Now that the 2024-25 NHL season has crowned its champion, the rest of the league can turn its focus on the new league year that is set to begin shortly.
The upcoming NHL Draft on Friday and Saturday will get things kicked off, with teams selecting young talent to replenish aging rosters. Some will likely be moving veterans in trades to make room for youngsters or acquire fresh assets.
Many of those veterans have expensive contracts that are unsustainable for franchises moving forward. The consequence of holding on to them for too long? Pressing too close to the salary cap and several teams will want financial flexibility to go shopping in free agency.
Every NHL team's cap space entering 2025 free agency
When the flood gates open on July 1, these are the teams that will have the most cash on hand in their purses to pursue top available talent (h/t PuckPedia).
Team | Salary Cap Space | Dead Space (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
San Jose Sharks | $41.76 million | $5.02 million |
Columbus Blue Jackets | $40.41 million | $1.43 million |
Anaheim Ducks | $36.04 million | $2.5 million |
Carolina Hurricanes | $26.72 million | $33 thousand |
Toronto Maple Leafs | $25.71 million | $726 thousand |
Calgary Flames | $25.17 million | $1.88 million |
Winnipeg Jets | $24.46 million | $1.62 million |
Buffalo Sabres | $23.21 million | $4.44 million |
Boston Bruins | $23.07 million | $615 thousand |
Pittsburgh Penguins | $22.95 million | $917 thousand |
Chicago Blackhawks | $22.50 million | $5.73 million |
Los Angeles Kings | $21.71 million | $813 thousand |
Detroit Red Wings | $21.34 million | $1.93 million |
New York Islanders | $20.94 million | $600 thousand |
Utah Mammoth | $20.36 million | $650 thousand |
Florida Panthers | $19 million | N/A |
Seattle Kraken | $18.68 million | N/A |
Minnesota Wild | $15.79 million | $2.77 million |
Philadelphia Flyers | $15.14 million | $6.83 million |
New Jersey Devils | $14.39 million | $1 million |
Nashville Predators | $14.16 million | $8.81 million |
New York Rangers | $12.2 million | N/A |
Vancouver Canucks | $12.16 million | $5.48 million |
Edmonton Oilers | $11.96 million | $2.55 million |
Ottawa Senators | $10.75 million | $1.88 million |
Vegas Golden Knights | $9.62 million | N/A |
Washington Capitals | $9.38 million | N/A |
Montreal Canadiens | $6.11 million | $1.75 million |
St. Louis Blues | $5.03 million | $2.15 million |
Tampa Bay Lightning | $3.48 million | N/A |
Dallas Stars | $2.76 million | $1.8 million |
Colorado Avalanche | $1.2 million | N/A |
The San Jose Sharks have the most cap space available in the entire league, as of this writing. The Sharks have $41.76 million in space to work with. It's unknown if they will go on a spending spree or opt to continue rebuilding.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have the second-most space with $40.41 million. The Anaheim Ducks, who acquired Chris Kreider and traded away Trevor Zegras before July 1, currently have $36.04 million in cap space, the third-most in the NHL.
These NHL teams need to clear salary cap space ahead of 2025 free agency
Nine of the ten teams with the least amount of salary cap space all participated in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Seven of those nine sit under $10 million in flexibility, meaning there will likely be some significant shifting in rosters to make room before July 1 or even Friday's draft.
Top free agents like Mitch Marner, Sam Bennett and Brad Marchand will be the focus of fans' radars but they'll all come with some hefty price tags. These squads need to make some serious room before even thinking about pursuing any of them.
At the bottom of the list sit the Colorado Avalanche with a meager $1.2 million in space. That's not even enough to bring in a significant depth piece for a single season. Thankfully, general manager Chris MacFarland doesn't have to worry about any dead space (money being paid to anyone not on the active roster).
The Dallas Stars will probably see the most change this offseason, especially after firing head coach Pete DeBoer after falling in the Western Conference Finals three consecutive years. There's only $2.76 million for general manager Jim Nill to play with and $1.8 million of the overall budget dedicated to assets not on the team any more. Expect some big moves from Big D in the coming weeks.
The Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights are all still looking to extend their championship windows but financial strains could prevent them from succeeding if their front offices are inactive. Several players from each team are expected to depart, so that should open up more of their respective wallets.
Other squads still reforming their cores like the St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens will also need to clear space but seemingly have a little more breathing room on their timelines before expectations begin to hit a fever pitch. Keep an eye on their transactions over the next two weeks to get a glimpse into their respective strategies.