William Nylander, left, has signed a huge extension. Is Leon Drasaitl next?Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The NHL salary cap is projected to rise from $83.5 million to $87.7 million next year. If it stands, the $4.2 million increase will be the largest in a single year since the 2019-20 season.
In short, stars in or around their prime who are set to hit the market in the next few years are going to get paid.
William Nylander is one of the latest examples of the trend to come, after the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to an eight-year, $92 million extension through 2032.
The deal, which is the most expensive total value deal in the team’s history, brings the total cost of the core four (Nylander, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and John Tavares) to more than $40 million on the books for next season.
The Toronto situation is a reminder of how much context matters during contract negotiations: The franchise is generally going to spend to the cap in a bid to make it to a Cup final, while Nylander’s agent had some leverage with his steady improvement over the years, his current career season and the rest of the core’s expensive contracts. The icing on the cake here is the rising cap.
When it comes to the slew of players next in line for major contracts, we must consider even more context: How old is the player? How consistent is his play? Is he on a team that’s either desperate to contend or swimming in cap space? What is the team’s and GM’s history when it comes to making big deals?
Let’s take a look at some of the NHL star forwards approaching free agency who could be up for some monster contracts.
