The NHL salary cap is expected to rise by $4.2 million this offseason for a cap maximum of $87.7 million heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
The Washington Capitals will only get to use $1.95 million of that new money due to a CBA penalty called an overage. Overages are salary cap charges that carry over to the next season due to performance bonuses.
Per PuckPedia, the Capitals were penalized the third-most of any team ($2,252,500) due almost entirely to bonus money earned by Max Pacioretty in his one-year, $4 million deal that he signed over the offseason. Pacioretty’s cap hit for this season was $2 million, while his three performance bonuses ($1 million for 10 games played, $500k bonus for 15 games played, and $500k bonus for 20 games played) totaled the other $2 million. That bonus money will be subtracted from the Capitals’ total next season.
After rehabbing a second torn Achilles, the 35-year-old Pacioretty returned in January and scored 23 points (4g, 19a) in 47 games. Eleven of those points came on the power play.
Pacioretty eventually settled into a third-line role with Hendrix Lapierre and Sonny Milano, registering three five-on-five points (1g, 2a) in his final six games of the regular season.
“Max has proven to be a consistent goal scorer in his career and has the necessary skill set to play in every situation,” Capitals GM Brian MacLellan said after signing Pacioretty over the summer. “We’re confident he’ll be a great contributor to our team at a cap number that suits our club.”
The Capitals were also busted $252.5K for bonuses earned by Hendrix Lapierre ($212.5K “A” bonuses for +/-) and Aliaksei Protas ($40K games played bonus).
Eleven NHL teams, a third of the league, will have an overage next season while the Florida Panthers could be the twelfth if they win the Stanley Cup. Kyle Okposo, who they acquired at the trade deadline, would receive a $500K bonus if they do so.
The team that owes most next season is the Edmonton Oilers ($3.45 million) — and they could be on the hook for another $100K due to playoff bonuses to Corey Perry — while the Dallas Stars are in the hole the second most ($2.60 million). The Capitals are one of four Metropolitan Division teams that have overages including the New Jersey Devils ($1.54 million), New York Rangers ($512.5K), and Philadelphia Flyers ($245K).
Under the salary cap rules outlined in the CBA, 3 types of players are eligible to have performance bonuses in their contracts:
- Players on their Entry-Level Contracts
- Players that are 35 or older and sign a 1-year contract
- Veteran Players that have missed considerable time due to injury and sign a 1-year contract
At the conclusion of the season, the performance bonuses earned by players are added to their team’s final season cap hit, and if the resulting total exceeds the cap, the excess is a cap hit for the following season as a performance bonus carryover overage cap charge.
The Capitals paid a $20K overage in 2023-24 due to a games-played bonus Aliaksei Protas earned during the 2022-23 campaign. Protas played 58 games that year.
