Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those who don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
As we do each year, PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2026-27 season, though in a slightly different format than before. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. Next up in our series is a look at the Atlantic Division, first up are the Bruins.
2026-27
Upper Limit: $104MM
Current Cap Charge: $98,609,583
Cap Space: $5,390,417
Potential Bonuses: $1MM (some could be reached)
Dead Cap: $615K (retained salary on Brandon Carlo)
Still to Sign: F Matthew Poitras
Poitras was limited to just three NHL games last season which makes it likely that a short-term bridge deal comes his way, likely a one-year pact. It should check above the league minimum but not enough to materially affect Boston’s cap space.
Expiring Contracts (RFA): D Mason Lohrei ($3.2MM), F Marat Khusnutdinov ($925K), F Fraser Minten ($879,166)
Khusnutdinov took some promising strides forward last season, his first full year with the Bruins. However, he was still primarily used in the bottom six and players in that situation don’t typically command long-term contracts. If his usage and production are the same this season, Khusnutdinov could plausibly push for around $3MM per season on a bridge deal. Minten had a solid rookie season, moving himself into the top six at times and not looking out of place. He’s likely a middle-six piece this year, again making a short-term second contract more likely. For him, the price tag of that agreement might be closer to $4MM per year.
Lohrei’s case is an interesting one. He provides enough offense to push for a raise with arbitration next summer but his role dropped to more of a fifth or sixth option at best while at times being scratched. If things stay like that in 2026-27, the numbers suggest he could get a raise past $4MM per year but for the role he has, it’s a price tag they likely can’t afford to pay. That could make him a viable trade candidate in the coming months.
Expiring Contracts (UFA): G Michael DiPietro ($812,500), F Michael Eyssimont ($1.45MM), F Sean Kuraly ($1.85MM), F Casey Mittelstadt ($5.75MM), F Pavel Zacha ($4.75MM)
Mittelstadt was one of GM Don Sweeney’s attempts to bring in help down the middle. This one hasn’t worked out, however. He has provided some secondary scoring since being acquired but not to the level he did in Buffalo a few years back. He also spent most of the year on the wing though his ability to play center will boost his market. Given the high demand there, a small raise could be doable on a medium-term pact.
Zacha, on the other hand, was an attempt to help down the middle that absolutely panned out. Acquired four years ago for Erik Haula, the 29-year-old has put up his best four offensive seasons since then, including a career-high 65 points last season. Notably, that came in spite of his playing time dropping by more than two minutes a night. That actually bodes well for his next contract as now, Zacha has demonstrated that he can provide impactful production from the second line. That makes him especially appealing to potential suitors next summer. He probably won’t command top-line money but a jump to the $8MM territory on a longer-term pact definitely feels realistic at the moment.
Kuraly returned last summer and played the fourth-line role he has largely held throughout his career. The price tag for a physical veteran has ticked up a bit so a jump past the $2MM mark again should be realistic. Eyssimont was a late bloomer and only really has three full NHL seasons under his belt despite the fact he’ll turn 30 next month. He’s more of a 12th or 13th forward on Boston’s depth chart which could hinder his market a bit next summer. Still, a small raise on a short-term deal is realistic.
DiPietro appears set to get his first real NHL opportunity as Boston moved out Joonas Korpisalo this summer. Assuming they don’t add a new backup before the season starts, he should get 20-25 starts to prove his worth. If things go well, a jump into the $2MM range is doable while if his numbers aren’t the sharpest, he could be back in third-string territory which is a price tag that stays close to the league minimum.
2027-28
Projected Upper Limit: $113.5MM
Current Cap Charge: $78,377,917 (15 players signed)
Cap Space: $35,122,083
Potential Bonuses: $1MM (possible some of the ‘A’ bonuses are reached)
Dead Cap: None
A big chunk of their cap room is going to be taken up by their free agent class. The RFAs will run anywhere between $5.5MM and more than twice that (depending on what happens with Lohrei) while keeping Zacha alone could knock 20% or so off their spending room. Sweeney should still have some spending flexibility at his disposal but it won’t be as much as the current cap space might suggest.
Expiring Contracts (RFA): D Frederic Brunet, F James Hagens ($986,250 + $1MM in ‘A’ bonuses)
Hagens is Boston’s top prospect and got his feet wet in the pros late last season. A lot will depend on how he’s used these next couple of years. Is he eased in or are they aiming for top-six minutes quickly to help get him to the top center they hope he can become? If it’s the former, a bridge deal makes some sense while his bonuses will be unlikely to be earned. If it’s the latter and he’s productive, we’ve seen where the market is going. On top of hitting some or all of those bonuses, his second contract could become one of their priciest deals.
Brunet is worth a quick mention as he’s waiver-eligible and seemingly unlikely to make it through unclaimed. He’ll be looking to establish himself as a regular on an NHL roster (in Boston or otherwise) which means he probably won’t get enough of a track record to command a significant increase, though somewhere in the $1.5MM range could be doable if he has some success.
Expiring Contracts (UFA): D Connor Clifton ($2.25MM), D Henri Jokiharju ($3MM), F Mark Kastelic ($1,566,667), F Alex Steeves ($1.625MM)
Steeves signed an early extension last season, giving him the security of a one-way contract although it’s fair to wonder if the Bruins might want a mulligan given his role down the stretch. He still profiles as more of a depth piece; he’ll need to establish himself as a full-time regular to have a chance to beat this on his next contract. Kastelic has become a high-impact fourth liner while showing a bit of a scoring touch last season. If he has another double-digit goal campaign in him, with his physicality, a jump to the $3.5MM range (or even a bit more) seems possible.
Jokiharju has been a beneficiary of being a mobile right-shot defender. He is more of a sixth or seventh defender but those attributes keep getting him opportunities at a reasonable price tag. At this point, there’s little reason to think that won’t keep continuing, even if his role remains limited with Boston. Clifton is also more of a sixth or seventh option who is more of a physical player. He signed this deal last month and this feels like the right price range for him unless he carves out a full-time role.
2028-29
Forecasted Upper Limit: $123MM
Current Cap Charge: $68.95MM (10 players signed)
Cap Space: $54.05MM
Potential Bonuses: None
Dead Cap: None
Hagens will loom large for planning for this season. If he makes a big impact and gets a pricey second contract, his new deal would eat up most of the cap increase. They have enough in other expiring deals to afford a raise for Kastelic, who is the priority of the four pending UFAs. But in that scenario, they may not be able to do much else. If Hagens is bridged, however, then there would be some wiggle room to work with.
Expiring Contracts (RFA): None
Expiring Contracts (UFA): None
2029-30
Forecasted Upper Limit: $133.5MM (8.5% increase)
Current Cap Charge: $68.95MM (10 players signed)
Cap Space: $64.55MM
Potential Bonuses: None
Dead Cap: None
Expiring Contracts (RFA): None
Expiring Contracts (UFA): D William Borgen ($4.1MM), F Tanner Jeannot ($3.4MM), D Hampus Lindholm ($6.5MM), D Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM), F JJ Peterka ($7.7MM), D Nikita Zadorov ($5MM)
Peterka was Boston’s big addition this summer with the hopes that a return to the Atlantic Division will re-spark his offense. If he can get back to 60-plus-point form, he could very well push for a double-digit AAV on his next deal when he’ll still be in his late 20s. Jeannot’s contract was a head-scratcher last summer and he didn’t provide a great return in year one. That said, the way the market has gone, he probably would have received something similar had he been a free agent this summer. Still, with four more years of this type of playing style, it’s hard to forecast much of a raise.
That can’t be said for McAvoy though. Boston’s top blueliner is a legitimate all-around number one option and the market for those players appears set to skyrocket in the near future. At this point, a jump to $15MM or so feels doable, more if the market rises quicker than expected. Lindholm isn’t quite the big-minute player he was with Anaheim but he’s a capable second or third option at a price point reasonable for that spot. He’ll be 36 when this deal is up and a short-term pact at a small increase could be realistic.
Zadorov is getting the type of bigger minutes with Boston that he was seeking at previous stops and is holding his own. That said, his penchant for penalties hurts his value some, as will the fact he’ll be 35 when this deal is up. Like Lindholm, he should have a shot at a small raise on a short-term contract. Borgen was an okay fit with the Rangers and now we’ll see how he fits with the Bruins. If he can lock down a number four slot, there’s runway for a fair-sized increase past the $6MM range on his next deal. If he proves to be more of a third-pairing piece as he has typically been, then he might land just a bit above this price point.
Signed For 2030-31 And Beyond
For that season, there will be a new CBA in place so trying to forecast the cap and cap space basically becomes a guessing game. Accordingly, we’ll go back to the old Deep Dive format for players signed beyond the 2030-31 campaign.
F Morgan Geekie ($5.5MM through 2030-31)
F Elias Lindholm ($7.75MM through 2030-31)
F David Pastrnak ($11.5MM through 2030-31)
G Jeremy Swayman ($8.25MM through 2031-32)
Pastrnak has reached 100 points or more in four straight seasons, a mark few others have hit and they all make more than him already. Even though he’ll be 35 when this deal is up, he should still be a legitimate top-line option or a high-end second liner. That should still be enough to jump up by a few million but it won’t be the windfall some others have received recently simply because of his age.
Lindholm was another attempt to stabilize things down the middle. But he’s more of a second option than a number one and they were clearly hoping for the latter. The good news is the market rate for centers is going up quickly enough that this could very well be a market-value deal before long. He’ll be 36 when the deal expires and at that point, he should be a bottom-six piece which suggests a cut in pay will come his way.
Geekie has had two big-time scoring years in a row now, tallying 72 times across those seasons. A 30-goal scorer for mid-tier second-line money is quite a bargain already. As time progresses, if he keeps up this pace, it’ll be one of the top bargains league-wide. He’ll be 33 when his next contract starts, giving him some runway for a huge jump in pay if he continues to produce like this. If so, he’ll more than double this price tag.
Swayman’s second year on his deal went much better than the first as he was a Vezina finalist once more. Even if he’s a top-10 goalie on average, this contract will hold up quite well in the new financial landscape. He’ll be heading into his age-33 year on his next contract so a notable raise on a longer-term agreement could be in reach.
Outlook
There are some big raises coming over the next couple of years that will cut into Boston’s current wiggle room. However, enough veterans have expiring deals that should allow Sweeney to have a reasonable amount of flexibility to try to add to his group over time.
Photo courtesy of Perry Nelson-Imagn Images via Reuters Connect.