The salary cap could skyrocket to $150 million within three years

Charles-Alexis Brisebois
The salary cap could skyrocket to $150 million within three years
Credit: Capture d'écran/Twitter

Salary figures are skyrocketing in the NHL.

Why? Because the NHL and the players are trying to get back on track after the pandemic derailed their momentum. They want to make up for lost time and grow the league.

That makes sense.

Still, we can all agree that the increase is staggering. From $88 million in 2024–2025 to $95.5 million in 2025–2026, this season's cap stands at $104 million.

It will likely be $113.5 million in 2027–2028, and we can expect the cap to reach $127.5 million in 2028–2029.

But now Frank Seravalli has added fuel to the fire by stating, in an article on Sportsnet, that the salary cap for 2029–2030 could reach $150 million.

These are obviously projections, but they have been verified by Sportsnet and industry insiders.

We'll see in due time what actually happens. But what this tells us is that teams can expect to spend significantly more money.

Some clubs will have to rethink their business models.

If we look at the Canadiens, we see that in 2029–2030, six forwards will still be under contract for $42.225 million: Ivan Demidov, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Alex Newhook, and Zachary Bolduc.

Suzuki and Bolduc, however, will be entering the final year of their contracts, and players like Newhook and Caufield—who are set to command big contracts soon—will be two years away from full free agency. How much will they be asking for by then, if the salary cap rises that much?

On defense, Noah Dobson, Lane Hutson, Mike Matheson, Kaiden Guhle, and Jakub Dobes will earn a combined $35.26 million in 2029–2030. The Habs therefore have 11 contracts for 2029—including part of the core—for less than $80 million.

That's no small feat.

Several young players (who are under the Habs' control) will need to be signed in due course, and veterans will need to be added or retained. But for now, this gives Kent Hughes some breathing room—he'll eventually have to make a move, just for fun.

But his counterparts as well…


Quick Q&A

– Yes.

– Four games tonight in the NHL.

– Of course.

– The Rays have no choice but to win.

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