A report in The Athletic on Tuesday broke the news regarding the NHL moving ahead with the implementation of the salary cap for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed earlier this year included provisions for the playoff salary cap to go into effect for the 2027 Stanley Cup playoffs. However, the report stated that unnamed sources have stated the playoff salary cap will be bumped up for this season.
The new CBA won’t go into effect until September 2026. Nevertheless, the NHL and NHLPA are on board with the change becoming official ahead of time.
This situation means that teams will have to abide by the regular-season salary cap rule during the playoffs. In previous seasons, the salary cap went out the window for the playoffs. As such, teams could ice lineups well over the cap ceiling without punishment.
The main reason behind that rule is that players are not technically paid for the playoffs. Virtually every player’s contract is fully paid by the end of the regular season. As such, players do not get compensated for their participation in the playoffs.
However, that rule has undergone a drastic change with the new CBA. The rule change aims to eliminate the seemingly unfair practices that some teams have engaged in over the last couple of seasons. Most notably, the Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2021 Stanley Cup with a lineup projected $18 million over the cap.
The 2023 Vegas Golden Knights pulled off a similar feat by fudging the cap rules. Therefore, the rule change will transform NHL clubs’ strategies this upcoming season. Teams won’t be able to rely on players coming off LTIR (more on that in a moment) to supplement their rosters come playoff time.
Teams will need to remain cap compliant throughout the postseason, making deadline acquisitions less impactful than in other seasons. The ultimate goal is to create a more level playing field during the postseason. It remains to be seen what impact this move will have on team’s strategies moving forward.
NHL also closing LTIR loophole ahead of schedule
One of the most talked-about issues with the current and previous CBAs was the infamous LTIR loophole. The loophole allowed for placing players on LTIR for an extended period during the regular season, then using that cap space to acquire more players at the deadline.
Then, teams could activate injured players from LTIR to start the playoffs and ice a lineup above the regular-season cap limit.
The most recent example of this strategy was last season’s Florida Panthers. The Panthers placed Matthew Tkachuk on LTIR for the remainder of the regular season following the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The additional cap space facilitated the Panthers to land Brad Marchand and Seth Jones in separate deals. Tkachuk was activated ahead of Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs and played throughout the postseason.
That loophole has now been closed. Yes, teams can utilize LTIR to bring in additional contracts. However, the playoff salary cap means that a player, such as Matthew Tkachuk, could be activated, but the team must be cap-compliant.
That move could be a massive game-changer come trade deadline time. Previous clubs like the 2021 Lightning with Nikita Kucherov and the 2023 Golden Knights with Mark Stone underscore the outcry regarding this rule.
Moving forward, teams won’t be able to pull off these sorts of shenanigans. That scenario will force GMs to figure out more creative ways to add at the trade deadline without exceeding the cap ceiling.
What we may see is teams getting creative with salary retention at the trade deadline and moving contracts out to fit in other pieces. Given the way this 2025-26 season is scheduled, fans could see deals spread throughout the season as opposed to being sandwiched all around the trade deadline.