Welcome to a mid-week edition of Around the NHL, where we recap notable events around the league. It was a thrilling Tuesday evening as the Toronto Maple Leafs rallied behind the heroics of Anthony Stolarz and Auston Matthews for a 2-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
Here’s what you need to know from the rest of the league!
McDavid, Oilers likely won’t begin extension talks until offseason
Connor McDavid’s contract is scheduled to expire at the end of the 2025-26 season but the Edmonton Oilers superstar forward doesn’t appear to be too concerned about it. McDavid and the Oilers reportedly haven’t started discussions about the framework of a new contract, and neither party is in a rush, as the 27-year-old is solely focused on trying to elevate his team in pursuit of an elusive Stanley Cup via TSN’s Pierre LeBrun.
Here’s what LeBrun reported Tuesday:
We all know that he has one year left on his deal after this season, and the reality is Jeff Jackson said they have not started any type of contract negotiation, or conversation, on that front. He can’t sign until July 1st anyway, but it’s very similar to the pattern we saw last year with Leon Draisaitl, in which Leon Draisaitl wanted to focus on hockey, wanted to focus on the season, before getting into it after the year. That’s the sense now we get with Connor McDavid, there’s no hurry to this, there’s a season to play out, there’s a focus on getting back with the Oilers to a Stanley Cup Final, and then, everyone involved is comfortable with having that conversation.
McDavid is likely looking for a massive upgrade on his existing deal, which pays him $12.5 million per season. If McDavid can command up to 20 percent of the salary cap, with a new projection around $93 million, he could be looking at a term that pays him upward of $15 million per season and if he chooses to test free agency, virtually every club in the NHL would be an interested suitor. And the informed whispers of McDavid joining the Maple Leafs by 2027 aren’t going anywhere!
Salary cap projected to rise to $92.4M for 2025-26 season
Gary Bettman announced Tuesday that the salary cap is projected to rise from $88 million to $92.4 million for the 2025-26 season.
Bettman said the league is projected $6.6 billion in revenue for this season, which would certainly necessitate a rise in the cap.
“The cap under the current guidelines in the Collective Bargaining Agreement would go up 5 percent,” Bettman said Tuesday via NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. “As we look at revenues, we’re going to have discussions with the Players’ Association about escrow levels and whether or not the cap can or should be tweaked a little more on an ongoing basis, but that’s something that we have to really work out with the Players’ Association and we’re having those discussions.”
The NHL and NHLPA are expected to meet again in February to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the current agreement scheduled to expire in September 2026.
“I wouldn’t necessarily view the CBA as the only point in time that you can make adjustments,” Bettman said. “We might decide to make an adjustment and then deal with the CBA. We may decide to make it all part of the package. It’s a little more free flowing.”
This is good news for cap-strapped teams like the Maple Leafs, and a win for the league overall. Player salaries in the NHL pale in comparison to their counterparts across the other major men’s professional sports in North America, and this is a pathway to a new era of player empowerment, whether Bettman intended this to be the case or not.
