NHL Salary Cap By Team

Why can a team be over the cap?
Team Proj
Cap Hit
Proj
Space
Current
Space
Dead
Space
Active
Roster
Retained
Left
Contracts Forwards Defense Goalies
$97,641,331$97.6M
$-14,141,331$-14.1M
$1,347,499$1.3M
- 25/23
51/50
72%
36%
12%
$93,769,295$93.8M
$-10,269,295$-10.3M
$32,082$32K
$1,906,250$1.9M 24/23
47/50
61%
44%
12%
$92,221,538$92.2M
$-8,721,538$-8.7M
$6,264,183$6.3M
- 24/23
53/50
69%
35%
14%
$90,885,000$90.9M
$-7,385,000$-7.4M
$2,904,257$2.9M
$637,500$638K 22/23
47/50
67%
32%
7%
$88,769,495$88.8M
$-5,269,495$-5.3M
$7,579,167$7.6M
$8,022,083$8.0M 23/23
48/50
62%
17%
15%
$86,646,099$86.6M
$-3,230,682$-3.2M
$4,303,889$4.3M
$996,667$997K 24/23
51/50
56%
39%
9%
$85,868,693$85.9M
$-2,368,693$-2.4M
$211,688$212K
$2,725,000$2.7M 22/23
46/50
64%
32%
4%
$85,784,330$85.8M
$-2,625,997$-2.6M
$8,703,331$8.7M
$7,645,000$7.6M 23/23
45/50
56%
27%
8%
$85,540,864$85.5M
$-2,391,697$-2.4M
$5,058,333$5.1M
$14,743,590$14.7M 24/23
50/50
49%
27%
9%
$85,456,447$85.5M
$-1,956,447$-2.0M
$157,500$158K
$4,833,333$4.8M 23/23
50/50
52%
39%
10%
$85,278,383$85.3M
$-1,778,383$-1.8M
$429,166$429K
$3,979,167$4.0M 23/23
49/50
58%
32%
8%
$85,087,311$85.1M
$-1,642,311$-1.6M
$6,473,334$6.5M
$7,520,833$7.5M 21/23
51/50
58%
26%
8%
$84,749,382$84.7M
$-1,249,382$-1.2M
$180,000$180K
$610,891$611K 24/23
49/50
64%
34%
8%
$84,536,338$84.5M
$-1,036,338$-1.0M
$1,836,571$1.8M
- 24/23
45/50
63%
31%
8%
$83,734,226$83.7M
$-275,476$-275K
$4,537,500$4.5M
$8,200,763$8.2M 25/23
51/50
55%
35%
7%
$83,495,263$83.5M
$112,066$112K
$978,033$978K
$4,804,167$4.8M 25/23
50/50
60%
25%
13%
$83,475,313$83.5M
$226,606$227K
$1,977,656$2.0M
$6,616,667$6.6M 22/23
49/50
56%
32%
4%
$83,438,305$83.4M
$-4,138$-4K
$1,957,500$2.0M
$372,829$373K 22/23
44/50
68%
27%
6%
$83,384,371$83.4M
$447,631$448K
$3,906,601$3.9M
$4,164,167$4.2M 25/23
47/50
62%
28%
6%
$83,380,203$83.4M
$132,144$132K
$1,153,258$1.2M
$1,495,000$1.5M 25/23
48/50
56%
35%
8%
$83,091,198$83.1M
$408,801$409K
$3,567,725$3.6M
$2,750,000$2.8M 25/23
50/50
55%
35%
9%
$82,815,926$82.8M
$684,073$684K
$5,970,094$6.0M
$1,487,500$1.5M 24/23
42/50
58%
36%
7%
$82,670,967$82.7M
$1,563,035$1.6M
$13,641,036$13.6M
$2,425,000$2.4M 25/23
47/50
61%
21%
11%
$82,427,803$82.4M
$1,263,104$1.3M
$11,023,457$11.0M
$4,729,910$4.7M 25/23
51/50
53%
32%
9%
$80,645,077$80.6M
$2,854,922$2.9M
$24,915,687$24.9M
$5,213,889$5.2M 24/23
46/50
55%
27%
9%
$79,665,978$79.7M
$3,834,021$3.8M
$33,460,549$33.5M
$10,307,500$10.3M 23/23
52/50
46%
22%
8%
$79,283,774$79.3M
$4,216,225$4.2M
$36,796,153$36.8M
$2,891,667$2.9M 26/23
47/50
46%
36%
8%
$78,026,372$78.0M
$5,473,627$5.5M
$47,769,836$47.8M
$1,853,334$1.9M 21/23
46/50
59%
17%
6%
$77,384,373$77.4M
$6,115,626$6.1M
$53,372,738$53.4M
$8,805,556$8.8M 25/23
50/50
44%
38%
8%
$75,108,322$75.1M
$8,391,677$8.4M
$73,236,457$73.2M
$200,000$200K 24/23
47/50
55%
28%
4%
$74,999,950$75.0M
$8,500,049$8.5M
$74,182,250$74.2M
$9,944,707$9.9M 23/23
47/50
40%
28%
6%
$74,567,831$74.6M
$8,932,168$8.9M
$77,953,473$78.0M
$4,712,500$4.7M 24/23
48/50
53%
19%
9%
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NHL News

Signings

Mar 27 2024 | Minnesota Wild
Entry Level | 3 yrs
$2,775,000
Cap Hit
$925,000
Mar 27 2024 | Detroit Red Wings
Entry Level | 3 yrs
$2,535,000
Cap Hit
$845,000
Mar 26 2024 | Colorado Avalanche
Standard | 2 yrs
$1,675,000
Cap Hit
$837,500

Allain Roy | RSG Hockey, LLC

Mar 25 2024 | Florida Panthers
Entry Level | 2 yrs
$1,900,000
Cap Hit
$950,000
Mar 25 2024 | Dallas Stars
Entry Level | 1 yrs
$850,000
Cap Hit
$850,000
Mar 24 2024 | Minnesota Wild
Entry Level | 3 yrs
$2,850,000
Cap Hit
$950,000
Mar 24 2024 | Boston Bruins
Entry Level | 2 yrs
$1,735,000
Cap Hit
$867,500

Peter Fish | Global Hockey Consultants

All Signings

Trades

Mar 15 2024

The Ottawa Senators acquired Jamieson Rees from the Carolina Hurricanes for 2024 6th round pick

Mar 15 2024

The Ottawa Senators acquired Wyatt Bongiovanni from the Winnipeg Jets for future considerations

Mar 8 2024

The Vegas Golden Knights acquired Tomas Hertl, a 2025 3rd round pick, and 2027 3rd round pick from the San Jose Sharks for David Edstrom and 2025 1st round pick

All Trades

Transactions

Mar 28 2024 | Vancouver Canucks

Joshua (upper body) will be activated off long-term injured reserve and play Thursday versus Dallas, according to Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com.

Mar 28 2024 | Colorado Avalanche

Foudy was called up from AHL Colorado on Thursday.

Mar 28 2024 | Ottawa Senators

Kleven was elevated from AHL Belleville on Thursday.

Mar 27 2024 | Washington Capitals

Iorio was called up from AHL Hershey on Wednesday.

Mar 27 2024 | Washington Capitals

Phillips was called up from AHL Hershey on Wednesday.

Mar 27 2024 | Washington Capitals

Bear entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Wednesday, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Mar 27 2024 | Seattle Kraken

Roed signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday.

All Transactions

Injuries

DAY-TO-DAY | Undisclosed |
Expected Return
Mar 28, 2024

Oliver Kylington | Kylington will be a game-time decision heading into Thursday's clash with St. Louis, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

DAY-TO-DAY | Undisclosed |
Expected Return
Mar 29, 2024

Jordan Greenway | Greenway (undisclosed) "aggravated something" during practice Thursday, leaving him questionable against the New Jersey Devils on Friday, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

OUT | Undisclosed |
Expected Return
Mar 30, 2024

Andrew Mangiapane | Mangiapane (undisclosed) will not be in the lineup Thursday in St. Louis, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

DAY-TO-DAY | Illness |
Expected Return
Mar 28, 2024

Auston Matthews | Matthews missed morning practice with an illness, according to Mark Masters of TSN, and will be a game-time decision Thursday versus Washington.

OUT | Lower Body |
Expected Return
Mar 30, 2024

Thomas Chabot | Chabot (undisclosed) will not be in the lineup Thursday versus Chicago, according to Ian Mendes of The Athletic.

OUT | Illness |
Expected Return
Mar 30, 2024

Joel Kiviranta | Kiviranta (illness) will not be in the lineup against the New York Rangers on Thursday, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post reports.

IR-NR | Personal |
Expected Return
Apr 16, 2024

Ethan Bear | Bear entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Wednesday, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

All Injuries

Insights and Insiders

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What Is the NHL Salary Cap?

The NHL salary cap is the total amount that NHL teams may pay for players. The amount set as the salary cap each year depends on the league’s revenue for the previous season. As it is a 'hard cap,' there are no exemptions. However, if a player is injured and it's thought that they will miss at least 10 NHL games and 24 days in the season, their team can put them on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). By doing so, they can surpass the salary cap.

The salary cap was introduced to prevent teams with the most revenue signing all the top players, which was becoming a problem in the '90s and early 2000s. For instance, by signing a number of top-performing players and significantly spending more than the majority of other teams, the Detroit Red Wings were able to win three Stanley Cups in that time.

This led to the 2004-05 CBA negotiations, during which the entire season was cancelled — the first time a labor dispute has ever caused a cancellation in a major sports league in North America. At the time of the negotiations, teams were spending around 75 percent of their revenues on salaries — much higher than any other North American sports league. Eventually, they agreed to the general structure that remain today, including the mandatory payment to players in US dollars.

The concept of a salary cap is not new to the NHL. One was first introduced during the Great Depression, at which time the salary cap per team was $62,500 and $7,000 per player.

Salary Cap History

Since its reintroduction in the 2005-06 season, the NHL salary cap had risen every year until the pandemic shortened 2020-2021 season:

2005-2006$39.0 million
2006-2007$44.0 million
2007-2008$50.3 million
2008-2009$56.7 million
2009-2010$56.8 million
2010-2011$59.4 million
2011-2012$64.3 million
2012-2013$60.0 million *
2013-2014$64.3 million
2014-2015$69.0 million
2015-2016$71.4 million
2016-2017$73.0 million
2017-2018$75.0 million
2018-2019$79.5 million
2019-2020$81.5 million
2020-2021$81.5 million
2021-2022$81.5 million
2022-2023$82.5 million

* During the 2012-13 season, there was a lockout. The salary cap was set to $60 million, but NHL hockey teams were allowed to spend a pro-rated $70.2 million for the shortened season.

The salary floor (the minimum that a team must spend as a whole) is 85 percent of the salary midpoint. For the 2021-22 season, the cap floor is $60.2 million.

History of the Teams

Originally, there were just six NHL teams, called the Original Six. In the 1967-68 season, six new teams were added. The Original Six formed the East Division and the new six formed the West Division.

In 1974, six more NHL hockey teams joined the league, creating 18 in total. The league then took four teams from the World Hockey Association when it ceased to exist in 1979. With the Cleveland Barons gone in 1978, this brought the total to 21 teams.

There was no further expansion to the league until the '90s. The next new NHL team was the San Jose Sharks in 1991. Another eight were added in the subsequent decade to reach 30 teams by 2000. Finally, in 2016, Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, announced that another new NHL team — the Vegas Golden Knights — would join the List of NHL Teams, making 31 teams for the 2017-18 season.

Tune in to learn about developments in the league, your favorite NHL teams and players. PuckPedia brings you up to speed on the latest news and other exciting developments in the world of NHL hockey. Bookmark PuckPedia now!

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