NHL Salary Cap By Team

2023-2024 NHL Salary Cap Space

NHL Salary Cap Limit: $83,500,000
NHL Salary Cap Floor: $61,700,000
Projected Cap Space
Contracts
Retained Left
Atlantic Division
Team Projected Cap Hit Projected Cap Space Active Roster Playoff % Retained Left
Boston Bruins logo Boston Bruins $83,889,987 $-389,987 22/23 0.0% 3
Buffalo Sabres logo Buffalo Sabres $76,188,293 $7,311,707 23/23 0.0% 3
Detroit Red Wings logo Detroit Red Wings $81,187,224 $2,312,776 23/23 0.0% 2
Florida Panthers logo Florida Panthers $82,349,390 $1,257,940 22/23 0.0% 3
Montreal Canadiens logo Montreal Canadiens $90,715,991 $-7,339,324 23/23 0.0% 1
Ottawa Senators logo Ottawa Senators $85,079,985 $-1,579,985 21/23 0.0% 2
Tampa Bay Lightning logo Tampa Bay Lightning $91,488,757 $-7,988,757 22/23 0.0% 2
Toronto Maple Leafs logo Toronto Maple Leafs $96,596,724 $-13,096,724 23/23 0.0% 3
Metropolitan Division
Team Projected Cap Hit Projected Cap Space Active Roster Playoff % Retained Left
Carolina Hurricanes logo Carolina Hurricanes $81,694,391 $1,805,609 22/23 0.0% 3
Columbus Blue Jackets logo Columbus Blue Jackets $80,368,876 $3,131,124 23/23 0.0% 3
New Jersey Devils logo New Jersey Devils $82,491,146 $1,008,854 23/23 0.0% 3
New York Islanders logo New York Islanders $84,311,669 $-802,676 23/23 0.0% 3
New York Rangers logo New York Rangers $83,497,786 $47,536 21/23 0.0% 3
Philadelphia Flyers logo Philadelphia Flyers $82,014,727 $1,510,599 23/23 0.0% 2
Pittsburgh Penguins logo Pittsburgh Penguins $85,338,266 $-1,838,266 22/23 0.0% 2
Washington Capitals logo Washington Capitals $87,384,311 $-3,884,311 23/23 0.0% 3
Central Division
Team Projected Cap Hit Projected Cap Space Active Roster Playoff % Retained Left
Arizona Coyotes logo Arizona Coyotes $80,049,292 $3,450,708 21/23 0.0% 3
Chicago Blackhawks logo Chicago Blackhawks $73,741,046 $9,758,954 23/23 0.0% 2
Colorado Avalanche logo Colorado Avalanche $92,142,617 $-8,642,617 22/23 0.0% 3
Dallas Stars logo Dallas Stars $83,042,829 $457,171 22/23 0.0% 3
Minnesota Wild logo Minnesota Wild $83,758,939 $40,076 22/23 0.0% 3
Nashville Predators logo Nashville Predators $75,734,130 $7,765,870 21/23 0.0% 1
St. Louis Blues logo St. Louis Blues $83,218,930 $281,070 23/23 0.0% 3
Winnipeg Jets logo Winnipeg Jets $81,920,528 $1,579,472 23/23 0.0% 3
Pacific Division
Team Projected Cap Hit Projected Cap Space Active Roster Playoff % Retained Left
Anaheim Ducks logo Anaheim Ducks $76,262,761 $7,237,239 23/23 0.0% 3
Calgary Flames logo Calgary Flames $83,161,320 $1,004,743 21/23 0.0% 3
Edmonton Oilers logo Edmonton Oilers $84,108,718 $-536,589 22/23 0.0% 3
Los Angeles Kings logo Los Angeles Kings $84,943,525 $-1,443,525 21/23 0.0% 2
San Jose Sharks logo San Jose Sharks $81,991,055 $1,508,945 23/23 0.0% 1
Seattle Kraken logo Seattle Kraken $82,035,904 $1,464,096 22/23 0.0% 3
Vancouver Canucks logo Vancouver Canucks $87,612,279 $-4,112,279 23/23 0.0% 3
Vegas Golden Knights logo Vegas Golden Knights $89,210,530 $-5,784,697 23/23 0.0% 3

 

What Is the NHL Salary Cap?

The NHL salary cap is the total amount that NHL teams may pay for players. The amount set as the salary cap each year depends on the league’s revenue for the previous season. As it is a 'hard cap,' there are no exemptions. However, if a player is injured and it's thought that they will miss at least 10 NHL games and 24 days in the season, their team can put them on long-term injured reserve (LTIR). By doing so, they can surpass the salary cap.

The salary cap was introduced to prevent teams with the most revenue signing all the top players, which was becoming a problem in the '90s and early 2000s. For instance, by signing a number of top-performing players and significantly spending more than the majority of other teams, the Detroit Red Wings were able to win three Stanley Cups in that time.

This led to the 2004-05 CBA negotiations, during which the entire season was cancelled — the first time a labor dispute has ever caused a cancellation in a major sports league in North America. At the time of the negotiations, teams were spending around 75 percent of their revenues on salaries — much higher than any other North American sports league. Eventually, they agreed to the general structure that remain today, including the mandatory payment to players in US dollars.

The concept of a salary cap is not new to the NHL. One was first introduced during the Great Depression, at which time the salary cap per team was $62,500 and $7,000 per player.

Salary Cap History

Since its reintroduction in the 2005-06 season, the NHL salary cap had risen every year until the pandemic shortened 2020-2021 season:

  2005-2006 $39.0 million  
  2006-2007 $44.0 million  
  2007-2008 $50.3 million  
  2008-2009 $56.7 million  
  2009-2010 $56.8 million  
  2010-2011 $59.4 million  
  2011-2012 $64.3 million  
  2012-2013 $60.0 million *  
  2013-2014 $64.3 million  
  2014-2015 $69.0 million  
  2015-2016 $71.4 million  
  2016-2017 $73.0 million  
  2017-2018 $75.0 million  
  2018-2019 $79.5 million  
  2019-2020 $81.5 million  
  2020-2021 $81.5 million  
  2021-2022 $81.5 million  
  2022-2023 $82.5 million  

*During the 2012-13 season, there was a lockout. The salary cap was set to $60 million, but NHL hockey teams were allowed to spend a pro-rated $70.2 million for the shortened season.

The salary floor (the minimum that a team must spend as a whole) is 85 percent of the salary midpoint. For the 2021-22 season, the cap floor is $60.2 million.

 

History of the Teams

Originally, there were just six NHL teams, called the Original Six. In the 1967-68 season, six new teams were added. The Original Six formed the East Division and the new six formed the West Division.

In 1974, six more NHL hockey teams joined the league, creating 18 in total. The league then took four teams from the World Hockey Association when it ceased to exist in 1979. With the Cleveland Barons gone in 1978, this brought the total to 21 teams.

There was no further expansion to the league until the '90s. The next new NHL team was the San Jose Sharks in 1991. Another eight were added in the subsequent decade to reach 30 teams by 2000. Finally, in 2016, Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, announced that another new NHL team — the Vegas Golden Knights — would join the List of NHL Teams, making 31 teams for the 2017-18 season.

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