The NHL’s Money Problem Is About to Get Bigger

The NHL just dropped a bombshell on the game’s finances. The cap is $104 million. It’s headed to $113.5 million next year, then a massive $127.5 million the year after that. A $14 million one-season jump is the biggest the league has ever seen. Revenues are rolling. Bettman is talking $8.1 billion this year, so the money is there league-wide. But that doesn’t mean every team can (or will) spend it.

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The Tough Side of the Rising NHL Salary Cap

This is where the real story sits. Big-market clubs and high-revenue teams are licking their chops. They can absorb the new max deals, chase free agents, and keep their cores together without sweating the books. For smaller-market teams — think Winnipeg, Ottawa, Calgary, Columbus, Buffalo, Utah types — the picture gets a lot more complicated. Salaries are paid in U.S. dollars. Some of those Canadian markets earn a big chunk of revenue in Canadian dollars. Internal budgets exist even when the league says you can spend $127 million. Not every owner will write that cheque every year.

I’ve already heard agents and execs predict that once the ceiling clears $100 million, maybe only around 10 teams will actually spend all the way to it. The rest will set their own soft caps lower and save for the years they think they can compete. The rising floor makes it even trickier. A team still has to spend a certain amount or face penalties. Revenue sharing helps the little guys, and the new CBA tweaks it further, but it doesn’t magically make every market equal.

How Will the Rising Salary Cap Impact the Game?

What does this mean for the trade market and free agency? Contending teams with good books get even more power. They can take on bigger contracts or overpay for the right pieces, knowing the rising tide will shrink those deals as a percentage of the cap. Budget teams may become more aggressive sellers when they’re out of it, dumping salary rather than carrying it. And the star contracts are about to get ridiculous. McDavid hitting unrestricted free agency in 2028 with a $127.5 million ceiling floating out there will reset the top of the market all over again.

The bottom line is that the money is real and the growth is real. But the gap between the haves and the have-nots will feel wider. Some smaller markets will be just fine because of smart ownership and revenue sharing. Others will feel real pressure to either spend like the big boys or accept that they’re playing a different game. The next few years of roster construction will look a lot different because of this.

Things are changing. And after the recent announcement, you can bet they will change more quickly than expected.

Related: NHL Salary Cap Set for Record-Breaking Jump by 2028-29: Now What?