A salary cap increase yes, but not this high !
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman addressed recent speculation about a potential significant increase in NHL salary cap for the 2025-26 season, calling such reports inaccurate and premature.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Edmonton Oilers’ game against the Ottawa Senators on November 19, Bettman dismissed claims that the cap could rise as high as $95 or $97 million.
“I don’t know where that came from,” Bettman said, according to The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie. “The numbers that were being thrown around were not accurate, and any change would require an agreement between the league and the Players Association in terms of how it’s computed. We haven’t had those discussions.”
The speculation began after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that discussions about surpassing the estimated $92.5 million cap figure for the 2025-26 season were underway.
While the NHL’s current salary cap stands at $88 million, a standard annual increase of up to five percent is allowed under the league’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Any larger increase in the NHL salary cap, however, would require mutual consent between the NHL and the NHLPA.
As reported by The Score’s Josh Gold-Smith, the league and the Players Association agreed to exceed the standard five percent cap adjustment this past summer, increasing the ceiling by 5.39 percent.
This flexibility has fueled speculation that a more substantial cap rise could be on the horizon, particularly as the current CBA approaches its expiration in September 2026.
McKenzie also referenced The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, who noted that the NHLPA has already begun discussing a significant cap increase with players.
Such an increase could provide not only higher player salaries but also greater financial maneuverability for teams in managing contracts and rosters.
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