The 2026-27 NHL season is still about six weeks away, but after an off-season of big moves and market-setting deals, it\u2019s hard not to look even further into the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which teams are heading into a cap crunch next summer? Who\u2019s sitting pretty and under budget? How much will the game\u2019s next big stars command on their next deals, and what might that mean for teams\u2019 second-best scorers?<\/p>\n
With all that in mind, we\u2019re looking at a handful of intriguing franchises \u2014 each facing different questions and approaches to salary cap management \u2014 in the year ahead, and beyond.<\/p>\n
The Ducks couldn\u2019t afford to lose Leo Carlsson to the Philadelphia Flyers, but now that they\u2019ve signed the 21-year-old to a five-year pact to match Philly\u2019s offer at a whopping $18 million a year, well\u2026 can they afford much else? Carlsson\u2019s contract changes a lot of things in Anaheim. It also serves as a harsh reminder for executives everywhere that waiting to sign your young stars can be a costly gamble.<\/p>\n
While the Ducks\u2019 cap situation is far from dire \u2014 their $9 million in cap space at the moment is 10th\u00a0most league-wide \u2014 it\u00a0is\u00a0complicated. That\u2019s because their 2025-26 leading scorer, Cutter Gauthier<\/a>, is still without a contract. Gauthier led the Ducks in goals (41) and points (69). That breakout campaign couldn\u2019t have come at a better time for the 22-year-old restricted free agent.\u00a0<\/p>\n Salary cap help is on the way \u2014 the Ducks will have nearly $13 million coming off the books when the contracts of veterans Chris Kreider and Alex Killorn are up next summer, and the NHL\u2019s $9-million cap increase will ease the impending crunch \u2014 but what happens in the meantime? And what will Gauthier\u2019s next deal mean for next-in-line Beckett Sennecke<\/a>, who hits extension eligibility next July? Every move from this point on must be made with those questions in mind. Interesting times ahead in Anaheim.\u00a0<\/p>\n GM Kent Hughes doesn\u2019t procrastinate. He\u2019s done a masterful job of locking up his core early, and that has Montreal sitting pretty cap-wise as they enter their prime window of contention. Buying in early on forwards Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, all three of whom come in under $8 million for at least the next four years, clearly set the tone for the team\u2019s early contract extension for Ivan Demidov<\/a>.<\/p>\n Demidov will become the club\u2019s top-earning forward next summer when his $9.15-million AAV hits the books \u2014 a deal that will surely look like a bargain very soon. (Defenceman Noah Dobson is the team\u2019s highest-paid player, at $9.5 million annually.) Last fall\u2019s extension for cornerstone D-man Lane Hutson at $8.85 million is already a steal.<\/p>\n All that cap certainty affords Hughes some flexibility in the year(s) ahead. After a quiet off-season on the open market, does Hughes have a big swing in store?\u00a0<\/p>\n