Effective from this Summer (excerpt):
Increases in Minimum Salaries for NHL and AHL (for NHL deals, not AHL only)
Players from Europe aged 25-27 previously had to sign a one-year entry-level deal. Now, these players are aligned with those from North America (no restrictions regarding contract value and length).
These are some of the previous changes; the final ones will follow starting next Wednesday:
The maximum possible duration of contracts will be reduced from eight years (contract extensions) and seven years (free agents with new teams) to seven and six, respectively.
Signing bonuses may now only account for a maximum of 60% of the total value over the total duration. This may be exceeded in individual years, but not in terms of the total sum.
Front-loading long-term contracts, which overvalues individual years, will also be made more difficult: The lowest year may now only be 71% of the highest, and consecutive years may differ by no more than 20 percent.
In recent weeks, several long-term and lucrative contracts have been concluded. Cale Makar, for example, became the new NHL record-holder – Cap Hit $20.4 million, Total: $163.2 million.
These sums will certainly continue to be surpassed in the coming years, but not all details can then be adopted:
8 years for Makar – reduced to a maximum of 7 starting Wednesday
The signing bonuses total $127.6 million, or 78% of the total sum. This is above the permitted 60% starting Wednesday.
The advantages of large signing bonuses (which will be slightly reduced in the future): They must also be paid during lockouts, and the player has access to the money at the start of the respective season.
A small advantage for teams: In later years, once the signing bonus has been paid, the player can be traded more easily due to their lower salary. While the cap hit always remains the same (even if the deal was front-loaded), the actual salary to be paid does not.
The new changes also affect Makar's teammate Nathan MacKinnon, even though his deal came into effect in 2023: This eight-year contract was weighted so heavily in the initial years that he would have fallen below the now-increased league minimum for the 2029-2031 seasons!
The $10,000 difference per season will be spread over five years, which is why MacKinnon is on the books with the unconventional cap hit of $12,604,000 from this year until 2031.
Further Innovations Starting Wednesday:
New Rules for Emergency Backups (instead of rotation, it will be easier to always nominate the same person)
New Rules for Player Shortages – If a team can no longer field a complete roster due to injuries and insufficient cap space, they must still play one game with this reduced lineup. After that, they can sign a player for the league minimum salary & $375,000 (previously $100,000). The difference between the new cap hit and the available cap space will then be deducted from the cap space in the following season.
No more fitness testing at the start of camps – a concession to the players' association, which in turn agreed to 84 games per season (previously 82). Instead of October, seasons now always start at the end of September, and camps have been shortened accordingly.
No More Dress Code:
This was unofficially true last season, but some GMs or coaches still subtly insisted on it. It's quite possible that coaches will now truly be the last tie-wearers.
One change was mentioned by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly in passing: Already last season, 19-year-old players drafted in the first round and playing in the CHL could have been sent to the AHL. However, this was postponed to the current season.
And, as Daly recently noted, it's no longer just about one player per season, but potentially several. This changed from the "Memorandum of Understanding" signed at the time to the actually finalized new CBA.
Starting next Wednesday, all agents and GMs must therefore be fully conversant with the new rules, and contracts under the old rules must be concluded by then...
