New Playoff Salary Cap System in Place for 2025-26 Season

The NHL will roll out its new CBA changes in waves, but arguably the biggest one is going into effect right away.

Mar 29, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86) looks on against the New York Islanders during the first period at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images / Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The NHL's salary cap jumped up significantly this offseason, and should continue to rise as the league finally moves past the stagnation caused by the pandemic.

However, teams will still have to be more careful with their money. At least, some of them will.

According to insider Frank Seravalli, the NHL and NHLPA have agreed to a rolling implementation schedule for changes in the new CBA, which was just approved earlier this month. Most notably, that means the new playoff salary cap system will be in effect for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a year before it was originally expected to take effect.

Sources: The #NHL and #NHLPA have agreed to a rolling implementation schedule for CBA changes.

Among them: the new playoff salary cap system will come into effect *this season* for the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) September 2, 2025

Under the old rules, teams would often hold players on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) for months leading up to the postseason, only to bring them back into the lineup right as the postseason rolled around.

Probably the most infamous example came in 2021, when Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov missed the entire regular season (albeit a 56-game one due to the pandemic) before coming back for Game 1 of the first round and proceeding to dominate en route to a second-straight Stanley Cup. Other notable examples include the Vegas Golden Knights stashing captain Mark Stone on LTIR multiple times and the Florida Panthers doing the same with Matthew Tkachuk last season.

Jun 17, 2025; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) controls the puck against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period in game six of the 2025 Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

While this was perfectly legal under the current rules, many decried it as circumventing the salary cap, as teams would often go out and acquire other players via trade while enjoying the cap relief. Clearly, this mindset was widespread enough in league circles toget the rule changed.

Now under the new rule, teams will be required to submit a cap-compliant lineup for each playoff game. Injured players and healthy scratches will not count toward the cap.

Other notable changes coming this season include a relaxed dress code, allowing players to wear essentially whatever they want to the rink, and players being able to endorse wine and spirits more freely.

Not all the major CBA changes will be going into effect right away, however. Notably, the new CBA lowered the maximum contract term length to seven years for re-signing players and six for free agents (down from eight and seven years, respectively), but that change will not go into effect until Sept. 16, 2026. Contracts signed before that date will oblige to the current CBA, so there are still more eight-year deals to come, at least a few.

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