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With the NHL salary ceiling rising from US$95.5 million to $104 million next season, does that “have to” mean the Winnipeg Jets will no longer be a “cap team”? And for the next several seasons, might that even matter?
The response to the question of Jets ownership having the capacity to shell out more than CAD$140 million for 2026-27 would probably be no.
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And with the cap expected to continue to rise in future seasons — and not by “insignificant” amounts, either — there’s a strong likelihood Winnipeg would operate closer to the midpoint than the max for the foreseeable future.
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That’s because Josh Morrissey is the only player on the current roster looking at eight figures for his next contract.
Cole Perfetti and Isak Rozen this summer, Morgan Barron and Brad Lambert next year. Dylan Samberg in the 2028 off-season. Those five players combined will probably not command deals in excess of US$25 million annually.
And if the Jets do make the difficult decision to move on from any or all of their core members over the next season or two, they might be hard-pressed just to stay above the floor. That would depend on the quality of players added to the mix via trade or draft between now and then.
The way this is headed, teams won’t be able to take advantage of “cap squeeze” scenarios to bolster their roster. The UFA market is already on the verge of becoming redundant — perhaps even obsolete as more teams increasingly “lock up their stars” ahead of July 1. Ditto RFA offer sheets.
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But perhaps in the coming years, with financial barriers having been lifted, there will be more opportunities for transactions between willing partners of similar or different competitive levels.
Even Kevin Cheveldayoff’s harshest critics would have to agree that the man has a pretty remarkable track record when it comes to making hockey trades.
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In this shifting NHL economic climate, that could be a potential foundation for optimism — to offset the current landslide of pessimism surrounding the franchise.
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