NHL estimates $127.5 million salary cap for 2028-29

The NHL’s salary cap has substantially grown in recent years, and according to a new report, the league estimates it could reach a total of $127.5 million in 2028-29.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman first reported the potential rise in the cap on Friday morning, saying the number was provided by the league at this week’s Board of Governors meeting.

“NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said revenue projections for this coming season are approximately $8.1 billion in mixed currency, obviously a key factor in the rising total,” Friedman reported. “If the 2028-29 guesstimate holds, it would also be the largest season-to-season jump of the cap era, at $14 million.”

Friedman suggested the increase could be a challenge for some teams, including “some of the smaller Canadian markets earning revenues in their currency.”

The NHL has seen a number of massive contracts signed in recent weeks, some of which include Cale Makar, Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier.

The NHL and NHLPA are in year-two of a three-year window of a rising salary cap they announced in January 2025. Last season, the league saw a $7.5-million increase in the cap, reaching $95.5 million in 2025-26.

This season, that number ballooned to $104 million, and it’s expected to increase to $113.5 million in 2027-28.

The salary cap had been stagnant for a number of seasons after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to pause games and limit attendance upon return.

Between 2019-20 and 2021-22, the cap never increased beyond $81.5 million, and only increased by $1 million annually through 2023-24.

The NHL’s 2026-27 regular season starts Tuesday with a slate of games, starting with the Carolina Hurricanes raising their Stanley Cup banner at home at the Lenovo Center as they take on the Florida Panthers.