Player salaries took a sudden and significant jump in the NHL this summer, sparked by the five-year, $90 million offer sheet Leo Carlsson signed with the Philadelphia Flyers on July 3.
The Anaheim Ducks matched on Carlsson and signed defenceman Pavel Mintyukov to a five-year, $36 million contract as the threat of another offer sheet loomed. The Ducks later signed winger Cutter Gauthier to a six-year, $81 million deal and most recently inked blueliner Tristan Luneau to a shocking six-year, $43.2 million extension after just 14 career NHL games.
The four Ducks were among those to cash in an off-season that was also headlined by Colorado Avalanche star Cale Makar signing for just $400,000 less than the maximum salary on his jaw-dropping eight-year, $163.2 million extension with a $20.4 million AAV.
Rising stars Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard also got in on the party, with the San Jose Sharks star inking a five-year deal at an $18.8 million cap hit and the Chicago Blackhawks signing for an annual salary of $15 million on his new contract as a restricted free agent.
A clear line was drawn between contracts signed before the Carlsson offer sheet and those that came after.
Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser was one of the top options on the free-agent market in 2025, returning to the team after testing the market on a seven-year deal at a cap of $7.25 million.
Boeser told Mark Lazerus of The Athletic he is not looking back on his contract with regret, despite what his future earnings could be if he had taken a shorter-term deal.
“It’s crazy, these deals are crazy,” Boeser said. “Definitely didn’t see that coming this summer. But it’s good for the league. To see that the cap’s going up and guys are getting paid is awesome. I don’t have any regrets. I signed long-term on purpose. That’s what I was looking for, and I did it, so I’m not going to sit here and whine about whatever.”
Canadiens on right side of timeline
The Montreal Canadiens may be the team that has benefited most from the timing of signing their young stars. The Canadiens have core pieces Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovsky, Noah Dobson and Jakub Dobes all signed for at least another three seasons beyond this year at cap hits below $10 million.
Caufield signed an eight-year deal at a $7.85 million AAV ahead of restricted free agency in 2023, keeping him under contract until July 2031, when he will be 30 years old.
“There’ll be time for (cashing in) to come,” Caufield told Lazerus. “But right now, it’s probably the biggest five or six years of our careers based on what we’ve built. What’s more important is winning and doing it with the group that you’ve done it with and built it up. That’s what will make it that much sweeter.”
Montreal inked Hutson to an eight-year deal at an $8.85 million salary, which is suddenly a bargaining in the lens of the rising contracts around the league, last October. Demidov signed his eight-year deal with a $9.15 million salary, which kicks in next year, two days before the Carlsson offer sheet.
As a result, the Canadiens are projected to have $29.7 million in cap space next summer, per PuckPedia, with nine roster spots to fill. The Canadiens were linked Kirill Marachenko before he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs and signed a six-year, $75 million extension last and are believed to still be on the hunt for a major addition with cap space to spare.
‘It’s a little bit of luck’
While Makar’s salary could only be slightly topped over the next several months, the maximum AAV, which is 20 per cent of the salary at the time, is projected to jump to $22.7 million on July 1 and will likely continue to rise from there.
Boston Bruins captain David Pastrnak was long considered to be one of the NHL’s best bargains with a $6.67 million cap hit from 2017-2023 before raising his salary to $11.25 million on an eight-year deal three years ago.
Now, once again, Pastrnak’s contract is seen as team-friendly, but he told Lazerus he is at peace with that.
“That’s the way the league is moving forward,” Pastrnak said. “It was different five years ago, 10 years ago. It’s good for the future NHLers. I looked at it the same way (when I was younger). Bobby Orr wasn’t making the same money I’m making when he was playing. The world overall is just moving forward, so is hockey.
“The timing (for free agents this year and next) is great. If anybody could have predicted the future, I don’t think there would have been guys signing eight-year deals. It’s a little bit of luck where you are at a certain time when you are a free agent. I’m happy for those guys who are signing the big contracts. I hope everybody feels like that.”