The NHL salary cap will rise to $104 million for the 2026-27 season, an $8.5 million increase, the NHL and NHLPA informed teams Wednesday, per the report. The move follows the collective bargaining agreement formula, which ties cap changes to the prior year’s joint Hockey Related Revenue.
Starting next season, the maximum salary for a player will be $20.8 million and the salary cap floor is set at $76.9 million, the report says. The league’s highest-paid player is expected to be Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, whose $17 million-per-year extension takes effect next season, per the report.
The increase was in line with the league’s own projections and was not a surprise to teams, the report says. League officials characterized the rise as another encouraging signal for the sport’s growth after a strong television showing, with the NHL just completing its most-watched first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the report adds.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the broader momentum on the Pat McAfee Show Wednesday, saying, “It’s a really good time, and we don’t even have the biggest markets. This is about how good the hockey is.” Bettman credited multiple factors for the recent attention, citing the rise of international competitions “between Four Nations and the Olympics” and noting that the viral show “Heated Rivalry” had brought new fans to the sport, per the report.
Bettman emphasized that no single factor explains the growth. “When you mush it all together, because it’s never one thing, that’s how you can account for it,” he said on the show, per the report. Teams will operate under the announced figures for the 2026-27 season, according to the NHL and NHLPA.
