NHL Salary Cap Expected to Hit $113.5M by 2027-28
The expected 8% increase in the cap for next season will give the Rangers more room to work out deals for players like Will Cuylle and K'Andre Miller.
As every NHL season winds down, there is hushed discussion over the projected numbers for the following season's salary cap, and this year has been no different. However, this time around, the league's released estimates show quite an expected increase.
New:
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 31, 2025
NHL/NHLPA have released cap estimates for next three seasons:
2025-26: $95.5M
2026-27: $104 M
2027-28: $113.5M
A salary cap of $95.5 million would be a dream for many teams that are feeling the pressure of being against the cap ceiling. And before the Rangers shipped out Jacob Trouba, boy, were they singing Freddy Mercury and David Bowie's famous tune.
As things currently stand for the Blueshirts, they have an excessive amount of cap space for the trade deadline if they decide to be buyers—currently projected to me almost $23 million. And going into next year with this new cap estimate, they would have just over $22 million to flex.
But before you start getting any big ideas, the team has some housekeeping to do. Decisions on new contracts need to be made for several players, including Will Cuylle and K'Andre Miller, who will command a significant raise regardless of how you feel about the consistency of his play.
Overall, the cap increasing by over 8% this year and continuing to climb per their projections will help the Rangers tremendously. Both Igor Shesterkin and Alexis Lafrenière's contracts will now sting significantly less, and before we know it, they may be potential steals.
For those keeping score at home that will make Igor Shesterkin's contract AAV over these years as a percentage of the cap:
— Eric Kohn 🥃 (@iEricKohn) January 31, 2025
2025-26: 12.04%
2026-27: 11.05%
2027-28: 10.13%
That first year is less than the first year of both of Henrik Lundqvist's last two contracts. https://t.co/0jwT5Cc2Zs
This increase could also allow the team to pursue a game-breaker in the offseason. The Avalanche could have some regret after rushing to trade Mikko Rantanen, but he and some other big names may command even larger-dollar contracts now that these projections are out there. Certain teams may not be in the position to take advantage of this situation fortunately, with some savvy and "ruthless" management this year, Chris Drury has negotiated the team into a much better cap position, and with the Rangers being one of the largest market teams in the league, they have the benefit of choosing to max out their cap space, an advantage they should look to take.
