment.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Raddysh
Worst Value: Cernak

Looking Ahead

The Lightning have been using LTIR for the majority of the season and while it’s possible for them to dip below it by the trade deadline, they won’t be able to bank any cap room of consequence. Accordingly, they’re a money-in, money-out team once again.

GM Julien BriseBois will have some rare flexibility next summer, however, with more than $15MM in spending room. A big chunk of that will be needed for a new deal for Raddysh (or to try to sign a replacement should he go elsewhere) but there should be enough cap space to try to add another impact player or upgrade their depth. That flexibility jumps to around $41MM for 2027-28 with Kucherov being the next big-ticket deal. It’s one that they should be able to afford. Tampa Bay’s cap situation has looked rough at times in the past but now, they’re in a much more manageable spot moving forward.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images.

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Salary Cap Deep Dive: Ottawa Senators

By Brian La Rose | at February 9, 2026 7:59 pm

Ottawa Senators

Current Cap Hit: $92,446,600 (under the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

None that are playing on a regular basis.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Nick Cousins ($825K, UFA)
F Lars Eller ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Claude Giroux ($2MM, UFA)
D Nick Jensen ($4.05MM, UFA)
G Leevi Merilainen ($1.05MM, RFA)
F David Perron ($4MM, UFA)
G James Reimer ($850K, UFA)
D Jordan Spence ($1.5MM, RFA)

Potential Bonuses
Eller: $1MM
Giroux: $2.75MM
Total: $3.75MM

Perron has been hit or miss outside of St. Louis in his career but that didn’t stop the Sens from giving him a two-year deal. The first season didn’t go great due to injuries and while he has been healthier this season, the overall performance hasn’t been great. At this point, it’d be hard to see him beat this on the open market and it wouldn’t be surprising to see his next deal be a one-year, incentive-laden one that keeps the base cost down to allow for more flexibility. Doing that could push the maximum value at least within the vicinity of his current contract. Giroux is someone who signed the type of deal Perron might get. After his initial three-year deal expired, the two sides had a prolonged negotiation but eventually got this deal over the finish line. While $750K of his bonuses are achievable simply through games played (topping out at 60), the remainder have a playoff-related component to them with $1.75MM being tied to series wins. That’s a fair structure and one that will likely be repeated if he sticks around for another year.

Eller was a valuable third-line center for many years but has slowed down lately, resulting in him needing to take a structure like this as well although only half of his bonuses are playoff-related. He’ll be 37 next season and it stands to reason that he’ll be going year-to-year moving forward, likely with contracts structured like this. Cousins has hovered at or just above the league minimum for several seasons now. A 12-year veteran in what has largely been the same type of role, his next deal should once again land in that area.

While landing Jensen as the centerpiece of the return for Jakob Chychrun might feel underwhelming, the veteran was one of their better blueliners last season although he hasn’t fared quite as well this year. He’ll be 36 when the 2026-27 campaign begins but there might be enough market interest to land him a two-year pact (performance bonuses wouldn’t be an option with that term) at least close to his current price tag. Spence was brought over in a draft day trade with the Kings with the hopes that he could take on a bigger role. That hasn’t happened and instead, he has been scratched several times already. Owed a $1.7MM qualifying offer with arbitration rights this summer, Spence’s point production in recent years could give him a shot at doubling that required offer. If Ottawa doesn’t want to go that high, however, he becomes a potential trade or non-tender candidate.

Merilainen was a big bright spot when pressed into duty as the third-stringer last season and without his efforts, they may not have made the playoffs. That small sample size was enough to get him the full-time backup job this year where things haven’t gone as well and they’ve since shuffled him to the AHL to get him more playing time. He has arbitration eligibility this summer and given how this year has gone, the Sens could ultimately look to a different backup option that’s a little more proven. With his struggles, Ottawa recently turned to Reimer to try to help stabilize the backup position. Given how he has bounced around and had to wait half a season to get signed, it’s safe to say that his next deal will be at or near the minimum, if he gets one at all.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Michael Amadio ($2.6MM, UFA)
F Drake Batherson ($4.975MM, UFA)
D Tyler Kleven ($1.6MM, UFA)
F Kurtis MacDermid ($1.15MM, UFA)
D Nikolas Matinpalo ($875K, UFA)
D Artem Zub ($4.6MM, UFA)

Batherson has been one of Ottawa’s better bargains for quite some time now. He is making second-line money but has put up better than that level of production for the last four years. He was just shy of a point per game in 2021-22 and then followed that up with three straight years of more than 60 points. This season, he’s once again flirting with the point per game threshold. If he stays around that trajectory, pushing past the $9MM per season mark is a very realistic outcome, especially if he were to make it to the open market. The Sens have had several below-market contracts for their young core and his deal is arguably the best one of them all.

Amadio has been quite consistent with three straight seasons of 27 points and is around that mark again this year. That’s not a great return for their money but it’s not a bad one either as he’s consistently in their middle six. But unless he can find another gear offensively, he might not be able to beat this by much in 2027. MacDermid came over in a late preseason trade and has played rather sparingly since then. While there is still a role for the true ‘enforcer’, his limited usage could bring his price tag closer to the minimum salary moving forward.

Zub has had some challenges staying healthy over his time in Ottawa but when he’s healthy, he’s a capable top-four defender who logs some tough defensive minutes. He’ll be entering his age-32 season when his next deal begins, meaning another multi-year pact (three to five years, specifically), is more than reasonable. In a market where the price of top-four blueliners is going to rise, Zub should be able to push past the $6MM mark per season on his next contract.

Kleven’s first full NHL season in 2024-25 was a decent one as he was a regular on the third pairing but his limited track record didn’t give him much earnings upside. Somewhat surprisingly, though, Ottawa signed him to a deal that walked him right to UFA eligibility. He’s playing a bigger role this season and if he can get closer to the 17-18-minute mark, a jump past $3MM per season could be doable. Matinpalo is in his first year as a full-timer on the roster, though not a full-timer in the lineup as he remains more of a depth piece. That will need to change if he’s going to be able to push past the $1MM mark by any sort of meaningful amount.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Thomas Chabot ($8MM, UFA)
F Brady Tkachuk ($8.206MM, UFA)
F Fabian Zetterlund ($4.275MM, UFA)

It took quite a while for Tkachuk to sign coming off his entry-level contract but the deal has held up quite nicely. This season aside, he has been quite durable and produced largely at a top-line rate. Between that and his being a power forward, it’s fair to say he’s heading for a considerable jump; a contract in the $12MM range could very well be on the table. Zetterlund did well in San Jose but struggled following a late-season trade to Ottawa. He signed based on his production with the Sharks but his struggles have carried over into this year. As a result, this deal may be close to double what his value is based on his performance with the Sens.

Chabot was the first core Senator to sign a pricey deal coming off an entry-level pact, a well the team has gone to several times since then. While he’s no longer among the most-used defensemen in the league, he’s still a capable all-around defender who can still play at a 40-point pace or more. While his injury history could hurt his market a bit, with the rapid escalation of prices for top-pairing blueliners, he should be in line for a double-digit AAV on his next contract.

Signed Through 2028-29

F Ridly Greig ($3.25MM, RFA)
G Linus Ullmark ($8.25MM, UFA)

A few teams have opted for a longer-term bridge deal in recent years and Ottawa did so with Greig. Doing so ensured him some guaranteed money over going with shorter-term pacts where his performance could have dictated a lower offer while the Sens got him at a price that is rather reasonable for a third-line center. His production has somewhat plateaued this year but even if he stays in the 30-point range moving forward, he could get a nice boost from his $3.9MM qualifying offer, one that comes with arbitration eligibility.

Ottawa took a couple of big swings on Ullmark in 2024. First, they moved a first-round pick along with a serviceable forward in Mark Kastelic while taking on a four-year dead cap charge to acquire him as a rental. Then, before the season even started, they signed him to this contract, one that puts him in a tie for sixth in terms of the highest-AAV goalies in the league (fifth if you take out Carey Price who hasn’t played in years). Ullmark has yet to play 50 games in a single season but had been coming off some strong years in Boston, living up to the promise he showed at times in Buffalo. He’s a riskier option than some of the other proven players at that price point although it’s at least a shorter-term deal compared to the others. However, Ullmark will need to get back to his Boston-level form to provide value on this contract.

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Dylan Cozens ($7.1MM through 2029-30)
F Shane Pinto ($3.75MM in 2025-26, $7.5MM from 2026-27 through 2029-30)
D Jake Sanderson ($8.05MM through 2031-32)
F Tim Stutzle ($8.35MM through 2030-31)

Stutzle was another one to bypass the bridge deal in favor of a long-term pact, signed after his second season, right before he had a career-high 90 points. While he hasn’t reached that threshold since then, he’s a legitimate top-liner who has seen more time at center recently and is basically a full-timer there this season. Given the price of number one middlemen, this contract will look even better if Stutzle remains at center long term.

Cozens followed the same path as Stutzle, signing a long-term extension before his entry-level deal expired. He has yet to reach 50 points since recording 68 back in 2022-23 (when the extension was signed) but given the value of centers around the league, this deal holds up relatively well even as a second liner. Pinto got off to a great start this season, landing this extension recently to avoid another potential squabble after it was believed that he was hoping to land an offer sheet in his last trip through restricted free agency. He’ll need to produce as a legitimate second-line center to live up to the price tag when the contract begins next season.

Sanderson also skipped the bridge contract and signed a long-term deal that already looks to be a club-friendly one. He’s an all-around two-way number one defensemen and the price tag for several of those players has already nudged past the double-digit mark in millions per season and will only go up from there. This might not be their biggest bargain today but it may very well be soon enough.

Buyouts

F Colin White ($875K through 2027-28)

Retained Salary Transactions

G Joonas Korpisalo ($1MM through 2027-28)

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Batherson
Worst Value: Zetterlund

Looking Ahead

This season, the Sens opened up with a reasonably-sized cushion that they haven’t had to dip into much to cover for injuries. As a result, as long as the budgetary space is there (and comments over the summer suggest that’s not a guarantee), GM Steve Staios should have enough wiggle room to add a piece or two to his roster to aid in their playoff push.

They will gain some flexibility over the summer with more than $14MM coming off the books. While that involves seven players who will need to be re-signed or replaced, Staios can shuffle things around if the opportunity presents itself to add either a top-six forward or a top-four defender to fill Jensen’s slot. With less than $49MM on the books for 2027-28, that will be an even bigger chance to reshape the core if necessary, leaving them in solid shape from a cap perspective.

Photos courtesy of Wendell Cruz and John E. Sokolowski – Imagn Images.

1 comment Ottawa Senators Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Montreal Canadiens

By Brian La Rose | at February 7, 2026 12:24 pm

Montreal Canadiens

Current Cap Hit: $95,173,995 (under the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Zachary Bolduc (one year, $863.3K)
F Ivan Demidov (two years, $940.8K)
G Jacob Fowler (three years, $923.3K)
D Lane Hutson (one year, $950K)
F Oliver Kapanen (two years, $925K)

Potential Bonuses
Bolduc: $425K
Fowler: $80K
Demidov: $2MM
Hutson: $850K
Kapanen: $637.5K
Total: $3.9925MM

The Canadiens were able to get Demidov signed earlier than expected, allowing him to play in the playoffs last season and burn a year of his contract. He’s off to a strong start to his rookie year and it feels like he’s the next player that GM Kent Hughes will look to get signed to a long-term deal and bypass a bridge pact. At the rate salaries are going up, that could land in the $10MM range, especially if they sign an early extension and get the eighth year in. Meanwhile, half of his bonuses are ‘A’ ones and could realistically be hit.

Kapanen is having much more success this season after playing a very limited role at the beginning and end of last year. While he has fared well with Demidov, there remain enough questions about his offensive ceiling to make a shorter-term deal likely. That could fall in the $4MM range depending on his point production. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and has a realistic shot at reaching at least the goals one. Bolduc came over in an offseason move from St. Louis and has shown some signs of being a capable secondary scorer. Still, he’s likely to be in bridge territory as well, likely surpassing the $3MM mark. He has two ‘A’ bonuses in his deal with a 20-goal one being the most realistic.

Hutson will get a longer look later but for now, it’s worth noting that he has four ‘A’ bonuses in his contract and could conceivably hit them all. However, he has a rare clause in his contract that caps the total bonuses achievable in the deal at $1.15MM. He has already hit $750K of that so even if he hits enough of the criteria to reach all four bonuses, his payment will be capped at $400K. Notably, Kapanen is one of the other few players in the league with that restriction on bonus money.

Fowler was brought up a few weeks back and made enough of an impression to get more than a spot start. As a result, he’s already hit his games played bonuses. The Canadiens are hoping that he’ll be their starter of the future. The price tag of those players has jumped past $8MM in recent years but most of those were UFA deals where Fowler has a ways to go to get to UFA eligibility. But with the cap escalating, if he pans out, he could very well land in that range. For now, he’s back in AHL Laval but the bonuses will still count.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Kirby Dach ($3.363MM, RFA)
F Patrik Laine ($8.7MM, UFA)
F Joe Veleno ($900K, RFA)
D Arber Xhekaj ($1.3MM, RFA)

The Canadiens took a flyer on Laine in the 2024 offseason after it was clear that a return to Columbus wouldn’t be tenable. The hope was that he’d bring some extra firepower and might be a better fit in a secondary role. When healthy, he has shown flashes of being that threat, especially with the man advantage where he was one of the top scorers last year despite missing two months with knee trouble. However, he also spent a lot of time on the fourth line and was there this season before suffering a long-term lower-body injury. That sets him up with eligibility for performance bonuses in a one-year contract and frankly, that might be the best way for him to potentially maximize his earnings while the signing team can mitigate the risk. A deal like that could have a couple million in base salary and then a few million in bonuses tied to games played and production.

Dach’s injury history is even longer than Laine’s as he has missed more games than he has played since being acquired at the 2023 draft. When healthy for an extended stretch, he has had some moments to show that a top-six player could still be in there but between the inconsistency and injuries, it’s far from a given he’ll get there permanently. His qualifying offer jumps to $4MM and a long-term deal is unlikely. Instead, another shorter-term deal around that number might be the way to go. Veleno came over in free agency after being bought out by Seattle and landing in a soft free agent market. A sub-$1MM qualifying offer helps but with his history, he’d likely garner much more than that in a hearing making him a strong non-tender candidate. Given how things went this past summer, it doesn’t seem likely that his market would be much stronger in 2026.

Xhekaj hasn’t been able to break through his deployment as a sixth defender in recent years, something that won’t likely change the rest of this season. Still, he’ll likely be past 200 games by the offseason and could plausibly double his current price tag which would be on the high side for someone in his role.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Josh Anderson ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Alexandre Carrier ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Phillip Danault ($5.5MM, UFA)
G Jakub Dobes ($965K, RFA)
F Brendan Gallagher ($6.5MM, UFA)
G Samuel Montembeault ($3.15MM, UFA)
F Alex Newhook ($2.9MM, RFA)
D Jayden Struble ($1.413MM, RFA)

After being on a bargain contract on his second deal, Gallagher’s contract has been anything but for the majority of it so far. At 33 with a lot of wear and tear on him, that’s probably not going to change. Now a full-time bottom-six player, he could be looking at a 50% drop in pay on his next contract. Anderson hasn’t provided a lot of value on his deal either as primarily a bottom-six piece as well but he’s a couple of years younger than Gallagher and provides a lot of physicality. It would be surprising to see him beat this amount on his next deal but the drop in salary might be pretty short overall.

Danault returned for his second stint in Montreal with a trade right before the holiday roster freeze. A legitimate two-way player early in his contract, he has been more of a defensive specialist the last couple of years. While that’s still a useful player, someone in that role isn’t going to provide great value at this price point. Like Anderson, he’s probably looking at a small cut in pay at a minimum.

Newhook hasn’t been able to lock down a full-time top-six spot like Montreal hoped when they got him a couple of years ago. He’s consistently in the 30-point range (though he was off to a better start this year before his long-term injury) and his positional versatility certainly helps so he’s someone they’ll likely want to keep when his deal is up. His qualifying offer drops to a manageable $2.1MM but, like Dach, a shorter-term contract that buys a year or two of team control might make the most sense; a contract like that could run near the $4MM range.

Carrier fit in quite well after being acquired from Nashville in a midseason trade, stabilizing the back half of their back end. A right-shot player who can cover 20 minutes a game when needed (even if that’s not the most optimal option for him), he should have a strong market in his next trip through free agency which likely pushes his price point past $4MM as well. Struble is in the first season of his bridge deal and has been in and out of the lineup early on. His situation resembles Xhekaj’s right down to playing on an identical cap percentage and, like Xhekaj, doubling this price tag could be doable depending on how things play out.

Last season, Montembeault showed some signs of becoming a legitimate starting goaltender which would be a promising development from a waiver claim a few years back. If he stayed on that trajectory, he could have found himself in the $6MM per season range on his next deal. But early-season struggles have probably scuttled those hopes. Now, he needs to reestablish himself as a starter before thinking about a big raise. Dobes is on his bridge deal and has established himself as a full-time NHLer. Depending on where he lands on the depth chart down the stretch and into next season, his next contract could range between $2MM and $5MM per season depending on how things go; the variance potential is quite high.

Signed Through 2027-28

F Alexandre Texier ($1MM in 2025-26, $2.5MM in 2026-27 and 2028, UFA)

Texier was signed recently after asking for a contract termination from St. Louis, taking a pay cut of more than 50% in the process. He got off to a strong start though, earning him a two-year extension soon after at a rate higher than the one he walked away from. If Texier can remain an impactful player, the Canadiens will do well here but if he goes back to being a depth player, they might wind up regretting this one.

Signed Through 2028-29

F Jake Evans ($2.85MM, UFA)

For the longest time, it looked like Evans was heading for a trade but just before the trade deadline last season, he opted to accept this offer from Montreal to stick around. While his 36 points from 2024-25 likely isn’t repeatable, he can still provide some positive value on this contract with a point output around 25 as long as he’s playing a key role on their penalty kill. That should be the case for at least a couple more seasons.

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Cole Caufield ($7.85MM through 2030-31)
D Noah Dobson ($9.5MM through 2032-33)
D Kaiden Guhle ($5.5MM through 2030-31)
D Lane Hutson ($8.85MM from 2026-27 through 2033-34)
D Mike Matheson ($4.875MM in 2025-26, $6MM from 2026-27 through 2030-31)
F Juraj Slafkovsky ($7.6MM through 2032-33)
F Nick Suzuki ($7.875MM through 2029-30)

After losing Jesperi Kotkaniemi via an offer sheet, former GM Marc Bergevin made sure history wouldn’t repeat itself with Suzuki as he was signed to an early extension. That deal has proven to be quite beneficial as Suzuki has improved to become a legitimate two-way number one center while Hughes was able to use that price tag as an internal ceiling when he signed Caufield and Slafkovsky to their post-entry-level contracts. Suzuki’s market value is already well above this price tag and with the Upper Limit expected to continue to jump up quickly, it’s not implausible that he could double this AAV on his next deal if he’s still playing at a top-line level.

Caufield has shown steady improvement each season and is coming off a career-best 37-goal campaign; he is on pace to beat that this year. While he’s certainly on the small side in terms of height, he has become a legitimate top-line winger and this price tag for that role will look even better a few years from now. They’re banking on Slafkovsky taking the same step in his development as his play to this point of his career doesn’t warrant the contract just yet. The 2022 top pick has spent a lot of time on the top line over the last couple of years although his offensive production has improved more gradually. Still, top-six power forwards are difficult to come by so even if the point total doesn’t jump much higher than his personal best of 51, they still should get some value out of his deal down the road.

That will be a little trickier with Dobson, whose contract covered only one RFA season. With the Islanders, he was their top offensive defenseman and put up some big point totals to help drive up his price tag. That isn’t the case with Montreal with Hutson getting the prime minutes offensively at the moment. Still, top-pairing right-shot defenseman seldom become available in a trade and while Montreal paid a big price in terms of the return and the contract, they’ll probably feel justified with the move for the long haul.

Hutson had a terrific rookie season, earning the Calder Trophy for his efforts while putting up 66 points to be one of the top-scoring blueliners league-wide. That helped earn this extension in mid-October, one that cements him in his current role for the long haul. Undersized blueliners don’t always have extended success in the NHL but clearly, Montreal feels that his rookie-year impact is sustainable. It’s early but so far, so good on that front.

Matheson projected to be one of the better blueliners available on the open market next summer but instead elected for a long-term deal to stay in Montreal. A $6MM price tag for a player pushing 25 minutes per game of playing time seems on the team-friendly side but he will be 32 when this deal begins and there’s a good chance his role is significantly shorter by the time the deal is up. Still, this feels like another below-market pact, at least in the first few seasons.

When healthy, Guhle is a capable top-four defenseman who can play a shutdown role against top opponents and chip in a bit offensively. However, staying healthy has been a challenge throughout his career and was likely factored into this contract not being a max-term one like the others. If he can hold down the second-pairing spot with regularity and stay in the lineup, they’ll do fine with this deal but if the injury woes continue, it could be a problematic contract.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

$1.7525MM

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Suzuki
Worst Value: Laine

Looking Ahead

With Montreal flipping a fifth-round pick to San Jose to clear the final year of Carey Price’s contract, the Canadiens were hoping to operate out of LTIR for the first time in several years. However, with several injuries and the Danault acquisition, they wound up in LTIR for a big chunk of the season and have only recently exited it. As a result, their cap room is minimal, making them more of a money-in, money-out team heading to the trade deadline.

With Laine’s big contract off the books this summer plus Danault, Gallagher, and Anderson expiring the following year, Montreal is well-positioned to shift some of that money toward their younger core. That, coupled with the rising cap, gives them a lot of short-term flexibility cap-wise. Even after factoring in their recent extensions, Montreal has around $13.8MM in cap room for next season with around only a few spots to fill on the roster. That jumps to nearly $55MM in space for 2027-28, albeit with two-thirds of a roster to fill. Hughes has spoken about adding at the right time as they emerge from their rebuild. The opportune time to utilize that cap space and add could be coming pretty soon.

Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig and Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

2 comments Montreal Canadiens Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Florida Panthers

By Brian La Rose | at December 24, 2025 9:00 pm

Florida Panthers

Current Cap Hit: $103,050,261 (above the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

None who are on the active roster on a full-time basis.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

D Uvis Balinskis ($850K, UFA)
G Sergei Bobrovsky ($10MM, UFA)
F A.J. Greer ($850K, UFA)
F Noah Gregor ($775K, UFA)
F Luke Kunin ($775K, UFA)
F Tomas Nosek ($775K, UFA)
D Jeff Petry ($775K, UFA)
F Mackie Samoskevich ($775K, RFA)
D Donovan Sebrango ($775K, RFA)
F Cole Schwindt ($825K, UFA)
G Daniil Tarasov ($1.05MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Petry: $250K

Greer has found a nice role in Florida, setting a career high offensively last season while more than doubling his career high in hits as well. This season, he’s off to an even better start. Given his role and Florida’s top-heavy salary structure though, they may not be able to afford to keep him if his price tag pushes towards the $1.5MM mark. Schwindt was a waiver claim from Vegas last month but played sparingly (before being injured earlier this month) after being in and out of the lineup last season. Unless his role changes considerably, he’s probably going to be capped at the league minimum on his next deal. Realistically, the same can be said for any of Nosek, Kunin, and Gregor.

However, Samoskevich is a much different situation. He accepted a one-way deal this past summer, taking less than his qualifying offer to get the guaranteed salary. In doing so, he’s setting himself up to have salary arbitration rights next summer. If he plays the middle-six role he currently has all season and beats his 31 points from a year ago, he should easily triple this price tag at a minimum; quadrupling it isn’t unrealistic if he has a big second half.

Balinskis performed well last season in his first full year on the third pairing and is being deployed similarly in the early going this year. As is the case with Greer, he’d need to stay around the minimum to stay in Florida while his market value might be more in the $1.5MM range.

Petry had a tough year with Detroit last season which certainly hurt his market. At 37, he’s best served as a third pairing or depth defender and this price tag reflects that. He has four $50K bonuses tied to games played that are achievable if he stays healthy while the other $50K is dependent on a Stanley Cup victory. There’s a good chance he stays near the minimum if he keeps playing beyond this season. Sebrango was claimed off waivers with Florida dealing with injuries. He’s just looking to get established as an NHL regular at this point but his arbitration eligibility could work against him if Florida thinks that filing for a hearing could push him into seven figures, a risk they might not want to take as he should also stay at the minimum.

There were times in this contract that Bobrovsky’s contract looked like a complete anchor on the books. However, he has become a bit more consistent in recent years and when Florida traded Spencer Knight at the trade deadline last season, it suggested that their plan is to stick with Bobrovsky beyond this deal as they don’t have anyone else in their system that’s ready. He’ll be entering his age-38 season in 2026-27 so a long-term deal isn’t likely. However, a two-year pact could be doable, one that might land closer to half this amount. Alternatively, if they were to go with a one-year offer, he’d be eligible for performance incentives which could give Florida some shorter-term wiggle room next season.

Tarasov had a rough year in Columbus, ultimately finishing as the third-string goaltender and getting moved for cheap in the summer. If he can re-establish himself to the level he was at in 2023-24, he could make a case to land closer to $1.75MM or so on his next contract although that’s a price tag Florida likely can’t afford.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Jesper Boqvist ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Eetu Luostarinen ($3MM, UFA)
F Evan Rodrigues ($3MM, UFA)

Free agency hasn’t been kind to Rodrigues which helped explain why he signed a four-year deal for this price tag, a contract that had a chance to become team-friendly pretty quickly. So far, so good on that front. As a player who consistently passes 30 points and can play down the middle in a pinch, he should be able to land something in the $4MM range on his next contract.

Luostarinen has been a player who has produced a point total in the 20s in three of the last four seasons. The production he had last playoffs (19 points in 23 games) was the outlier but for the most part, he has been a third liner making third-line money. With his production generally being more limited, he might not be able to land as much as Rodrigues next time out. Boqvist signed this deal near the trade deadline last season and he might have done better than he would have on the open market where he didn’t have a lot of luck in 2024. As a fourth liner with a bit of versatility, his value should hover somewhere around this mark two years from now.

Signed Through 2027-28

F Jonah Gadjovich ($775K in 2025-26, $905K after)
D Dmitry Kulikov ($1.15MM, UFA)

Gadjovich hasn’t played a lot since joining Florida in 2023 but he has been a serviceable fourth liner who fits the physical style they want to play. As a 13th forward in an ideal situation, keeping him at just over the minimum salary starting next season isn’t a bad deal for them.

The fact Kulikov received a four-year deal last summer was a surprise but he also left a fair bit of money on the table had he opted to go with shorter-term contracts. The end result is that he gets a bit of security while the Panthers get a bargain deal for someone who, when healthy (which he currently isn’t), is still a pretty dependable third-pairing defenseman at this point.

Signed Through 2028-29

None

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Aleksander Barkov ($10MM through 2029-30)
F Sam Bennett ($8MM through 2032-33)
D Aaron Ekblad ($6.1MM through 2032-33)
D Gustav Forsling ($5.75MM through 2031-32)
D Seth Jones ($7MM through 2029-30)*
F Anton Lundell ($5MM through 2029-30)
F Brad Marchand ($5.25MM through 2030-31)
D Niko Mikkola ($2.5MM in 2025-26, $5MM from 2026-27 through 2033-34)
F Sam Reinhart ($8.625MM through 2031-32)
F Matthew Tkachuk ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
F Carter Verhaeghe ($7MM through 2032-33)

*-Chicago is retaining an additional $2.5MM per season on Jones’ contract.

The days of Barkov being viewed as the NHL’s most underrated player have come and gone but he’s still one of the more underappreciated top-line centers in the league. A legitimate top two-way player, he has also chipped in with more than a point per game in five straight seasons. If he were on the open market following a normal year, he’d be making a few million more per season, especially as market value for players continues to escalate in this new cap era. Of course, it’s worth noting that this is not a normal year. A long-term knee injury has him on LTIR with the best-case scenario being a late-playoff return. Assuming he can bounce back from that next season, Barkov should still be a bargain.

Florida GM Bill Zito made a bold move to get Tkachuk, sending two key contributors to Calgary to get him (Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar), then signed him to this contract, a pricey one at the time. It has worked out quite well as he has found another level with the Panthers, playing an instrumental role in their Stanley Cup titles. With how the top winger market has moved in recent years, this deal is several million below market value already. Reinhart followed up his career year with another year of more than a point per game last season and as long as he can stay near there (even if he doesn’t approach 57 goals again), this deal should hold up just fine for the.

With the playoff run Bennett had the last two seasons, someone was going to pay a big price to get him. The price Florida paid is likely lower than what he would have gotten in free agency. But, relative to his point production, it’s still a sizable overpayment. But if he can keep playing at his postseason level in the playoffs for them, they’ll be happy with how the contract works out. If that doesn’t happen, this will be a problematic deal for them. Verhaeghe has been one of the NHL’s better bargains for several years now and even with this deal, if he stays in the 55-60-point range, it should age well, even if the contract isn’t the bargain it once was.

Considering Marchand is already 37, few would have expected a six-year contract but that’s what he was able to get with him taking a lower cap hit in return. For now, he’s still a top-six forward and his price tag for that role is actually team-friendly for the time being. The back few years could be an issue though as his age and playing style are likely to catch up to him. Lundell is the one player at the other end of the spectrum; instead of being a veteran sticking around in his UFA years, Lundell signed this after his entry-level pact, only adding two years of team control. His offense is still developing (getting a bigger role this season in Barkov’s absence will help there) but if he settles in as ‘Barkov-lite’ as some have suggested, this is going to be yet another club-friendly pact for a while.

Zito made a big splash near the trade deadline last season with the addition of Jones, a top-pairing all-situations player who had come under fire for some struggles in Chicago. But counted on a bit less with the Panthers, he has settled in nicely and is effectively just making number two money for the portion Florida is paying. That should give them plenty of value for a while. The thought when Jones was acquired was that he might ultimately replace Ekblad but the former number one pick took a pay cut to stick around. There’s some risk with the contract given the heavy workload he’s had in his career and some recent significant injuries so the final couple of years could be an issue. But this is second-pairing money and he’s still holding his own in a top-pairing role. They’ll be happy with his contract for a while.

Forsling will go down as one of the top waiver claims in recent memory, going from a depth piece in his previous stops to a legitimate top-four player who can chip in offensively and log big minutes. This is already looking like a team-friendly pact with more than a half-decade to go; it should only get better value-wise from here. Mikkola has fit in well since joining the Panthers in 2023 and has taken on a bigger role since then, making his current contract quite the bargain. The new one looks a little on the high side now for someone who is a fourth defender but that should change as the market shifts over the next few years and that price point becomes more normal for someone in that role.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Samoskevich
Worst Value: Bennett

Looking Ahead

The biggest decision that Florida has to make on the cap front this season involves Barkov. If it’s deemed that he won’t be able to play in the playoffs, he can go on season-ending LTIR, giving them an additional $6.2MM in their LTIR pool, plenty of space to get back to compliance when everyone else returns and add a piece or two. If they don’t want to do that and keep him eligible for a possible late-playoff return, they’ll need to move out money at some point this season and be a money-in, money-out team after that.

At the moment, Florida has around $17MM in space for 2026-27 with around half a dozen players to sign, including a goalie tandem that could push to make around half of that. That wouldn’t leave much flexibility to add but the core would be intact for another year. That sentence should apply for a few more years, even when they already have more than $67MM committed for 2029-30. A big chunk of their roster should be in a Panthers uniform for the long haul, mostly on contracts that should age relatively well.

Photos courtesy of Geoff Burke and Perry Nelson-Imagn Images.

5 comments Florida Panthers Pro Hockey Rumors Originals Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Detroit Red Wings

By Brian La Rose | at October 21, 2025 10:00 pm

Detroit Red Wings

Current Cap Hit: $83,641,833 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (three years, $942.5K)
D Simon Edvinsson (one year, $894.1K)
F Emmitt Finnie (three years, $821.7K)
F Marco Kasper (two years, $886.7K)
D Axel Sandin Pellikka (three years, $918.3K)

Potential Bonuses
Brandsegg-Nygard: $500K
Edvinsson: $850K
Kasper: $1MM
Sandin Pellikka: $500K
Total: $2.85MM

Considering the season he had overseas, it was a bit surprising to see Brandsegg-Nygard break camp with Detroit but tying for the league lead in preseason goals and points earned him a spot. Considering he’s just starting out, it’s too early to forecast another contract but if he wants a long-term second contract, he’ll need to be established as a regular top-six player by the time it expires. Finnie was another training camp surprise where his preseason efforts earned him a spot. He’s in the same boat as Brandsegg-Nygard when it comes to his next deal though.

That can’t quite be said for Kasper. His first full NHL season was a strong one where he was in the top six more often than not. If he stays on that trajectory, he’s someone who could plausibly bypass a bridge deal. In this market of escalating salaries, a deal might push into the $7.5MM territory even if he remains more of a second liner at that time. Meanwhile, a bridge pact would check in with a number likely starting with a four.

Sandin Pellikka is also in his first full year in North America and while many expected he’d at least start the season in AHL Grand Rapids, he also broke camp with the big club. If he has the type of impact they hope he will (as an offensive top-four defender), he’s someone that they might look to sign to a long-term deal coming off his entry-level pact. But again, it’s far too early to forecast, given that he’s only a handful of games into his NHL career.

Edvinsson is a different case. A full-time top-four player in his rookie year, he’s someone who appears to be living up to his lofty draft billing. GM Steve Yzerman doesn’t dole out a lot of long-term deals but this is a case where it wouldn’t be surprising to see him try to do so. They did this with another young blueliner recently who we’ll get to later but it wouldn’t be surprising to see them use that price tag as an internal ceiling for an Edvinsson extension.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Jonatan Berggren ($1.825MM, RFA)
D Jacob Bernard-Docker ($875K, RFA)
D Ben Chiarot ($4.75MM, UFA)
D Erik Gustafsson ($2MM, UFA)
D Travis Hamonic ($1MM, UFA)
D Justin Holl ($3.4MM, UFA)
F Patrick Kane ($3MM, UFA)
G Cam Talbot ($2.5MM, UFA)
F James van Riemsdyk ($1MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Kane: $4MM
van Riemsdyk: $750K
Total: $4.75MM

Once again, it took until the eve of free agency for Kane and the Red Wings to work a deal out. This one gave him a bit less in guaranteed money by $1MM but added $1.5MM in incentives, giving him a chance at beating his earnings from last season. He’ll earn $2.5MM of those after just 10 games and another $500K by the time he reaches 50 games so as long as he stays healthy, he’s a $6MM player this season. In this market, that’s not a bad price tag for a winger who is probably best served as a second-line winger at this point but can move up in a pinch. While he turns 37 next month, he could plausibly keep playing for another couple of seasons with this type of contractual structure.

Berggren was largely a regular last season after spending most of his sophomore year in the minors but wasn’t able to match his rookie-season numbers, yielding this bridge deal this summer. He’ll need to establish himself a little higher on the depth chart or he risks becoming a non-tender candidate when he gains arbitration eligibility next summer. As for van Riemsdyk, he didn’t need a late-summer deal this time around after a decent showing in a depth role with Columbus. Notably, $500K of his bonuses are playoff-dependent while the other $250K kicks in at 50 GP. At this point in his career, he’s likely to remain around this price point on one-year deals.

Chiarot’s contract was a surprise three summers ago, both in terms of money and term. He remains a top-four blueliner for Detroit but is someone who is trending more toward being a fourth or fifth defender given that he’ll be 35 when his next contract begins. A two-year deal could still be doable but a drop down to a price tag starting with a three looks likely at this point. Holl has cleared waivers for the second straight year and is in Grand Rapids where his cap charge has dropped to $2.25MM. If he made half of what he makes now, there might have been a taker for him on waivers. Accordingly, despite teams passing on him for free now, there still could be enough of a market for him to land around $1.5MM on a one-year prove-it type of contract next summer.

Gustafsson had a so-so first season in Detroit as an offense-first defender, picking up 18 points in 60 games but also struggling defensively. He lost his roster spot and is now in the minors, carrying a reduced cap charge of $875K. He’s likely to land closer to half of his current cap charge unless he’s able to come back and be productive. Hamonic was a depth defender last season in Ottawa and has had a similar role this season. At 35 and with some heavy lifting in minutes in his prime, he’s unlikely to land much more than this if he gets a contract for next season. Bernard-Docker also spent most of last season in a depth role with the Senators and is merely looking to establish himself as a full-time player. He’s arbitration-eligible but unless he’s a regular, he’ll be a non-tender candidate, even if they want to keep him around since he entered the season with 144 games of NHL experience already.

Talbot was brought in via free agency in 2024 to help shore up the goaltending position. However, he was more of a platoon-level piece than a true starter, resulting in them attempting to shore up that spot this past summer. Still, this price tag for a serviceable backup at a minimum is pretty reasonable in this market. He’ll be heading into his age-39 year if he looks to play next season so his next contract, if there is one, should be a one-year pact around this price point.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Mason Appleton ($2.9MM, UFA)
F Andrew Copp ($5.625MM, UFA)
F Alex DeBrincat ($7.875MM, UFA)
G John Gibson ($6.4MM, UFA)
D Albert Johansson ($1.125MM, RFA)
F Elmer Soderblom ($1.125MM, RFA)

While the idea of signing a medium-term deal has grown in popularity around the league lately while looking for a more favorable cap environment next time, DeBrincat was one of the first to do so after being acquired in 2023. It bought Detroit three extra years of control but allows DeBrincat to hit the open market at 29. A max-term contract should be achievable for him at that time and given his offensive consistency as a legitimate top-six winger who typically collects between 65 and 70 points most years, he should be in a good position to push past the $10MM mark. Detroit won’t be able to use an internal ceiling if they want to retain him.

Copp was brought in via free agency in 2022 on the heels of a career year offensively. He hasn’t been able to match that in Detroit although he brings enough other elements to the table to give them at least a reasonable return. Still, even in this inflated market, he’ll be hard-pressed to match this price tag if he remains in the 30-point range offensively. However, another multi-year deal should be doable at least.

Appleton had a quiet contract year in Winnipeg which limited his market this summer. However, if he can get back to the 30-point range where he was in 2023-24, he could push for something closer to the $4MM range on his next deal. Soderblom split the last two seasons between Detroit and AHL Grand Rapids, making a low-cost bridge deal this summer a guarantee. He’ll have arbitration rights two years from now and if he’s a regular in their bottom six, doubling this cost doesn’t seem unreasonable.

Johansson got his first taste of NHL action last season, seeing regular action on the third pairing. Given the inexperience, a bridge deal was the only play here as well. Like Soderblom, he’ll have arbitration rights next time out and assuming he remains a regular top-six piece, doubling this price tag (at a minimum) should be doable.

Gibson was much better in Anaheim last season after some tough years but with Lukas Dostal in place as the starter of the present and future, the Ducks opted to move him with Yzerman seeking another short-term upgrade. If he can get back to being a starting-caliber netminder, the Red Wings will do quite well with what’s left of this contract. However, if he remains more of a platoon piece, he’ll be a considerable overpayment, albeit one they can easily afford right now. He might be more in the $5MM range on his next deal, if not a bit lower.

Signed Through 2027-28

F J.T. Compher ($5.1MM, UFA)
F Michael Rasmussen ($3.2MM, UFA)

Compher was another attempt to bring in some help down the middle. The first year wasn’t bad but he struggled last season and is off to a quiet start this year. Right now, this is still top-six money but could become higher-end third-line money by the time the contract is up. That’s more where he should be so the deal might age a little better compared to now. Still, given the high demand for centers, he should stay in this price range in 2028. Rasmussen hasn’t produced to the level befitting a ninth overall pick but he has been a serviceable bottom-six piece in recent years. Given his physicality, the fact he can play center, and double-digit goal production each year, he’s someone who should still be able to garner a raise despite on his next contract lower point totals overall. A jump into the $4MM territory should be realistic.

Signed Through 2028-29

None

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Dylan Larkin ($8.7MM through 2030-31)
F Lucas Raymond ($8.05MM through 2031-32)
D Moritz Seider ($8.55MM through 2030-31)

After two solid seasons to start his career, Raymond has found another level in the last two, becoming the legitimate top-line threat the Red Wings hoped they were getting when they drafted him fourth overall in 2020. Detroit was able to bypass the bridge deal, a decision that looks wise now as if he was up for a new deal soon, it’d easily clear the $10MM threshold. Larkin might not be a prototypical number one center but he’s an all-situations top liner for them. For the role he’s filling, even though the top-end production isn’t always there, this is still a bit of a below-market contract, one that will look even better a couple of years from now.

It was a bit of a battle last year but Detroit was able to get Seider locked up long-term, though one year less than the maximum term. That was likely needed to keep the cap charge below Larkin’s and keep their internal cap intact. Seider is already a legitimate top-pairing defender who plays in all situations and is pretty consistent offensively, collecting at least 40 points per season. His is another deal that would cost more than $10MM if they were trying to sign it now. Instead, they’ll have a team-friendly pact for the next half-decade.

Buyouts

F Justin Abdelkader ($1.055MM in 2025-26)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

$871,150

Detroit also started the season with a $502,836 additional cap charge due to their total 2025-26 bonuses exceeding the 7.5% of the cap maximum.

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Raymond
Worst Value: Copp

Looking Ahead

Projected to finish this season nearly $12MM below the cap ceiling, it’s fair to say that Yzerman has the cap space to take a big swing or two on the trade front if they find themselves in the mix in the second half of the season. On the other hand, if they’re out of contention, they could be a viable landing spot for a high-priced veteran with the trading team also sending some draft capital Detroit’s way to facilitate the swap. Either way, they’re in great shape cap-wise this season.

That will continue to be the case for a while. While players like Edvinsson and ideally Kasper, Sandin Pellikka, and Brandsegg-Nygard play their way into bigger contracts, Detroit has more than $41MM in flexibility for this coming summer and more than $77MM in space for 2027-28. The cap space is there for them to really be a player in terms of talent acquisition. The question is, given their long playoff drought, how attractive of a market will they be in spite of that cap room? If they don’t end that streak, we’ll be finding out soon enough.

Photos courtesy of Eric Hartline and Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.

4 comments Detroit Red Wings Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Buffalo Sabres

By Brian La Rose | at October 13, 2025 10:01 pm

Buffalo Sabres

Current Cap Hit: $93,341,521 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Zach Benson (one year, $950K)
F Josh Doan (one year, $925K)
F Jiri Kulich (two years, $886.7K)

Potential Bonuses
Benson: $650K

After a strong rookie year in 2023-24, Benson’s sophomore campaign was largely the same. While he didn’t take a step back in his development, he didn’t really progress either. While he’s someone the Sabres clearly feel will still be a part of their long-term plans, finding a price point low enough for them to be comfortable with and high enough for Benson to be happy with will be tough. With that in mind, a short-term bridge deal around the $4MM territory might make the most sense for both sides. He has three ‘A’ bonuses in his deal and if he stays in their top six all year, he could hit some of those.

Doan was one of the pieces coming to Buffalo in the JJ Peterka trade this offseason. He held his own in a bottom-six role for the bulk of last season with Utah but that’s not the type of player that typically signs a long-term deal at this point. A short-term bridge pact makes sense here, potentially in the $3MM area if he has a similar showing this season. Kulich showed some promise last season despite a relatively limited role. They’re hoping he can be a top-six center of the future and if it looks like he’ll be there at the end of this deal, a long-term pact could be on the table. The rate for that could be in the $8MM territory, even if he’s on the second line given the inflation coming to the cap.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

D Jacob Bryson ($900K, UFA)
D Michael Kesselring ($1.4MM, RFA)
F Peyton Krebs ($1.45MM, RFA)
F Beck Malenstyn ($1.35MM, UFA)
F Alex Tuch ($4.75MM, UFA)

Tuch’s contract situation is one of the biggest discussion points in Buffalo right now. He’s a local player who has publicly stated that he wants to re-sign but no agreement has been reached just yet. Seeing the recent explosion of the winger market, it’s likely that Tuch’s camp is seeking to more than double his current price tag. He has only passed the point-per-game mark once in his career but with two 36-goal efforts over the last three seasons, he’s still producing enough that he could very well surpass the $10MM mark on his next deal. If Buffalo continues to struggle, his name will come up in trade speculation quickly so it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides plug away at this in the coming weeks.

Krebs bounced back last season after a tough 2023-24 campaign but he still hasn’t progressed to being a consistently reliable producer; he has yet to reach 30 points in a single season. However, given that he plays a premium position and has arbitration rights, he should be able to double this price tag next summer. Malenstyn wasn’t anywhere near as impactful in his first year with Buffalo compared to his 2023-24 season with Washington. However, with his physicality, it wouldn’t be shocking to see him pass the $2MM mark next summer, even as a pure fourth liner.

Kesselring was the other part of the return for Peterka and is someone Buffalo likely views as an important building block on the back end. He hasn’t become a full-time top-four piece yet but as a coveted right-shot defender with arbitration rights, he should be in a position to push for $4MM on a shorter-term deal while a long-term pact would likely run past $5MM per season. Bryson has been a depth defender for the last few seasons and is likely to remain in that role moving forward. That should keep him close to the minimum salary for next season and beyond.

Signed Through 2026-27

D Bowen Byram ($6.25MM, UFA)
F Justin Danforth ($1.8MM, UFA)
G Colten Ellis ($775K, RFA)
F/D Mason Geertsen ($775K, UFA)
F Jordan Greenway ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Lyon ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Jack Quinn ($3.375MM, RFA)
D Conor Timmins ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Jason Zucker ($4.75MM, UFA)

Zucker and Greenway found themselves in similar situations last season, players on expiring contracts who were likely to be moved if they didn’t sign extensions. Instead, both worked out short-term deals that gave them some stability and kept Buffalo’s long-term options open. Zucker’s trips through free agency haven’t always proven fruitful but if he stays in the 50-point range the next couple of years, he could land a small raise and a multi-year pact, even as a 35-plus contract. As for Greenway, he has been the beneficiary of the power forward premium. When healthy, he struggles to reach 30 points and even staying in the lineup has been a concern. But given his size, physicality, and defensive acumen, there’s a high enough floor that Buffalo was willing to pay a premium on. He’ll need to produce a bit more if he wants to beat this by any sort of significant amount.

Quinn wasn’t quite able to live up to offensive expectations last season, resulting in this bridge deal getting signed back in June. Both sides will be hoping that he will be able to take that step forward and become a legitimate top-six piece. If that happens, he could plausibly push past $6MM or more two years from now. Danforth came over from Columbus in free agency as a versatile piece who can move up and down the lineup. But he will have to find a way to produce more if he is going to have a shot at beating this in his next trip to the open market. Geertsen hadn’t played in the NHL since 2021-22 before surprisingly making Buffalo’s roster in training camp. Unless he can establish himself as an every-game player, he’s likely to remain at the minimum salary in the future.

To avoid any risk of an offer sheet, the Sabres filed for arbitration with Byram this summer, setting him up for a two-year deal that took him right to unrestricted free agency. While they settled before the hearing, they couldn’t get any additional team control, meaning he’ll hit the open market at 26, in the prime of his career. Given how much salaries have exploded, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he pushes for a deal in the $10MM range on a max-term agreement. Timmins, acquired in a swap of third-pairing defensemen this summer, also managed to avoid arbitration with this deal. He has shown flashes of offensive upside over the years but has been more of a fifth or sixth option for most of that time. There’s a fine line to navigate for players in his situation as if he remains a lower-producing piece, the offers two years from now might not get to this level. But a few more points could propel him past the $3MM mark.

Lyon became a full-time backup goaltender over his two years with Detroit, getting into 74 games overall. However, his save percentage dipped to .896 last season which hurt his chances of getting a bigger deal this summer. Still, he did enough to get his biggest guaranteed contract. At this point of his career, it’s hard to see him moving into that top echelon of backups so while another small raise could be doable, he’s probably not going much higher than that. Ellis was claimed off waivers and has yet to make his NHL debut. Buffalo feels he has some upside as evidenced by the claim but when everyone’s healthy, he’s no higher than third on the depth chart. This doesn’t feel like a situation where he’s going to get a chance to play into a big contract but if he does well in limited action, he could land where Lyon is now.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Ryan Johnson ($775K, RFA)
F Tyson Kozak ($775K, RFA)

Both Johnson and Kozak are on identical three-year deals. However, with the minimum salary moving to $850K next season and $900K in 2027-28, their cap hits beginning next season should jump to $841.7K.

Kozak made his NHL debut last season, getting into 21 games where he did okay with limited playing time. He wasn’t a big point producer with Rochester either but the security of a three-year pact with two one-way years was enough to get him to sign. He’ll need to establish himself as a regular and make a bit of an impact to help his cause for a new deal as if he winds up with minimal production, he’ll become a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility.

Johnson, a 2019 first-round pick, has had a limited role so far when he has played, including a 41-game stint in his rookie year. He also opted for the security of two one-way years while he looks to establish himself as a full-time defender. Like Kozak, he’ll want to be more established by the end of this deal to avoid being a non-tender candidate to avoid arbitration eligibility. If he’s a regular third-pairing option by then, Johnson could move up into the $2MM range on a contract.

Signed Through 2028-29

G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Ryan McLeod ($5MM, UFA)

The McLeod trade raised some eyebrows with a prominent prospect (Matthew Savoie) going to Edmonton but a bigger role allowed the center to have a breakout year, creating an interesting situation where they had to work out a contract off a platform campaign much better than any other season. They ultimately settled on this spot, one that bought two years of UFA eligibility and gave him lower-end second-line money. If he stays in the 50-point range that he reached last year, this will be a bargain but if he goes back to his Edmonton point levels, then it’ll be an overpayment.

The goalie market has seen a lot of inflation lately which has likely affected the value of Luukkonen’s pact. What seemed like a risky move at the time given that he had just the one strong season now looks like something that has the potential to be a team-friendly deal before long. If he can help turn around Buffalo’s fortunes by the time this contract expires, he could go past the $7MM mark on his next contract.

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

D Rasmus Dahlin ($11MM through 2031-32)
F Joshua Norris ($7.95MM through 2029-30)
D Owen Power ($8.35MM through 2030-31)
D Mattias Samuelsson ($4.286MM through 2029-30)
F Tage Thompson ($7.143MM through 2029-30)

The Sabres took a risk when they moved Dylan Cozens and his long-term deal to Ottawa last season to take on Norris and his long-term pact to shake up his core group. The early returns haven’t been great as he has played in four games, suffering long-term injuries in two of them. When healthy, he’s a legitimate top-six center but staying in the lineup continues to be a challenge and significantly negatively affects his current value. Thompson, on the other hand, continues to make this contract a team-friendly one. No, he hasn’t gotten back to the 94-point mark but he had a 44-goal effort last season and is averaging over 70 points per season over the last four years. This is becoming second-line money and Thompson’s production is very much that of a top-liner.

There was a bit of sticker shock on Dahlin’s deal, one that makes him one of the top-paid defensemen in the NHL. However, it bought out seven UFA years so the price was going to be high. Is Dahlin a top-five defender? At first glance, some might not be inclined to put him there but he’d at least belong in the discussion, especially since he has become one of the top offensive producers from the back end league-wide. As other veterans get their next contracts in the coming years and we start to see the type of inflation we’ve seen among forwards impact some defensemen, this deal should look much more favorable and provide a fair bit of value for the Sabres.

Power signed what was briefly the highest AAV for a defender coming off an entry-level deal, a mark that has been passed several times since then. He’s still just 22 and improving so while the contract might be a slight overpayment now, that should change relatively soon. Meanwhile, Power should still be able to command a max-term contract at a bigger rate when this deal expires in 2031. Buffalo gave Samuelsson an early extension, hoping that they were buying low on a top-four shutdown defender. That hasn’t exactly been how things have worked out as he has been more of a secondary player than a core one so far. But again, as salaries rise, this should get a little better value-wise over time, though not enough to flip this to a team-friendly agreement.

Buyouts

F Jeff Skinner ($4.44MM in 2025-26, $2.44MM from 2026-27 through 2029-30)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Thompson
Worst Value: Norris

Looking Ahead

Despite the longest playoff drought in the NHL, the Sabres find themselves pretty tight to the cap to start the season. They have enough flexibility to withstand a couple of injuries but if that happens, they won’t be far off from being a money-in, money-out team if they’re buying at the trade deadline. But if things go off the rails again and they sell, they should easily have enough cap space to absorb any of the bonuses that Benson reaches.

Buffalo has a little over $21MM in space for 2026-27. Tuch could take up half of that while new deals for Benson, Kesselring, and Doan would likely eat up most of the rest. However, with more than $61MM in room for 2027-28 at the moment, GM Kevyn Adams will have some flexibility to truly shake up the roster at that time, assuming he’s still running the show by then.

Photos courtesy of Brian Bradshaw Sevald and Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.

16 comments Buffalo Sabres Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins

By Brian La Rose | at October 6, 2025 9:59 pm

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.

Signed Through 2028-29

None

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Morgan Geekie ($5.5MM through 2030-31)
F Tanner Jeannot ($3.4MM through 2029-30)
F Elias Lindholm ($7.75MM through 2030-31)
D Hampus Lindholm ($6.5MM through 2029-30)
D Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
F David Pastrnak ($11.25MM through 2030-31)
D Nikita Zadorov ($5MM through 2029-30)

When Pastrnak signed this contract two-and-a-half years ago, there was some sticker shock when it came to the AAV. Yes, he was in the middle of his first 100-point season but was that the outlier or a sign of things to come? It turns out it was the latter as he has surpassed that mark the last two years as well. In a cap environment that’s seeing salaries go up quickly, this deal already looks like a team-friendly one, something that should only continue moving forward. Lindholm (the center), on the other hand? Not so much. His first season with the Bruins was tough as his offensive stagnation continued. While he’s not getting top center money, he’s at least getting high-end number two dollars and 47 points doesn’t qualify for that distinction either. They’ll be hoping for a bounce-back as if this is his ceiling moving forward, this contract will be an anchor in a hurry.

Geekie had a breakout season in 2024-25, scoring 33 goals after only tallying that many combined over the previous three years. That made this contract particularly tricky, especially with arbitration rights. In the end, they settled on a deal that pays him more like a consistent second liner moving forward. If he stays around the 25-goal territory, they’ll get decent value. But if his output drops more to his previous numbers, this could be a problematic deal as well. Jeannot’s deal, on the other hand, looks problematic already. Despite a tough year in Los Angeles that saw him on the fourth line, Boston ‘won’ the bidding war for his services, thinking that a change of scenery and perhaps a bigger role could help rejuvenate him. While it’s possible that happens, it’s more likely that he continues on the path he has been on the last couple of years, making this an overpayment both in dollars and term.

McAvoy’s deal also carried some sticker shock when it was signed four years ago. However, the first two years worked out pretty well although last season was a little tougher. He wasn’t as impactful as he was the previous two seasons and a long-term shoulder injury sustained at the Four Nations Face-Off ended his year prematurely. For an all-situations number one defenseman like McAvoy is, the price point is reasonable, especially as salaries start to escalate quicker. But he will need to get back to the level he was in the first two seasons of this contract for the Bruins to get the type of return they’re hoping he’ll be able to provide.

Lindholm (the blueliner) had a breakout year in his first full season in Boston in 2022-23 but hasn’t come close to that type of offensive production since while he missed 65 games due to injury himself. He wasn’t signed to be a big point producer though and as long as he’s succeeding in tough defensive matchups and chipping in a bit at the other end, this deal should hold up well. Zadorov was another of GM Don Sweeney’s big swings last summer that raised some eyebrows. In Boston’s defense, he played a bigger role with them than he had elsewhere and this price for a top-four defender is defensible on its face. However, if you’re of the mindset that he’s more of a third-pairing player in an ideal world, then it’s a big overpayment, no matter how much physicality he brings to the table.

It took until the start of last season for Swayman to get this deal, one that has been used as a benchmark for others since then. However, he responded with his worst performance by a significant margin. The injuries on the back end certainly didn’t help but it’s fair to say that they’re expecting Swayman to be one of the top goalies in the league. He’ll need to get back to that level for them to get a good return on this contract.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

D Brandon Carlo ($615K through 2026-27)

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Zacha
Worst Value: E. Lindholm

Looking Ahead

Boston opens this season with a little more than $2MM in cap space, a reasonable amount but one that might not allow them to bank much in-season flexibility once you account for injuries that will likely creep up over the first few months. That said, if they wind up being sellers once again, they’re probably not going to be looking to take on money closer to the trade deadline anyway while if they are in the mix, they’ll have to get a little creative to add.

Looking to next summer, the Bruins will have a little less than $20MM at their disposal with Arvidsson and Peeke being the only players of some significance to re-sign. New deals for them could cost around $8MM, leaving some flexibility to add a piece or two and at least shore up their depth. However, with over $48MM in space as things stand for 2027-28, that will be the window for Sweeney to potentially take a bigger swing to change up his core group.

Photos courtesy of Bob DeChiara and Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

6 comments Boston Bruins Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Winnipeg Jets

By Brian La Rose | at September 27, 2025 4:00 pm

Winnipeg Jets

Current Cap Hit: $91,536,190 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

None that are projected to be full-time regulars.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

G Eric Comrie ($825K, UFA)
F Kyle Connor ($7.143MM, UFA)
F David Gustafsson ($835K, RFA)
D Ville Heinola ($800K, RFA)
F Cole Koepke ($1MM, UFA)
F Adam Lowry ($3.25MM, UFA)
D Colin Miller ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Gustav Nyquist ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Tanner Pearson ($1MM, UFA)
F Cole Perfetti ($3.25MM, RFA)
D Luke Schenn ($2.75MM, UFA)
D Logan Stanley ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Jonathan Toews ($2MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Toews: $5MM

Connor’s pending free agency isn’t generating as much attention as it normally would, it’s just that there are some other big-name players also entering the final year of their respective deals as well. But Connor is in that high-end tier as well. In his eight full seasons as an NHLer, only seven players league-wide have scored more goals. He has two years with more than 90 points over the last four campaigns. He’s an above-average top-line winger, simple as that. He has been on a team-friendly deal for a while now and will be for this season but that will change soon. A long-term pact is likely going to add another $4MM or more per year to his current cost and it’s a price that many teams, not just the Jets, will likely be willing to pay.

Of the trio of players at the $3.25MM mark, one is on the way up, that being Perfetti after his first 50-point season. Many think he still has another gear to get to and he’ll get a chance to play a bigger role following the departure of Nikolaj Ehlers. He’s arbitration-eligible for the first time next summer with a $3.5MM qualifying offer. Assuming that Winnipeg will want to sign him to a long-term deal, it will likely take more than double that amount to get something done.

Lowry has ranged between 34 and 36 points over the last three seasons while bringing a strong defensive game and physicality to the table. In a perfect world, he’s a solid number three center although his usage was a bit more than that at times last season. Given that he’ll be 33 when his next deal starts, he may not be able to command too much more on his next deal but pushing past the $4MM mark should be doable. Nyquist had a career-best 75 points in 2023-24 but tapered off last season, managing just 28, leading to this deal in July. At 36, he should be going year-to-year from here on out. A bounce-back could push him past the $4MM mark, especially on a re-signing where Winnipeg often has to pay a bit of a higher rate.

Toews was able to benefit from an early free agency, so to speak. After not playing in the past two seasons while recovering from illness, he was free to work out a deal before July 1st, making him the focal point of the market for a couple of weeks. His structure gives Winnipeg a bit of insurance as most of his bonuses are based on games played with some for some playoff success, also dependent on playoff games played. So, if he struggles and can’t last the full season, they’re not out the full weight of the contract but if he returns and makes an impact, he’ll be one of their higher-paid forwards. Given his age (37) and recent history, he’s probably going to go year-to-year if he keeps playing beyond this season.

Pearson had to earn a deal of a PTO last season with Vegas and did just that before being a solid depth contributor for the Golden Knights. At this stage of his career, he’s a depth player who will be going year-to-year but he’ll add some length to a lineup that hasn’t always been the deepest. Koepke also adds some depth after being a regular on Boston’s fourth line. With a limited track record at this point (73 of his 99 games came last season), there’s some room for his price tag to jump up still if he can hold down a similar role this year. Gustafsson has had a limited role in recent years and assuming that remains the case, he’s likely to stay near the minimum salary moving forward.

Schenn was brought in near the trade deadline last season to give the back end a bit more snarl and depth. He largely played on the third pairing and killed penalties, the role he has had for most of his career. Given that he’ll be 36 soon, he’s someone who might be on one-year deals moving forward, allowing for a bonus structure that could get the total potential value of the contract close to what it is now. Miller’s first full year with the Jets was serviceable but his minutes remained rather low for a blueliner. Even with some offensive skill, if he can’t log 15 minutes a night, he’ll probably be hard-pressed to match this deal next summer.

Stanley has been in the same spot for several years now, a sixth or seventh option on the depth chart who doesn’t play a lot when he’s in the lineup. Still, given his size (six-foot-seven), there will probably be teams who think they can get him going in a different environment. Accordingly, he could wind up near the $2MM mark next summer. Heinola, on the other hand, has seen his stock drop in recent years to the point where he could be a waiver candidate. He needs to play in 27 games to retain his RFA status, otherwise, he’d be a Group Six UFA. Unless he can establish himself as an NHL regular, he’s likely to be at or near the minimum moving forward.

Comrie hasn’t had a lot of NHL success outside of Winnipeg but his two best seasons have come with the Jets over two separate stints. Based on his numbers with this team, a jump past $2.5MM would make sense. But with his spotty track record elsewhere, he might only be able to land more in the $1.5MM range.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Morgan Barron ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Haydn Fleury ($950K, UFA)
F Vladislav Namestnikov ($3MM, UFA)
F Nino Niederreiter ($4MM, UFA)

Niederreiter isn’t the 50-point player he was a while back but he is still a relatively consistent secondary scorer. His type of role is a tough one to thread, however, as it’s the middle class that might get squeezed with more money heading toward top talent. If he stays around 15 goals and around 40 points per season, he should be able to get another contract like this. However, if the production drops off over the next couple of years, he’ll be 35 and in a spot where overall interest could be limited.

Namestnikov has settled in well with Winnipeg, filling a bit of a ‘Swiss Army’ role where he’s moved around a lot. The same concern with Niederreiter applies here to a point as well although Namestnikov’s ability to play center helps his cause. His free agency has been a bit perplexing in the past in terms of the type of interest he gets but it wouldn’t be shocking to see him land another two-year deal around this price point. Barron has been a regular on the fourth line for several years now and signed this deal this summer to walk him right to UFA eligibility. He will need to find a way to land a spot higher in the lineup if he wants to beat this by a significant amount in 2027.

Fleury played a limited role in his first season in Winnipeg and this contract reflects the expectation that he’ll remain a depth defender for the next couple of years. That has been his role for several years now so there’s no reason to think his future deals are going to remain at or near the minimum salary moving forward.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Dylan DeMelo ($4.9MM, UFA)
F Alex Iafallo ($3.667MM, UFA)
D Josh Morrissey ($6.25MM, UFA)
D Dylan Samberg ($5.75MM, UFA)

Iafallo opted to take a small pay cut to take an early extension back in April. He has largely been in the same range offensively as Niederreiter and Namestnikov in recent years so he opted for the security over risking a weaker than expected open market process. Given his usage since joining the Jets, he’s likely to stay around this price point moving forward.

When Morrissey started this contract, it looked risky. His career-high in points at the time was only 31 so they were clearly forecasting that he had another level to get to in that regard. And they were very much right about that. Morrissey has gone from being a player with some hopes of taking another step forward to a legitimate all-around number one blueliner. The top end of the market is $5MM past this price point while most teams have at least one defender making more than this; several have multiple rearguards making more. Morrissey will be 33 when this contract expires which will hurt his market to a point but even so, he should still push past $10MM per season on a long-term pact.

Samberg took a big step in his development last season, going from a third-pairing piece to a highly trusted top-four shutdown defender. However, despite his limited track record in that role, he was able to sign this deal to avoid arbitration, one that only gives the Jets one extra year of club control. The market for shutdown defenders is generally harder to pin down but this is already toward the higher end of that market and he got there pretty quickly so there’s some risk involved for Winnipeg here. That said, three more seasons like last year and he’ll be in line for another big jump. DeMelo is another more stay-at-home top-four option whose track record is a little more entrenched. That said, even this deal is on the higher end for someone who was more of a fifth option just a few years ago.

Signed Through 2028-29

None

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

G Connor Hellebuyck ($8.5MM through 2030-31)
D Neal Pionk ($7MM through 2030-31)
F Mark Scheifele ($8.5MM through 2030-31)
F Gabriel Vilardi ($7.5MM through 2030-31)

Since 2016-17, Scheifele has averaged just over a point per game and is coming off a career-best 89 points. That’s legitimate top-line production at a price tag that’s a few million below the highest-paid top liners. As long as he stays in that range offensively, the Jets will do quite well with this deal. There’s obviously concern about the final couple of years but he still might provide enough surplus value in the front half to offset that. Vilardi, meanwhile, is still on the way up. At least, that’s Winnipeg’s hope here. While injuries continue to be an issue for him, he has produced like a top-line winger at times over the last couple of seasons. If he still has another gear offensively to get to, this should become team-friendly quite quickly, as long as he stays healthy.

Pionk hasn’t been able to get back to the offensive numbers he had in his first season with Winnipeg but he got pretty close last season in spite of an injury that cost him 13 games. Knowing that right-shot defenders often get a premium, this contract should still be reasonable as long as he can stay in the 35-40-point range and stay in a top-four role. It won’t be a bargain but it shouldn’t be a huge drag on their books either.

Hellebuyck is only making a little more than some of the recent players to reach the $8MM mark and his track record is much better than those other goalies, including three Vezinas and a Hart Trophy. Of course, he’s also 32 with six years left on his contract and a league-high workload that probably will catch up with him eventually. For now, this is a very team-friendly pact (playoff issues notwithstanding) but those final few seasons could be problematic as he starts to wear down.

Still To Sign

None

Buyouts

D Nate Schmidt ($1.617MM in 2025-26)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Morrissey
Worst Value: Samberg

Looking Ahead

Winnipeg has nearly $4MM in cap space heading into this season, putting them in a good spot to bank some flexibility early on and then try to make a move or two at the trade deadline. It’s an approach GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has had for a while, albeit with varying degrees of success.

With so many expiring deals, they have over $40MM to play with next summer, although with nearly half a roster to fill as well. That will provide some flexibility to reshape things but Connor will probably take more than a quarter of that if he stays and the Jets have had some challenges attracting players in free agency. The safer bet is that Cheveldayoff tries to keep as much of the core intact as possible and then continues to nibble around the edges of the roster but his hand could be forced in a different direction if Connor opts to test free agency.

Photos courtesy of Terrence Lee and Steve Roberts-Imagn Images.

0 comments Salary Cap Deep Dive 2025 Winnipeg Jets Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Utah Mammoth

By Brian La Rose | at September 20, 2025 4:00 pm

Utah Mammoth

Current Cap Hit: $88,817,857 (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Logan Cooley (one year, $950K)

Potential Bonuses
Cooley: $3.5MM

As expected, Cooley took a big step forward in his sophomore season while clearing all four of his ‘A’ bonuses ($1MM in total). GM Bill Armstrong hasn’t hesitated in trying to sign some of his young core pieces to long-term deals and it makes sense he’ll try to do so here. But with the cap projections that are available, the cost of that pact should break past the $8MM ceiling of many of his comparables and even jump ahead of the $9MM mark.

Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level

F Michael Carcone ($775K, UFA)
D Ian Cole ($2.8MM, UFA)
G Connor Ingram ($1.95MM, UFA)
F Barrett Hayton ($2.65MM, RFA)
F Alexander Kerfoot ($3MM, UFA)
F Nick Schmaltz ($5.85MM, UFA)
F Kevin Stenlund ($2MM, UFA)
D Juuso Valimaki ($2MM, UFA)
G Vitek Vanecek ($1.5MM, UFA)

Potential Bonuses
Cole: $200K

The backloaded nature of Schmaltz’s contract made him a speculative trade candidate before the team was sold and moved to Utah which took that idea off the table. He has been quite consistent offensively in recent years, ranging between 58 and 63 points in each of the last four seasons, solid second-line production. He hasn’t played center too frequently over that stretch but has spent enough time down the middle that teams on the open market will be willing to pay the premium to get a top-six center. He’ll make $8.5MM this season between his salary and signing bonus and while matching that on his next contract could be difficult, landing in the $7.5MM area seems doable.

Kerfoot’s offensive production has been a little volatile over the past few years but he still has a floor of a third-line center who can play up and down the lineup when needed. That profile should appeal to a lot of teams and another multi-year deal (three or four years) should be doable with a price tag pushing past the $4MM per season mark. The second bridge deal given to Hayton has gone better than the first and this will be a big year. If he can have another 40-plus-point campaign, that will be three years out of four, giving him a much better case in his final arbitration-eligible year. If they work out a long-term deal, it could land past $6MM per season while if they opt for another shorter-term pact that buys just a couple of years of control, it might land more in the $5MM range.

Stenlund landed more than some expected last summer for a player who had only been a full-time player for one year but he wound up playing a bigger role than expected and won over 59% of his draws. Another season like that could have him closer to $3MM while a step back could keep him around where he is now. Carcone wasn’t planning on coming back to Utah after spending a lot of the year as a healthy scratch but after the market didn’t go his way, he accepted the minimum to return. At this point, he’s likely to stay around the minimum moving forward.

Cole, who will max out his bonuses at 65 games played, is now on his fifth straight one-year contract. He has logged a fourth or fifth role for the bulk of that time and at this point, barring a big drop in ice time or efficiency, it seems same to think he’ll stay around this price tag next summer, probably on another one-year pact when he’ll be 37. Valimaki is coming off a tough year, one that saw him scratched at times before suffering a torn ACL which will cost him the first couple of months of this season as well. At this point, he’ll be hard-pressed to match this price tag on his next deal and a one-year pact to try to rebuild some value might be the way to go.

Ingram took over the number one job in 2023-24 but wasn’t able to sustain that success last season and entered the Player Assistance Program in March but was cleared last month. However, he won’t be returning to Utah, putting his short-term situation into question. If he can stay in the NHL, another deal in this price range could be doable. But if he winds up in the minors for a big chunk of next season, he could find himself closer to number three money, around half of his current AAV. Vanecek was brought in as additional insurance this summer and is coming off a rough year, his second straight with numbers well below average. Unless he turns that around, he’s unlikely to command any sort of significant raise next year.

Signed Through 2026-27

F Lawson Crouse ($4.3MM, UFA)
D John Marino ($4.4MM, UFA)
F Liam O’Brien ($1MM, UFA)

After a couple of 40-point seasons, it looked like Crouse was turning the corner and becoming a legitimate top-six piece. But things went sideways last season as he only managed 18 points. If last year was an aberration, then Utah should still get decent value over these final two years while Crouse will be in line for a small raise. But if last season is the new sign of things to come, his value is going to take a big blow, putting his next deal closer to half of his current deal. O’Brien was the NHL’s leader in penalty minutes in 2023-24 while playing a regular role but he was scratched more often than not last season. Still, there remains enough of a market for enforcers that he could still best this contract two years from now.

Marino’s first season in Utah was injury-riddled as he only played in 35 games. Still, in those outings, he showed that he can hold down a top-four role and kill penalties. Add that to being a right-shot defender and you have the profile of a player who should be able to push past $5MM per season on his next contract on what’s likely to be another long-term deal.

Signed Through 2027-28

D Sean Durzi ($6MM, UFA)
F Clayton Keller ($7.15MM, UFA)
D Olli Maatta ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Nate Schmidt ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Brandon Tanev ($2.5MM, UFA)

Keller hasn’t always received a lot of fanfare but over the past four seasons, he has found that extra gear and has become a legitimate top-line producer, averaging just shy of 80 points per campaign over that stretch. As the market value for top-line wingers is set to go up over the next couple of years, Keller should be in a spot to surpass $10MM per season on a long-term pact in 2028. Tanev isn’t as impactful as he was a few years back but he can still add some grit and defensive acumen to the Mammoth. He’ll be 37 when this deal ends so he’ll likely be going year-to-year from there and if his role resembles that of his time in Winnipeg down the stretch, he will be hard-pressed to make this on that next contract.

Durzi is an interesting case. After showing some offensive promise in Los Angeles, his first year with this organization (back when it was in Arizona) saw him take another step forward, earning this contract and suggesting he can be a core piece for Utah. But injuries limited him last season to just 30 games and with some of the defensive additions they made following the change in cities, his role wasn’t as substantial, particularly his power play time. He’s likely to get similar usage moving forward. If he can get back to being a 40-point player, his value on the open market could push more towards the $8MM range on a long-term pact while if he remains in the role he had last season, the goal might be more along the lines of matching this price tag.

Maatta fit in nicely after being acquired in an early-season trade to give them some help with their injuries. Still, the decision to give him this contract as an early extension was a little odd, especially since his role when everyone is healthy is lower on the depth chart than where he played for a lot of last year. This is a little on the high side for someone who is best served as a third-pairing piece but they have the cap space to afford that premium. The same can be said for Schmidt who was more of a sixth option with Florida but still landed this contract back in July. He’ll also be entering his age-37 year on his next contract, one that should be a one-year pact closer to half of this amount.

Signed Through 2028-29

None

Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer

F Dylan Guenther ($7.143MM through 2032-33)
F Jack McBain ($4.25MM through 2029-30)
F JJ Peterka ($7.7MM through 2029-30)
D Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5MM through 2030-31)
G Karel Vejmelka ($4.75MM through 2029-30)

Peterka didn’t appear to be willing to re-sign with Buffalo and rather than go through a prolonged battle with the risk of an offer sheet, they opted to move him to Utah. He has had two straight 18-point improvements offensively and played on the top line last season. If he stays on that trajectory, this should become a team-friendly pact relatively quickly. That said, he’ll only be 28 when this contract expires, setting him up for a pricier long-term agreement in what should be an even more favorable cap environment.

Armstrong signed Guenther to this deal back when he had less than one full season of NHL experience under his belt, a very risky move for someone who had spent time in the minors for two straight years. But he felt locking the winger up quickly would work out long-term and Guenther had a strong first full year that suggests Armstrong will be proven right. His contract is one that other agents will be pointing to in discussions for their young forwards. McBain avoided arbitration with this deal this summer. It’s on the high side given his offensive production (his career high is just 27 points) but given his physicality and defensive acumen and the escalating cost of centers, there’s a high floor to work with that should allow the Mammoth to get at least an okay return on this deal.

Sergachev got the chance to become an all-around number one defenseman last season after playing behind Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay. The early results were certainly encouraging. If he simply was to repeat last season’s performance year after year, Utah would happily take it. But if he has another level to get to now that he’s better accustomed to being the top guy, this could become a decent bargain despite the already high price tag.

Vejmelka took advantage of the improved team in front of him to reclaim the number one job and had his best statistical season in 2024-25. Still with a limited track record overall, that didn’t give him a ton of leverage in contract talks, resulting in him landing in the territory of a starter who has shown some flashes of being a number one but also enough struggles (from the days of the Coyotes) to make it far from a guarantee. If he stays at last season’s level – a reasonable expectation with the team improving again – this could be a below-market pact fairly quickly.

Still To Sign

None

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($650K in 2025-26 and 2026-27, $290K from 2027-28 through 2030-310

Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty

None

Best Value: (non-entry-level) Keller
Worst Value: Schmidt

Looking Ahead

By shedding Shea Weber’s contract at the trade deadline last year, Armstrong was able to add to his roster and not need to dip into LTIR. Instead, they have plenty of flexibility for the upcoming season while also having plenty of prospect capital if they’re in a position to add heading into this season’s deadline.

They’re in pretty safe shape moving forward. Cooley’s raise next summer will be substantial and Schmaltz will need a new contract but that can easily fit within their $38MM of cap room. The cap space for 2027-28 sits over $58MM with no high-priced players to re-sign (Marino and Crouse headline that class of expiring contracts). As long as the budget is there to spend (and all indications say it will), Utah is well-positioned to keep and add to its core group for the next few years.

Photos courtesy of Kim Klement Neitzel and Brad Penner-Imagn Images.

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Toronto Maple Leafs

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Tampa Bay Lightning

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Ottawa Senators

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Montreal Canadiens

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Florida Panthers

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Detroit Red Wings

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Buffalo Sabres

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Boston Bruins