The NHL salary cap for 2026-27 is $104.0 million per team, with a lower limit of $76.9 million (NHL and NHLPA, announced May 6, 2026). It is a hard cap: a team's total cap hits cannot go over the upper limit. No single player can carry a cap hit above $20.8 million, 20% of the cap.
The salary cap shapes almost every move an NHL team makes: who it can sign, who it has to trade, and why a contender lets a popular player walk in free agency. Here is how it works for the 2026-27 season.
Cap figures verified October 18, 2026, against the NHL and NHLPA's May 6, 2026 announcement.
What is the NHL salary cap for 2026-27?
| 2026-27 team payroll range | Amount |
|---|---|
| Upper limit (the salary cap) | $104.0 million |
| Midpoint | $90.4 million |
| Lower limit (the salary floor) | $76.9 million |
| Maximum cap hit for one player (20% of the upper limit) | $20.8 million |
That is a big jump from 2025-26, when the cap was $95.5 million and the floor was $70.6 million. The increase follows a three-year schedule the league and the players' association set in January 2025, which projected $104.0 million for 2026-27 and $113.5 million for 2027-28, subject to adjustment.
How does the NHL salary cap work?
The NHL has a hard cap. Every team's total salary cap charges must stay under the upper limit and above the lower limit. Unlike some leagues, there is no luxury tax that lets a team pay its way over the line.
The cap is tied to league revenue. Players as a group receive 50% of hockey-related revenue, and the cap is set so that payrolls line up with that split. When revenue grows, the cap grows. Part of each player's pay is held back in escrow during the season and settled afterward, so that total salaries end up matching the players' share.
What is a cap hit?
A player's cap hit is the average annual value of his contract. A player who signs for $40 million over five years has an $8 million cap hit every season, even if the deal pays him $11 million in one year and $5 million in another. Teams manage their cap by cap hits, not by the cash they pay out in a given year.
Bonuses add complications. Performance bonuses, mostly for players on entry-level deals and some veterans, can push a team over the cap at the end of a season; the overage then counts against the next year's cap.
How much do NHL players make?
The range is wide:
- The league minimum salary rises to $850,000 in 2026-27 under the 2025 extension of the collective bargaining agreement, and keeps rising in later seasons.
- The maximum any one player can earn against the cap is $20.8 million a year, 20% of the upper limit.
- Entry-level contracts for young players are capped and last up to three years, depending on age at signing.
Most players earn somewhere between the minimum and a few million dollars a year. Stars on long-term deals earn far more. Exact salaries for every player are tracked on the cap sites listed below.
How much do minor league hockey players make?
Far less. Players sent to the American Hockey League, the NHL's main development league, are often on two-way contracts that pay a separate, much lower minor-league salary while they are in the minors. Below the AHL, salaries in leagues like the ECHL are lower still. A player's NHL salary only applies while he is on the NHL roster, unless his contract is one-way.
What tools do teams use to manage the cap?
- Long-term injured reserve (LTIR): When a player is expected to miss significant time, the team can exceed the cap to replace him. The 2025 agreement limits how much relief a team can get for a player who is expected to return in the same season.
- Retained salary: In a trade, a team can keep paying part of a player's salary to make the deal work for the other team: up to 50% of the contract, and no more than three retained contracts on its books at once.
- Buyouts: A team can end a contract early during the offseason buyout window by paying a portion of the remaining money spread over twice the remaining term. Buyouts leave cap charges for years.
- Sending players to the minors: Assigning a player to the AHL removes part of his cap hit, but not all of it for higher-paid players.
Is there a salary cap in the NHL playoffs?
Yes, now there is. Teams used to put injured players on LTIR late in the season, add salary at the trade deadline, and then bring the injured stars back for the playoffs with a payroll well over the cap. The 2025 agreement closed that gap: a team's lineup has to be cap compliant in the playoffs too.
How long can an NHL contract be?
Under the 2025 extension, contracts signed from September 16, 2026 can run up to seven years when a team re-signs its own player and six years for a player signing with a new team. Before that, the limits were eight and seven years.
What happened to CapFriendly?
CapFriendly, the site most fans used to look up cap space, contracts and trade scenarios, shut down in 2024 after it was bought by the Washington Capitals. Fans now use sites such as PuckPedia and CapWages for the same information.
Who makes NHL jerseys?
Fanatics makes the NHL's on-ice jerseys, taking over from Adidas starting with the 2024-25 season. Tonight.hockey sells its own original designs in our shop; we do not sell team jerseys.
Why the cap matters for your team
Cap space decides how much a team can add at the trade deadline and in free agency, and a team tight against the cap often has to trade a good player just to fit its stars. When you follow your team's playoff odds, a contender with cap space is the one most likely to add help before the deadline.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the NHL salary cap?
- The NHL salary cap for the 2026-27 season is $104.0 million per team. The lower limit, or salary floor, is $76.9 million.
- How much do NHL players make?
- NHL salaries range from the league minimum of $850,000 in 2026-27 to a maximum cap hit of $20.8 million, which is 20% of the salary cap.
- Is the NHL salary cap a hard cap?
- Yes. Teams cannot exceed the upper limit except through long-term injured reserve relief, and there is no luxury tax option.
- What was the NHL salary cap in 2025-26?
- The 2025-26 salary cap was $95.5 million, with a lower limit of $70.6 million.
- Is there a salary cap in the NHL playoffs?
- Yes. Under the 2025 collective bargaining agreement extension, teams must be cap compliant in the playoffs as well as in the regular season.
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