The 2026-27 NHL season is still about six weeks away, but after an off-season of big moves and market-setting deals, it’s hard not to look even further into the future.
Which teams are heading into a cap crunch next summer? Who’s sitting pretty and under budget? How much will the game’s next big stars command on their next deals, and what might that mean for teams’ second-best scorers?
With all that in mind, we’re looking at a handful of intriguing franchises — each facing different questions and approaches to salary cap management — in the year ahead, and beyond.
The procrastinators: Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks couldn’t afford to lose Leo Carlsson to the Philadelphia Flyers, but now that they’ve signed the 21-year-old to a five-year pact to match Philly’s offer at a whopping $18 million a year, well… can they afford much else? Carlsson’s contract changes a lot of things in Anaheim. It also serves as a harsh reminder for executives everywhere that waiting to sign your young stars can be a costly gamble.
While the Ducks’ cap situation is far from dire — their $9 million in cap space at the moment is 10th most league-wide — it is complicated. That’s because their 2025-26 leading scorer, Cutter Gauthier, is still without a contract. Gauthier led the Ducks in goals (41) and points (69). That breakout campaign couldn’t have come at a better time for the 22-year-old restricted free agent.
Salary cap help is on the way — the Ducks will have nearly $13 million coming off the books when the contracts of veterans Chris Kreider and Alex Killorn are up next summer, and the NHL’s $9-million cap increase will ease the impending crunch — but what happens in the meantime? And what will Gauthier’s next deal mean for next-in-line Beckett Sennecke, who hits extension eligibility next July? Every move from this point on must be made with those questions in mind. Interesting times ahead in Anaheim.
The early shoppers: Montreal Canadiens
GM Kent Hughes doesn’t procrastinate. He’s done a masterful job of locking up his core early, and that has Montreal sitting pretty cap-wise as they enter their prime window of contention. Buying in early on forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, all three of whom come in under $8 million for at least the next four years, clearly set the tone for the team’s early contract extension for Ivan Demidov.
Demidov will become the club’s top-earning forward next summer when his $9.15-million AAV hits the books — a deal that will surely look like a bargain very soon. (Defenceman Noah Dobson is the team’s highest-paid player, at $9.5 million annually.) Last fall’s extension for cornerstone D-man Lane Hutson at $8.85 million is already a steal.
All that cap certainty affords Hughes some flexibility in the year(s) ahead. After a quiet off-season on the open market, does Hughes have a big swing in store?
The gamblers: Dallas Stars
A one-year deal for Jason Robertson solved the Stars’ most pressing issue ahead of this season, but did nothing to quiet any speculation about the 45-goal-scorer’s future in Texas. Is this just noise, or all part of the plan for both sides to sit tight before Tyler Seguin’s $9.85-million cap hit comes off the books and the league raises its ceiling to $113.5 million next July?
While there are urgent decisions still to come before the season opens up — the Stars are among the three franchises still over the cap — the intrigue lies beyond opening night.
How the season ahead plays out, both on the ice and in the front office, will have massive implications on the Stars’ and Robertson’s future.
The number-crunchers: Colorado Avalanche
Joe Sakic did well to add around the edges of his forward group this summer after clearing up some cap space by trading away Valeri Nichushkin. While the GM navigated the cap with relative ease this summer, next July is surely looming already.
Everybody knows what’s coming, and every move made must be done with Cale Makar in mind. The franchise defenceman hits unrestricted free agency next summer, and that means the clock is already ticking when it comes to inking him to a monster extension. The cap increase couldn’t come at a more perfect time for the Avalanche, but an extra $9 million certainly won’t cover it. Just four other roster players are due to hit the UFA market at the same time — Brent Burns, Nicolas Roy, Artturi Lehkonen and Scott Wedgewood will all be off the books, totalling about $10 million of freed-up space but also opening up other roster gaps to be addressed.
Will Makar ink a deal in-season, or wait out a certain other star D-man to set the going rate first (ahem, asking for a friend in Minnesota…)? And what moves might Sakic make in the year ahead to ensure his top rearguard remains in-house?
The market-setters: San Jose Sharks
It wasn’t long ago that the Sharks were swimming in cap space. One of the biggest questions in San Jose was what the team might do with all that cash.
We now have our answer.
Spending season is well underway, and GM Mike Grier didn’t waste time locking up franchise cornerstone Macklin Celebrini. The young star will play out the final year of his entry-level deal knowing he’s about to make $18.8 million per season come July 1, while Grier faces plenty more questions about the rest of his core.
With Celebrini setting the market for the next generation of elite offensive talent, what the rest of the core signs for can do the same for other positions. What might Will Smith command, and Michael Misa after him? How Grier keeps this young core together will be very intriguing to see.
