Winners and Losers Based on Salary Cap Leap Over the Next 3 NHL Seasons

This is going to help some and hurt others

The NHL released their new salary cap estimates, and there is some serious money available that could change how several franchises operate. Elliotte Friedman reports that the 2025-26 salary cap is expected to go to $95.5 million, followed by a jump in 2026-27 to $104 million, and in 2027-28: $113.5 million. He mentioned those estimates might even be a little low.

In my last post, I looked at players who would be dramatically affected by these new cap ceilings. What about teams? For some, this is great news. For others, not so much.

Big Market, Profitable Teams Will Love This

For teams like the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Edmonton Oilers, this is great news. They make lots of money and have it to spend. The rising cap further separates these franchises from those in the bottom half who are already struggling to stay above board and remain highly profitable.

Most of these teams already spend to the cap ceiling. The ones who don’t would happily do so if their clubs were more competitive.

The Golden Knights will absolutely stretch every penny of the new NHL salary cap increases

Meanwhile, for teams like the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, and others, these salary cap changes could hurt.

These teams either don’t love spending to the cap or even have trouble getting to the floor. And, as the teams with more money remain more competitive, the clubs who don’t have the dollars to spend will have even more trouble attracting free agents.

Canadian Teams Hit Hardest

While clubs like the Oilers, Canadiens, and Maple Leafs can handle the dollar value difference between Canadian clubs and U.S. ones, trouble is brewing for Canadian teams that don’t make much money.