The NHL salary cap: cap hit, AAV and LTIR explained
The 2026/27 cap is $104 million. How contracts count, why cash salary can differ from cap hit, and how long-term injury relief works.
The NHL salary cap limits a team’s payroll charge under league rules. For 2026/27, the ceiling is $104 million and the floor $76.9 million. Compliance depends on combined cap charges, rather than simply the cash paid to players that year.
Salary, AAV and cap hit
Salary is the compensation specified in the contract. AAV means average annual value: for an ordinary contract, total salary and signing bonuses divided by its term.
Cap hit is the amount charged against the cap. In an ordinary contract without special adjustments, it follows AAV even if cash payments vary between seasons. Performance bonuses and other contract rules can affect the calculation. Our rookie-contract and bonus guide explains those particular terms.
What is cap space?
Cap space is room below the ceiling. Regular-season charges are calculated daily. A team operating below the cap can accrue space that matters when it acquires a contract later in the season: the contract is then charged over a shorter remaining period.
That helps explain why a team can afford an acquisition at the trade deadline that would not have fitted at the start. Establishing its actual room still requires a complete cap calculation. A list of Swedish player salaries alone cannot show what an entire club can spend.
How does long-term injured reserve work?
LTIR provides an exception for prolonged injury or illness. The basic requirement is an expected absence of at least 24 calendar days and 10 regular-season games. The injured player’s cap charge does not simply disappear; the club may instead receive permission to exceed the ceiling within the applicable limits.
Under the new rules, relief is normally limited by the previous season’s league-average salary when a player is expected to return during the regular season or playoffs. A player ruled out for the entire remainder, including the playoffs, can qualify for separate season-ending LTIR treatment. Relief therefore cannot always be equated with the injured player’s full cap hit.
LTIR room does not accrue like ordinary cap space. A team must also meet the cap requirements when activating the player. PuckPedia’s LTIR guide explains the calculations and designations.
Does the cap apply in the playoffs?
Yes. Beginning with the 2026 playoffs, a separate game-by-game system covers the 20 dressed players and certain additional charges. It differs from regular-season daily accounting. The old claim that the cap disappears entirely in the playoffs no longer describes the rules.