Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Wednesday that the NHL has officially notified teams of all the finalized salary cap details heading into next season.
Per Friedman, the salary cap floor, the lowest a team can spend on its roster, will be $76.9 million and the salary cap ceiling, the most a team can spend on its roster, is $104 million — an $8.5 million rise from the $95.5 million it was during the 2025-26 season.
The maximum salary a player can earn is $20.8 million next season.
Heading into the 2026-27 campaign, the top five highest-paid players in the league, per cap hit, are:
Kirill Kaprizov, MIN: $17 million
Leon Draisaitl, EDM: $14 million
Jack Eichel, VGK: $13.5 million
Auston Matthews, TOR: $13.25 million
Nathan MacKinnon, COL: $12.6 million
The Washington Capitals have eight notable free agents heading into July 1, the first day of free agency, with over $36 million in cap space. Alex Ovechkin, Brandon Duhaime, David Kampf, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Timothy Liljegren, and Sonny Milano are all unrestricted free agents while Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre are RFAs.
