So far, we\u2019ve seen over 200 NHL contracts signed. Today, we will examine this offseason\u2019s largest contracts signed by analyzing which players have the largest cap hit out of the signings made in the summer of 2026. Considering players can (and have) inked extensions ahead of their status for the 2027-28 season, we\u2019ll include those deals in as well.<\/p>\n
1. Cale Makar<\/a> \u2014 8 years, $20.4MM AAM ($163.2MM), Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n This AAV is the highest in NHL history, surpassing the $18.8MM record mark that Celebrini briefly set earlier this offseason. The Avs had until Sept. 15 to sign Makar to a full eight-year term; beginning Sept. 16, the NHL\u2019s new collective bargaining agreement caps extensions for a team\u2019s own player at seven years. The Avalanche lock up their franchise defenseman for the maximum length allowed before the transition, which is the luckiest piece of business they could get. At 27-years of age, Makar has easily become an all-time NHL defenseman of his generation, and he is just entering his prime. He\u2019s coming off a 20-goal, 59-assist, 79-point season in 75 games with a plus-32 rating, finishing as a Norris Trophy finalist for the sixth consecutive year as a runner-up in the voting. He averaged 24:51 of ice time and led the Avalanche with 118 blocked shots.<\/p>\n 2. Macklin Celebrini<\/a> \u2014 5 years, $18.8MM AAV ($94.00MM), San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n Celebrini secured a treasure of a contract after a monumental second season in the NHL. At just the mere age of 20 years old, he has the world of hockey in front of him. In 2025-26, he did it all this year, carrying the San Jose Sharks, scoring 115 points in a full 82-game campaign. His 5 goals (the most of the tournament) for 10 points at the Olympics for Canada, and captained his native country at the IIHF World Championships. There was never any doubt that when the market was reset by his Swedish neighbor in Anaheim, this payment was more than warranted. It should be noted that he could\u2019ve waited and signed for more next offseason. His contract now makes the Sharks\u2019 checklist a little lighter and locks him into their plans as a guaranteed 1C.<\/p>\n 3. Leo Carlsson<\/a> \u2014 5 years, $18MM AAV ($90.00MM), Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n I think a lot of us expected a large sum of money to head to Carlsson\u2019s bank account; however, I don\u2019t think any of us saw him ending up first on this list and holding that position for a long time before Celebrini swooped in. The former No. 2 overall pick in 2023 received a lucrative offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers, which the Anaheim Ducks matched. With Verbeek retaining the young Swedish phenom, it\u2019ll be interesting when we look back on the drama from this past week, and the gamble to use 17.3% of Anaheim\u2019s cap hit on the 21-year-old, and how it impacted the Ducks and the NHL.<\/p>\n 4. Connor Bedard<\/a> \u2014 5 years, $15MM AAV ($75.00MM), Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n Chicago had to open its checkbooks this offseason but paid less money than Anaheim did for the player taken after his No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NHL draft. One of the NHL\u2019s brightest young superstars and the poster boy of the next generation of Blackhawks will make less money than Carlsson despite scoring around 60 more points than him. Nonetheless, Bedard is third in the NHL among the highest-paid players and will be a free agent again just before his prime at age 26. It should make the Hawks happy that situationally, their star man is committed to the Windy City.<\/p>\n 5. Cutter Gauthier<\/a> \u2014 6 years, $13.5MM AAV ($81.00MM), Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n Anaheim has made loads of roster moves this offseason to compensate for paying their young players. Mind you, nearly $70MM of their cap hit with the Gauthier extension is spread across just 12 forwards. After previously rejecting a deal that would\u2019ve paid him $13MM annually, a slight increase was enough to put pen to paper. The 22-year-old finished his 2025-26 scoring 41 goals for 69 points in 76 games, adding 12 points in 12 playoff games. Since his NHL debut season in 2024-25, Gauthier has led the team in scoring with 113 points, one over Carlsson across that span.<\/p>\n 6. Bowen Byram<\/a> \u2014 6 years, $12.5MM AAV ($75.00MM), Chicago Blackhawks<\/p>\n The Blackhawks found their No. 1 defenseman, but it cost them a hefty price to do so, which included trading away the 2026 fourth-overall pick.\u00a0Byram wanted to be the go-to man on the blue line for an NHL club, and this fits for Chicago. The funny way to put this is that in 2027-28, when the contract kicks in, Byram will have the same income as Connor McDavid<\/a> and a higher annual paycheck than his former Sabres teammate, Rasmus Dahlin<\/a>. Last season was the former No. 4 overall pick\u2019s best season offensively, but Chicago is hoping that he\u2019ll elevate that production with the keys to the backend.<\/p>\n 7. Jason Robertson<\/a> \u2014 1 year, $12MM AAV ($12.00MM), Dallas Stars<\/p>\n It was expected by many that the situation of Robertson would be a major storyline. However, this deal ensures that Robertson is still a Star and both sides ultimately \u2018kick the tires\u2019 into next season when Robertson will officially become a UFA entering his 28-year-old season, which is surely to be the peak of his prime. He\u2019s proven to be a 100-point player, and Dallas can hope he continues that production into next year, when they\u2019ll have $41MM in cap space, more than enough room to give a worthy extension to their American scoring machine. The question is, what does that deal look like with how the rest of the league is going, a higher AAV with less term? We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n 8. Nico Hischier<\/a> \u2014 5 years, $11.7MM AAV ($58.5MM), New Jersey Devils<\/p>\n The Devils wanted to extend their captain this offseason, and they checked that box. The 2017 first overall pick was entering the final season of a seven-year, $50.75MM deal signed with New Jersey back in 2019. Now, the Devils will keep their 27-year-old top-line center through the 2031-32 season while giving him around an 65% salary increase. Rightfully so for one of three Devils to score over 300 points up to today (1st. Jesper Bratt<\/a>, 418 points and 2nd. Jack Hughes<\/a>, 407 points), that\u2019s an integral piece to retain towards the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n 9. Pavel Dorofeyev<\/a> \u2014 7 years, $11.0MM AAV ($77.00MM), New York Rangers<\/p>\n The Rangers have lost some key pieces over the course of 2026. Their retool should see a bump from Dorofeyev, who is receiving a lucrative pay raise from his former contracts that paid below $2MM AAV. New York has made him the second-highest earning rostered player for 2026-27, behind fellow countryman Igor Shesterkin<\/a>. They hope that the 25-year-old Russian can build on his two 30+ goal campaigns and seamlessly fit in a new scene. Ideally, considering his deep playoff experience and elite scoring touch, he\u2019s a huge core piece that\u2019ll have to shine on Broadway.<\/p>\n 10. Drake Batherson<\/a> \u2014 8 years, $10.75MM AAV ($86.00MM), Ottawa Senators<\/p>\n Did he get his eight years? Yes, he did. The Senators have enjoyed Batherson\u2019s point production severely. Last year, he posted a career-best 33 goals for 71 points; he was second on the Senators in scoring, behind Tim Stutzle<\/a>\u2018s 83 points and fourth on the team in cost-per-point, a mere $70K in 2025-26. He\u2019s boasted three 60+ point campaigns dating back to 2022-23. Before that, in the early years of his previous contract, he was still providing 30-40 points. This kind of progression is admirable for a former fourth-round pick, where Ottawa selected him at 121st overall in the 2017 NHL Draft, a class where his 364 career points reside comfortably in the top-10 among his colleagues taken that year.<\/p>\n Previously listed in Top 10 (link to dashboard for 2027-28 contract focus<\/a>):<\/p>\n 11. Alex Tuch<\/a> \u2014 8 years, $10.5MM AAV ($84.00MM), Washington Capitals Accurate as of Sept 31, 11:00 AM ET, (h\/t Puckpedia.com Player Dashboard: signings filtered since June 3, 2026 \u2013 2027-28 contract focus)<\/p>\n Photo Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Every year, with the NHL Salary Cap rising, articles like these will constantly highlight the growth of hockey.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[51757,3063,44930,1419,79619,49424,64,63,316658,6581,7520,28932,18672,7521,229418,84195,126050,28379,101969,64355,361359,23748,54988,149071,78215,4782,25924,5790,7519,3617,575,7322,325272,10018,337237,3065,7820,47545,103474,337238,7889,7527,85,4788,2370,257710,120680,13852,7529,165728,4791,2086,25247],"class_list":["post-900223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-adam-fantilli","tag-ahl","tag-alex-tuch","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-anthony-mantha","tag-arbitration","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bowen-byram","tag-buffalo-sabres","tag-chicago-blackhawks","tag-connor-bedard","tag-connor-mcdavid","tag-dallas-stars","tag-darren-raddysh","tag-del","tag-igor-shesterkin","tag-iihf","tag-ivan-demidov","tag-jack-hughes","tag-jacob-trouba","tag-jason-robertson","tag-jesper-bratt","tag-john-carlson","tag-kent-hughes","tag-leo-carlsson","tag-macklin-celebrini","tag-montreal-canadiens","tag-new-jersey-devils","tag-new-york-rangers","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-draft","tag-nico-hischier","tag-olympics","tag-pavel-dorofeyev","tag-philadelphia-flyers","tag-players","tag-rasmus-andersson","tag-rasmus-dahlin","tag-rfa","tag-salary-cap","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sports","tag-tampa-bay-lightning","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-travis-konecny","tag-trevor-zegras","tag-uncategorized","tag-vegas-golden-knights","tag-vladimir-tarasenko","tag-washington-capitals","tag-world-championship","tag-world-championships"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/connor-bedard-blackhawks-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n14. Ivan Demidov<\/a> \u2014 8 years, 9.15MM AAV ($73.2MM), Montreal Canadiens
\n15. Trevor Zegras<\/a> \u2014 4 years, 9.125MM AAV ($36.5MM), Philadelphia Flyers
\n17. John Carlson<\/a> \u2014 2 years, 8.5MM AAV ($17.00MM), Tampa Bay Lightning
\n18. Darren Raddysh<\/a> \u2014 8 years, $8.5MM AAV ($68.00MM), Toronto Maple Leafs
\n19. Rasmus Andersson<\/a> \u2014 7 years, $8.5MM AAV ($59.5MM), Vegas Golden Knights
\n20. Jacob Trouba<\/a> \u2014 4 years, $8.25MM AAV ($33.00MM), San Jose Sharks<\/p>\n