Discussing people’s salaries isn’t typically considered good etiquette, but in the world of professional sports, those kinds of rules fly right out the window.
And money actually seems to be a big point of discussion in the National Hockey League, with the salary cap increasing to a record $104 million for the upcoming 2026-27 season — an $8.5 million increase from the previous year — and projected to rise to $113.5 million for 2027-28.
The ripple effects of these significant salary-cap increases have already created waves this off-season, with three of the largest average annual value contracts in NHL history being signed, including Cale Makar’s recent extension, which is also the highest total value contract in league history.
So, given the topicality of all things money-related, we’re taking a look at the most interesting contract on all 32 teams — whether that’s because it’s a bargain, bust, blockbuster or something else entirely. Maybe it’s still to be determined!
Today, we get started with the Pacific Division. All contract details come from PuckPedia.
This one’s interesting because it doesn't exist. Coming off his three-year, entry-level contract with a $950,000 cap hit, Cutter Gauthier is without a deal. The 22-year-old winger has been holding out from the Anaheim Ducks after two of his teammates, centre Leo Carlsson and defenceman Pavel Mintyukov, signed lucrative contracts this off-season. If you recall the Carlsson offer-sheet situation with the Philadelphia Flyers, he re-signed in July for five years at an average annual value of $18 million after the Ducks matched. Two days later, Mintyukov signed a five-year deal with a $7.2-million AAV.
Given those paydays, starting with Carlsson and the number the Ducks had no control over, it most definitely raised Gauthier’s asking price. In 159 NHL games with Anaheim, Gauthier has 114 points. Last season, he recorded a team-high 41 goals and 69 points in 76 games. The Ducks are working with somewhat limited salary-cap space, but the termination of veteran Chris Kreider’s contract increased their availability from just over $9 million to more than $15.5 million.
Training camps open this week. Will Gauthier have a deal in time? He has shown stubbornness before. When the Flyers drafted him fifth overall in 2022, he eventually told the team he didn't want to play for them, forcing Philadelphia to trade him in 2024 while he was still at Boston College.
Signed last September as an extension, Dustin Wolf’s seven-year, $52.5-million contract with the Calgary Flames kicks in this season. It’s one of the largest deals in Flames history by total value and among the franchise’s biggest by cap hit. Despite Wolf’s somewhat limited NHL experience at the time, general manager Craig Conroy bet heavily on him as Calgary’s starting goaltender after his rookie season in 2024-25, when he posted a 2.64 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage, finishing second in Calder Trophy voting.
The 25-year-old’s numbers took a step back last season, as he posted his first-ever losing record as a pro, but much of that can be attributed to the team in front of him, with the Flames finishing seventh in the Pacific Division and missing the playoffs. His new contract will likely look very good if Wolf continues on the trajectory established early in his career, especially with his $7.5-million cap hit locked in through 2032-33.
Also kicking in this season is Connor McDavid’s two-year, $25-million contract with the Edmonton Oilers, which he signed last October. The $12.5-million cap hit is the same as his previous deal: an eight-year, $100-million contract he signed in the 2017 off-season. Obviously well below what the widely considered best player in the world could have demanded, McDavid is only the ninth-highest-paid player in the NHL by average annual value and isn’t even the highest-paid player on his own team, with Leon Draisaitl holding that title with his eight-year, $112-million contract.
Had he asked for significantly more money, general manager Stan Bowman would’ve happily opened up the team wallet for him. Instead, the captain gave the Oilers front office a better opportunity to build a championship contender around him following back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances.
Having McDavid on their roster for two more seasons has put the Oilers firmly into “win-now” mode, with one year of potential contention shaved off that window last season when Edmonton was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. McDavid will be eligible to sign an extension next summer, and there are concerns it could be Stanley Cup-or-bust to convince him to stay in Edmonton.
In June, as a pending restricted free agent with his entry-level deal set to expire, Brandt Clarke signed a five-year, $37-million extension with the Los Angeles Kings. He had been eligible to re-sign for nearly a year at that point but chose to wait, and it paid off as he recorded career-best marks in goals, assists, points, power-play points, blocked shots and time on ice per game in 2025-26. He became the first blue-liner in Kings history age 23 or younger since Drew Doughty in 2010-11 to record a 40-point season.
Had Clarke waited further into the off-season to get his new deal done, he potentially could have commanded a higher price based on some of the other contracts signed by young stars this summer, or the Kings could have risked him receiving an offer sheet. It’s to be determined how high Clarke’s ceiling really is, but he’s proven to be a reliable defenceman, and the Kings did well to remove any uncertainty surrounding his immediate future. It’s worth noting, too, that the deal includes only a modified no-trade clause for the final season, should L.A.’s hopes for him not pan out.
For a period of time this summer, Macklin Celebrini was the NHL’s highest-paid player on a per-season basis, thanks to the five-year, $94-million contract extension the San Jose Sharks signed him to at the end of July. His $18.8 million cap hit surpassed Leo Carlsson’s $18 million but was later upstaged by Cale Makar’s $20.4 million. Celebrini signed the deal ahead of the final year of his entry-level contract, keeping him from becoming a restricted free agent next summer.
The agreement follows Celebrini setting the Sharks’ single-season points record with 115 in 82 games in 2025-26. The 20-year-old was also fourth in the NHL in points, tied for fourth in goals and seventh in assists. He very well could have asked for a number closer to or even slightly above Makar’s, with the maximum at $20.8 million, but instead opted for a more team-friendly deal, which he’s expressed was a priority so that San Jose can continue to “build the way we want to build.”
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft has shown all signs of being a generational player, and the Sharks did well to lock him down sooner rather than later. Regarding the term, San Jose would likely have preferred to have him inked for the maximum of eight years, but will gladly take the five he’s committed to for now.
Playing just 18 games for Seattle last season after being traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bobby McMann decided to forgo free agency and signed his first long-term contract with the Kraken. Coming in at six years and worth $34.5 million, McMann’s new deal carries a significantly longer term and higher average annual value than the two previous deals he signed in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, and the raise was definitely warranted.
He became extension-eligible while still with Toronto, but despite mutual interest, a deal did not get done, and McMann was ultimately traded at the deadline. He recorded career highs in games played, goals, assists, points and ice time last season and made an immediate offensive impact on the Kraken, with 10 goals and four assists in his limited showing. McMann was an NHL late bloomer, though he’s already 30, so it will be interesting to see whether the Kraken will get full value out of the deal.
While the Vancouver Canucks recently awarded 20-year-old defenceman Zeev Buium an eight-year, $75.04-million extension, the most intriguing and discussed contract in Vancouver still remains Elias Pettersson's. With two years of his eight-year, $92.8-million contract having already come and gone, it wouldn’t be controversial by any means to say that Pettersson has not lived up to the expectations that a deal of that magnitude carries, and he’ll “be the first to say it.”
At the time of its signing, in March 2024, the contract carried the fifth-highest salary-cap hit in the NHL, and it seemed appropriate given the strong year he was having, especially after he posted a career-best 102 points in 80 games the previous season. But when the Canucks advanced to the second round of the playoffs, Pettersson recorded just one goal and five assists in 13 games, marking the beginning of his struggles. The next season, he recorded 45 points in 64 games, and this past season, he put up 51 points in 74 games, with just 15 goals in both.
Pettersson’s deal carries a full no-movement clause for the remaining six years, so although there have been conversations about a trade, any move will be at his discretion. That’s not to mention that the Canucks could have to retain some of his salary in order to get something done. As a rebuilding team, would it be worth it at that point?
Four goaltenders played for the Vegas Golden Knights last season, and of them, Adin Hill was the highest-paid. However, he also posted the worst stats. In 27 games, Hill had a 3.04 goals-against average, which ranked 39th in the league, and an .871 save percentage, which ranked 58th. The crease was handed over entirely to Carter Hart for the team's 22 playoff games. Hart is on a two-year, $4-million contract signed last October.
If Hart looks to be going for the No. 1 spot this season, Hill’s cap hit will be sizable for a backup. Akira Schmid appeared in the most regular-season games for Vegas in 2025-26, but the Golden Knights traded him to the Florida Panthers in June. The fourth goaltender who played for Vegas last season was Carl Lindblom, who appeared in eight games. He signed a three-year contract extension in June, with an average annual value of $900,000.
When Hill signed his contract in March 2025, he was in the midst of one of his best seasons. In 2024-25, he played a career-high 50 games, recorded career highs with 32 wins and four shutouts, and posted a 2.47 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage. He also played a major role in the Golden Knights’ 2023 Stanley Cup win, starting the final 14 games of that post-season.
