It might be an unpopular opinion to say that I like the NHL's salary cap system. It puts teams on a similar playing field, though that might not be entirely true with certain states having no income tax and teams finding ways to manipulate the cap to their will. At its core, it's a standard for every team to follow, regardless of their current contending status.
After marginal increases during the COVID seasons, the cap saw a decent bump heading into the 2024-25 season, jumping $4.5 million from the prior year. It's only going to get higher from here. The cap will hop another $7.5 million next season. By 2026-27, the salary cap will exceed $100 million for the first time, as it is projected to be around $104 million.
The Carolina Hurricanes head into the offseason with over $28 million in cap space. With few of their pending unrestricted free agents expected to return, this gives the front office a lot to play with. However, this offseason is just the beginning. The Canes can use the rising cap to their advantage by remaining competitive and keeping their window open for years to come.
They have a few pending RFAs next offseason who'll need new contracts
As of right now, the Hurricanes will have four restricted free agents on their active roster at the end of next season. Those four are Jackson Blake, Logan Stankoven, Alexander Nikishin, and Scott Morrow. That's a group of important young players for the organization, all needing a bump in their pay on their next deals.
Fortunately, the team is in a great spot to accommodate whatever they need. The team is projected to have plenty of space next season, when the cap is expected to increase by another $8.5 million. I anticipate Nikishin's next contract to be especially large if his rookie campaign in the NHL goes as well as we expect it will.
It also helps that the Hurricanes are projected to move into next season with only two pending UFAs on their roster in Mark Jankowski and Frederik Andersen. Neither player would break the bank to bring back, though they aren't players the Canes will be in a hurry to re-sign. This opens a little more space for them to maneuver.
The team's homegrown core is locked up on team-friendly deals
When talking about the Hurricanes' core, I'm referring to Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov, and Jaccob Slavin. All four players are locked into long-term deals. Svechnikov's deal ends in 2029, Aho and Jarvis's end in 2032, and Slavin's runs out in 2033. All are for under $10 million, with Slavin's cap hit at $6.4 million looking particularly great for a premier shutdown defenseman.
Having those building blocks in place for a long time provides a certain level of stability to build out the rest of the lineup, especially up front. Aho is a consistent 30-goal, 70-80-point scorer at the top of the lineup. Jarvis is coming off back-to-back 30-goal seasons and is developing a solid two-way game. Svechnikov can be up and down, but we've seen what he can be when he's at his best.
Everyone else currently under contract beyond the 2025-26 season carries a cap hit under $4 million, adding to the team's flexibility as the cap rises over the next few seasons. You also have to think about the players currently on their entry-level contracts, like Bradly Nadeau, whose cap hits will remain low for at least three seasons before they become RFAs.
The Hurricanes' Stanley Cup window is still wide open. They took what should've been a retooling season and ended up in the conference finals. They have a lot of space to make something happen, and it will only get better from there. Obviously, there are plenty of cautionary tales about trying to do too much too quickly. I trust Eric Tulsky to guide the organization in the right direction.