There are only select instances in which NHL teams can include performance bonuses and games played bonuses in contracts given to players beyond their entry-level deals.

Those aged 35 or older are eligible to receive them, as are players with 400 games of NHL experience who are signing a one-year contract coming off a long-term injury.

Effectively, they are a tool teams can use to mitigate risk. Some players double or triple their guaranteed base salary simply by being healthy enough to suit up for the majority of the season. In many cases, there are incentives tied to team achievements.

The bonuses provide added flexibility for teams because they are eligible to be counted against the current year’s salary cap figure or the one they incur the following season.  Basically, any bonus amount owing at the end of the season will be carried over as an overage charge in 2026-27.

With a little more than three weeks remaining in the regular season, those are coming into focus.

With a big assist from PuckPedia, it’s a good time to gauge where players currently stand with regards to their bonuses.

Here’s our Bonus Watch.

Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars

$2.5 million earned so far, including $1 million base salary

Benn has remained a steady contributor for the Stars after a difficult start to his 17th NHL season. He didn’t play his first game until Nov. 18 after undergoing surgery on a collapsed lung during training camp. The Stars have gotten their money’s worth from the 36-year-old winger since then. Benn needs to play all 11 remaining Dallas games in order to hit his final games played bonus. A team with serious Stanley Cup aspirations would be thrilled if he cashed out on the other potential payouts as well.

Bonuses hit ($1.5 million):

20 GP: $500,000
30 GP: $500,000
50 GP: $500,000

Bonuses still in play ($1.5 million):

60 GP: $500,000
Round 3 win and 50 percent of playoffs GP: $500,000
Stanley Cup win and 50 percent of playoffs GP: $500,000
Brent Burns, Colorado Avalanche

$4 million earned, including $1 million base salary

The NHL’s active Ironman just keeps going and going. Burns has settled into a third-pairing role since signing with the Avalanche and is averaging a shade under 19 minutes per night. While that will keep him from hitting his final potential bonus, he’s delivered about as much as could be expected from a 41-year-old. By structuring his contract the way they did, Colorado gained a little added cap flexibility because that payment is eligible to be counted either this season or next.

Bonus hit ($3 million):

No longer attainable ($1 million):

70 GP with 23 mins or more: $1 million
Ian Cole, Utah Mammoth

$3 million earned, including $2.8 million base salary

After playing all 82 games for Utah last season, Cole has the chance to do it again. That’s allowed him to cash in on every bonus available in the one-year extension he signed in March 2025. The 37-year-old is a fixture on the Mammoth’s third pairing and has helped put the team in position for its first-ever playoff appearance.

Bonuses hit ($200,000):

40 GP: $50,000
50 GP: $50,000
65 GP: $100,000
Evgenii Dadonov, New Jersey Devils

$1.25 million earned so far, including $1 million base salary

Unfortunately for Dadonov, this contract is an example of how a team can protect itself against the downside risk by giving bonuses to a veteran. The 37-year-old winger fractured his hand in the season opener after getting hit by a puck and has also missed time with a wrist injury. Of late, he’s found himself as a frequent healthy scratch. Dadonov needs two more games to earn another bonus, and there’s no guarantee he gets there. The Devils are almost certain to miss the playoffs, making the team achievements extremely unlikely.

Bonus hit ($250,000):

Bonuses still in play ($1.2 million):

20 GP: $250,000
30 GP: $250,000
Round 1 win and 50 percent of series GP: $300,000
Round 2 win and 50 percent of series GP: $200,000
Round 3 win and 50 percent of series GP: $100,000
Stanley Cup win and 50 percent of series GP: $100,000

No longer attainable ($800,000):

40 GP: $250,000
50 GP: $250,000
Playoffs and 40 GP: $300,000
Lars Eller, Ottawa Senators

$1.5 million earned so far, including $1.25 million base salary

The Senators’ fourth-line center will have no shortage of financial motivation down the stretch. Not only is the team pushing hard for a playoff spot, which would trigger a payout to the 37-year-old, but Eller is also currently three games shy of his final games played bonus. A long run through the spring seems possible in Ottawa if it can find a way to qualify for the postseason.

Bonus hit ($250,000):

Bonuses still in play ($750,000):

60 GP: $250,000
Playoffs: $250,000
Reach Eastern Conference final: $250,000
Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators

$2.75 million earned so far, including $2 million base salary

Giroux is an important veteran leader for the Sens and has played every game so far this season. The biggest motivator for him is chasing his first Stanley Cup, and he stands to benefit financially from every rung up the ladder Ottawa manages to step toward that goal.

The next potential payout for Giroux will trigger if they qualify for the playoffs.

Bonuses hit ($750,000):

20 GP: $250,000
30 GP: $250,000
60 GP: $250,000

Bonuses still in play ($2 million):

Playoffs and 50 GP: $250,000
Round 1 win and 50 percent of playoffs GP: $500,000
Round 2 win and 50 percent of playoffs GP: $250,000
Round 3 win and 50 percent of playoffs GP: $500,000
Stanley Cup win and 50 percent of playoffs GP: $500,000
Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings

$6 million earned so far, including $3 million base salary

Kane became the all-time leading scorer among U.S.-born players earlier this season and remains an important offensive weapon for the Red Wings, sitting fourth in points among the team’s forwards. Each of his outstanding bonuses is tied to the thing the 37-year-old winger wants most: a return to the playoffs.

Incredibly, Kane has only appeared in seven postseason games across the past seven years.

Bonuses hit ($3 million):

10 GP: $2.5 million
30 GP: $250,000
50 GP: $250,000

Bonuses still in play ($1 million):

Playoffs: $500,000
Round 1 win: $250,000
Round 2 win: $250,000
Anthony Mantha, Pittsburgh Penguins

$4.25 million earned so far, including $2.5 million base salary

If the NHL had a comeback player of the year award, Mantha would be a great candidate to claim it. The well-traveled 31-year-old was limited to just 13 games last season because of ACL surgery in his knee. Pittsburgh offered him a fresh opportunity in the summer and was willing to pay him $4.5 million if he could remain healthy for a full campaign. Mantha has rewarded that faith, playing all 71 games so far and posting career highs in goals (26) and points (53).

Bonuses hit ($1.75 million):

10 GP: $250,000
20 GP: $250,000
30 GP: $250,000
40 GP: $250,000
50 GP: $250,000
60 GP: $250,000
70 GP: $250,000

Bonus still in play ($250,000):

Corey Perry, Tampa Bay Lightning

$3.5 million earned so far, including $1 million base salary and $1 million signing bonus

After appearing in the Stanley Cup Final in five of the past six seasons, Perry is comfortable tying some of his compensation to a long playoff run. A trade to the Lightning from the Los Angeles Kings earlier this month has put the 40-year-old winger in a position where he can realize the full value of his contract.

Bonuses hit ($1.5 million):

10 GP: $500,000
20 GP: $250,000
30 GP: $250,000
40 GP: $250,000
50 GP: $250,000

Bonuses still in play ($500,000):

Round 1 win: $125,000
Round 2 win: $250,000
Round 3 win: $125,000
Jeff Petry, Minnesota Wild

$925,000 earned so far, including $775,000 base salary

Brought in by the Wild for depth from the Florida Panthers at the trade deadline, Petry is poised to see his first playoff action since a run to the Stanley Cup Final with the Montreal Canadiens in 2020. A championship is still missing from his resume.

Petry is also one regular-season game away from triggering his final games played bonus, but he has only played one of the Wild’s 10 games since his arrival.

Bonuses hit ($150,000):

30 GP: $50,000
40 GP: $50,000
50 GP: $50,000

Bonuses still in play ($100,000):

60 GP: $50,000
Stanley Cup win: $50,000
Jonathan Toews, Winnipeg Jets

$4.75 million earned so far, including $2 million base salary

Even though things haven’t gone quite as well as either the Jets or Toews likely hoped, it still needs to be considered a successful experiment for the 37-year-old center. He’s managed to play every game after having his career threatened by an autoimmune disorder and sitting out two seasons entirely. Plus, the Jets remain on the fringes of the playoff chase.

Toews will only cash more bonuses if he helps them make a run.

Bonuses hit ($2.75 million):

20 GP: $550,000
30 GP: $550,000
40 GP: $550,000
50 GP: $550,000
60 GP: $550,000

Bonuses still in play ($2.25 million):

Playoffs and 50 GP: $500,000
Round 1 win and 50 percent of series GP: $250,000
Round 2 win and 50 percent of series GP: $250,000
Round 3 win and 50 percent of series GP: $250,000
Stanley Cup win and 50 percent of series GP: $1 million
Jonathan Quick, New York Rangers

$1.55 million earned so far, including $1 million base and a $550,000 signing bonus

The Rangers are playing out the string on a difficult season, and the 40-year-old backup goaltender could be coming to the end of a career that should eventually land him in the Hockey Hall of Fame. The team simply didn’t win enough this year for Quick to have a real chance to hit most of the bonuses in his contract.

Bonus still in play ($75,000):

20 starts with .915 save percentage: $75,000

No longer attainable ($225,000):

20 wins: $50,000
25 wins: $100,000
35 GP: $25,000
40 GP: $50,000
James van Riemsdyk, Detroit Red Wings

$1.25 million earned so far, including $1 million base salary

Playing on a third one-year contract signed with a third different organization, van Riemsdyk continues to be a cost-effective bet for teams because of his soft hands around the net. He’s held down a fairly steady role in Detroit’s lineup, scoring 15 goals and 28 points in 62 games, and can still hit a couple bonuses if the Red Wings qualify for the playoffs.

Bonus hit ($250,000):

Bonuses still in play ($500,000):

Playoffs: $250,000
Win a round: $250,000