The San Jose Sharks never got particularly close to the salary cap this season, but the performances of some players caused a cap overage for next season.

Per PuckPedia, eight NHL teams, with a potential for two more, will have cap overages for the 2026-27 season.

“The consequence of finishing over the cap via LTIR is the triggering of performance bonus overages. When players earn performance bonuses and their team finishes the season over the cap, those bonuses are carried over as a cap charge to the following season,” PuckPedia writes.

For the San Jose Sharks, the performances of Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Collin Graf, Sam Dickinson, and William Eklund all led to a $918,694 cap overage. All five players are still on their entry-level contracts this season. Eklund was in the final year of his ELC, and his three-year contract extension will begin next season.

Along with Eklund, Graf will be the next Shark of the group to move off the ELC. Pending any extension before July 1, he will become an RFA. There is no reason to believe the San Jose Sharks won’t give Graf a qualifying offer. The winger scored a career-high 21 goals.

“San Jose finished $4.8 million under the cap after removing the cap charge for exceeding the in-season performance bonus cushion. However, when you have star players on ELCs like Celebrini and Smith, you have a lot of bonuses earned. Just like Matthew Schaefer, Celebrini earned the maximum possible $3,500,000 in ELC bonuses: $1M in “A” bonuses and $2.5 million in “B”. Smith earned $1,000,000 for hitting 4 “A” bonuses (goals, assists, time on ice, points per game), Eklund earned $450,000 for 2 “A” bonuses for time on ice and assists. Sam Dickinson earned 1 “A” (time on ice) for $250,000. Colin Graf’s contract was capped at $500,000 in “A” bonuses, despite him qualifying for 3 items. With $5,425,000 in bonuses earned and less space than that, the Sharks will have an overage of $918,694,” PuckPedia wrote.

The 26-27 NHL Salary Cap is set to rise from $95.5 million to $104 million next season. During the 27-28 season, the cap could rise again up to $113.5 million. Mike Grier and the San Jose Sharks are due for a busy offseason in 2026. The Sharks have many UFAs, especially on the blue line, and additions are needed to make the playoffs.