As many have heard by now, Kirill Kaprizov made history this week with the largest deal in NHL History.
✅ Deal Details
- Kaprizov signed an 8-year contract extension with the Minnesota Wild worth $136 million total NHL+2Star Tribune+2
- The extension carries an average annual value (AAV) of $17 million NHL+2PuckPedia+2
- The contract begins in the 2026-27 season and will run through the 2033-34 season NHL+2PuckPedia+2
🏷️ Before the New Deal
- Kaprizov was under a 5-year, $45 million contract signed in 2021, which carried a cap hit of $9 million per season Star Tribune+4Spotrac+4PuckPedia+4
- That contract was set to expire after the 2025-26 season, making him set to become an unrestricted free agent if no extension was reached Spotrac+2Bring Me The News+2
- Prior to signing the new deal, he reportedly turned down an 8-year, $128 million extension offer (which would have had a $16 million AAV) Bring Me The News+3KNBR+3Bring Me The News+3
Here’s a summary of how the NHL salary cap rules look for the 2025-26 season (and relevant changes), based on the current CBA / Memoranda between the NHL and NHLPA:
Key Numbers — 2025-26
- The upper limit (cap ceiling) is $95.5 million Wikipedia+3NHL+3NHL+3
- The lower limit (salary floor) is $70.6 million NHL+1
- Teams must keep their payroll between (or above) the floor and at or below the cap ceiling. NHL+2NHL+2
Major Rules & Mechanics
Here are some of the principal rules and changes for 2025-26:
| Rule / Concept | Description / Change |
|---|---|
| Cap in Playoffs | For the first time, teams must stay within the salary cap during the Stanley Cup Playoffs (i.e. there is a “playoff cap” or tracking) NHL+1 |
| Roster submission deadlines (playoffs) | Teams must submit their first playoff game lineup to the NHL Central Registry by 3 p.m. local time or five hours before the opener (whichever is earlier). Subsequent changes follow same deadline rules. NHL |
| Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR) changes | Some adjustments to how LTIR is used/accounted for were introduced to limit exploitation of loopholes (especially by teams stacking rosters for playoffs) The Sports Hub+1 |
| Contract buyouts / terminations | – Buyouts (after season) allow teams to pay a reduced portion of the remaining contract over twice the remaining term. Wikipedia – If a player is under 26 at time of buyout: team pays 2/3 of remaining salary; if 26 or older, pays 1/3. Wikipedia – For contracts signed at age ≥ 35, although the player pay is reduced (1/3), the full cap hit remains (no reduction) during the buyout period. Wikipedia |
| Waivers & demotions | – Salaries of players demoted to minor league (AHL, etc.) generally do not count against the NHL team’s cap (if they clear waivers) Wikipedia – Exception: for contracts signed after age 35, the cap hit may still count even if demoted. Wikipedia |
| Maximum individual contract / salary | There is a maximum individual player salary / cap hit that cannot exceed a certain percentage or dollar amount relative to the team cap. (For 2025-26, the highest single-player cap hit is projected to be about $19.1 million.) Wikipedia+2Wikipedia+2 |
| No circumvention / restrictions on cash trades | Teams cannot trade cash to other teams as part of a deal to circumvent cap rules. Also, “deferring” cap room (i.e. carrying over unused cap into future seasons) is prohibited. Wikipedia |
