NHL Salary Cap and LTIR Explained: 2026-27 Cap, Buyouts and Dead Cap (NHL)

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NHL Salary Cap and LTIR Explained: 2026-27 Cap, Buyouts and Dead Cap

By Adam Bertram

Nov 11, 2026 • 12:37 pm

The NHL salary cap for 2026-27 is $104.0 million per team, with a lower limit (the salary floor) of $76.9 million and a midpoint of $90.4 million, per the NHL and NHL Players' Association announcement on NHL.com on May 6, 2026. That is an $8.5 million increase over the 2025-26 cap of $95.5 million. Long-term injured reserve (LTIR) lets a team exceed the cap to replace a player who will miss at least 24 days and 10 regular-season games, but since 2025-26 that relief has been limited for players expected back during the season, and teams must now fit their lineups under the cap in the playoffs too.

Updated for the 2026-27 season.

What is the NHL salary cap for 2026-27?

The CBA calls it the "Team Payroll Range." For 2026-27, per NHL.com and the NHLPA:

2026-27 Team Payroll RangeAmount
Upper Limit (salary cap)$104.0 million
Midpoint$90.4 million
Lower Limit (salary floor)$76.9 million

In January 2025 the league and union agreed to fixed increases of $7.5 million for 2025-26, $8.5 million for 2026-27 and $9.5 million for 2027-28, subject to the CBA being extended, which it was. The final 2026-27 figures matched that projection.

NHL salary cap by season

SeasonUpper LimitChange from prior season
2021-22$81.5 millionNone
2022-23$82.5 million+$1.0 million
2023-24$83.5 million+$1.0 million
2024-25$88.0 million+$4.5 million
2025-26$95.5 million+$7.5 million
2026-27$104.0 million+$8.5 million
2027-28 (projected)$113.5 million+$9.5 million

Figures are from NHL.com and the joint NHL/NHLPA releases. The cap sat at $81.5 million from 2019-20 through 2021-22 because of the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, then rose $1 million in each of the next two seasons, according to NHL.com. The lower limit was $65.0 million in 2024-25 and $70.6 million in 2025-26, and is projected at $83.9 million for 2027-28.

What are the minimum and maximum NHL salaries in 2026-27?

  • Maximum: Under Section 50.6 of the CBA, no player may be paid more than 20% of the Upper Limit in any year of his contract, based on the cap in the year he signs. With a $104 million cap, that is $20.8 million, up from $19.1 million in 2025-26, per The Hockey News.
  • Minimum: The 2025 extension raises the league minimum by $50,000 a year: $850,000 in 2026-27, $900,000 in 2027-28, $950,000 in 2028-29 and $1 million in 2029-30, per CapWages and Oilers Nation's reading of the memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Can NHL teams go over the cap?

Only in three specific ways set out in Article 50 of the CBA:

  • The offseason 10% allowance. From July 1 through the last day of training camp, the Upper Limit is temporarily raised by 10%, which works out to $114.4 million for 2026-27. From the day after the last day of training camp until June 30, every club must be back under the regular cap.
  • The Performance Bonus Cushion. Performance bonuses are counted as if fully earned, and a team may go over the cap because of them by up to 7.5% of the Upper Limit ($7.8 million in 2026-27).
  • LTIR. The Bona-Fide Long-Term Injury/Illness Exception, explained below.

What is the bonus overage carry-over?

At the end of each season the league tallies the bonuses actually earned. If those bonuses leave a team over the cap, the CBA reduces that team's Upper Limit for the next season by the amount of the excess. That is the "bonus overage" teams sometimes carry into a new season.

How does LTIR work in the NHL?

A team can use LTIR when its physician believes a player will be unfit to play for at least 24 calendar days and 10 NHL regular-season games, under Section 50.10(d) of the CBA. The team notifies Central Registry and the NHLPA, and may then add replacement players whose salaries push it over the Upper Limit.

  • The injured player still counts. His cap hit stays in the team's payroll. LTIR lets the team exceed the cap by up to that amount.
  • Cap space comes first. Replacement salary is first absorbed by any space the team has under the cap. Only the rest can go over. The CBA's example: a team $500,000 under a $70 million cap loses a $1.5 million player. It can add $1.5 million in replacements, but only $1 million of that is above the cap. This is why a team's "LTIR pool" is usually smaller than the injured player's cap hit.
  • Minimum stay. Once placed, the player must stay on LTIR until 24 days and 10 games have passed, even if he heals sooner. Days and games already missed count retroactively.
  • Getting back under. Before the injured player can return, the team must bring its payroll back to or below the Upper Limit, usually by trading, waiving or assigning other players.

Offseason vs. in-season LTIR

Timing changes how much relief a team gets. The CBA's preseason examples show a team that places a player on LTIR before the season is treated as having already replaced him with its opening-day roster. Its relief equals however much its opening-day payroll exceeds the cap, up to the injured player's cap hit. Combined with the offseason 10% allowance, that lets a team carry a payroll above the cap into opening day and have the excess covered, up to the injured player's cap hit.

In-season, by contrast, relief is the injured player's cap hit minus whatever cap space the team already has, so unused space is effectively lost when the team goes on LTIR.

What changed with LTIR under the 2025 CBA extension?

The NHL and NHLPA agreed to a four-year extension on June 27, 2025, running from Sept. 16, 2026 through Sept. 15, 2030. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told NHL.com in September 2025 that the LTIR changes and the playoff cap would start right away, in the 2025-26 season. Two changes matter most:

  • A limit on relief. For a player expected back during the season or playoffs, LTIR relief is limited to the previous season's average league salary, per CapWages, Pro Hockey Rumors and Daily Faceoff. The 2025-26 average league salary, which sets the limit for 2026-27, is $3,973,228, according to Pension Plan Puppets' report on the NHL's figures in May 2026. The limit for 2025-26 was $3,817,293.
  • Full relief only if he is out for the year. A team can still receive relief for the player's full cap hit, with league approval, if he is ruled out for the rest of the regular season and playoffs. That player is then ineligible to return that season, Pro Hockey Rumors reported.

For an example of an in-season placement, see the Panthers placing captain Aleksander Barkov on LTIR in October 2026.

Is there a salary cap in the NHL playoffs?

Yes, since the 2026 playoffs. Under the "Playoff Cap Counting" rules in the MOU, each team lists 18 skaters and two goalies before every playoff game, and that group's cap hits must fit under the cap, NHL.com reported. The lineup is due by 3 p.m. local time or five hours before the game, whichever is earlier, and it can change from game to game.

  • The limit is the regular-season Upper Limit ($95.5 million in the 2026 playoffs, per The Associated Press).
  • Cap hits are not prorated, so a player acquired at the trade deadline counts in full. Bonuses are left out, per CapWages.
  • Buyout charges, retained salary and certain other regular-season charges also count against the playoff limit, according to an analysis by law firm Aird & Berlis.

Do signing bonuses count against the cap in the NHL?

Yes. Under Section 50.5(g) of the CBA, signing bonuses, roster bonuses and reporting bonuses are averaged over the full length of the contract like salary, no matter when they are paid. A player paid mostly in signing bonuses has the same cap hit as one paid the same total in salary.

Signing bonuses do matter in a buyout, because the buyout formula applies only to a player's base (Paragraph 1) salary. The 2025 extension limits signing, roster and reporting bonuses to 60% of a contract's total compensation, Oilers Nation's review of the MOU noted.

How do NHL buyouts work?

Paragraph 13 of the standard player contract sets the buyout rules:

  • How much: The team pays one-third of the remaining base salary if the player is under 26 when the buyout takes effect, or two-thirds if he is 26 or older.
  • Over how long: The payments are spread over twice the remaining length of the contract.
  • Waivers first: The player must clear unconditional waivers. If another team claims him, the buyout is cancelled and the claiming team takes the contract.
  • When: The main buyout window opens on June 15, or 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends if that is later, and closes at 5 p.m. New York time on June 30. Teams with salary arbitration cases get a second 48-hour window, starting on the third day after their last award or settlement.

How is a buyout cap hit calculated?

Section 50.5(d) of the CBA sets the cap charge. In each season left on the original contract, the charge is the contract's cap hit minus the "savings," meaning the salary and bonuses that would have been paid that year minus the buyout payment. In the extra seasons added by the buyout, the charge is simply the buyout payment.

A simple example with made-up numbers: a 28-year-old has two years left at $6 million in salary each year and a $6 million cap hit. The team owes him two-thirds of $12 million, or $8 million, paid over four years at $2 million a year. In years one and two, the savings are $4 million ($6 million minus $2 million), so the cap hit is $2 million. In years three and four the cap hit is the $2 million payment.

In a real case, the Blues put Jonathan Drouin, 31, on waivers to buy out the last year of his contract in June 2026. With a $4 million cap hit and one year left, the buyout cut the charge to about $1.33 million in each of the next two seasons.

What is dead cap in the NHL?

Dead cap is money counting against a team's cap for players who are not on its roster. The main sources:

  • Buyouts, as above.
  • Retained salary. In a trade, the team giving up a player can keep paying part of his contract. Under the CBA, a team may retain no more than 50% of the contract's cap hit, and the split cannot change from year to year. A team can have no more than three retained contracts on its books in a season, and their total cannot exceed 15% of the Upper Limit. A contract can be retained on no more than twice. Under the 2025 changes, a second retention on the same contract is only allowed more than 75 regular-season days after the first, per Oilers Nation and CapWages.
  • Cap recapture. This applies only to contracts signed before the 2013 CBA with terms longer than six years. If such a player retires before the deal ends, the team is charged the difference between what he was paid and what counted against the cap, spread over the years that were left.

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