“In four years, we’ll be seeing contracts worth $30 million a year.”

Raphael Simard
“In four years, we’ll be seeing contracts worth $30 million a year.”
Credit: Capture d'écran / X

The NHL is doing well.

It may not be the league with the highest revenue, but…

The salary cap keeps rising, which is a good indicator of the NHL's financial health. In basketball, the Clippers just paid a hefty fine: five lost first-round picks and a $30 million penalty. Team executives and Kawhi Leonard also faced penalties.

Alan Walsh, who isn't one to mince words, even said it was either this consequence for the Los Angeles Clippers or the end of the salary cap era in the NBA. The league had no choice, then.

And in MLB, the players are totally against implementing a salary cap, which means that wealthy teams will continue to sign everyone. #Dodgers

In the NHL, there's much greater parity, which makes for a much better game.

A few days ago, Cale Makar became the first player to sign a contract worth more than $20 million a year. That's 12 years after we saw the first players (Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews) of the salary cap era sign contracts worth $10 million a year.

So, do we have to wait 12 years to see the first player earning $30 million a year? According to Walsh, the answer is no. His answer: four years. That's what he mentioned in the first episode of Season 6 of his podcast, Agent Provocateur.

For a player to sign a contract worth $30 million or more, the salary cap must be at least $150 million.

In 2026–2027, the cap is $104 million. That would require an increase of at least $46 million over the next four years for the agent's prediction to come true. Given the exponential growth over the past few years, I believe it will happen.

In four years, Nathan MacKinnon's contract will expire. He could very well become the first player to sign for $30 million a year, four years after his teammate Makar became the first to reach $20 million.


In a nutshell

– He's already been linked to the Habs.

– One to watch.

– Me neither.

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