FRISCO, Texas — NHL teams can no longer sign players to eight-year contracts. The NHL’s new collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players’ Association took effect Wednesday, Sept. 16, and it runs through Sept. 15, 2030.
Under the new agreement, a player re-signing with his current team can get a maximum of seven years. That was eight years under the old CBA. A player signing with a new team in free agency can now get six years, down from seven.
Signing bonuses have a new ceiling as well. Over the life of a contract, signing bonuses cannot make up more than 60% of the total compensation. A single season can still carry a signing bonus worth more than 60% of that year’s pay, as long as the contract as a whole stays under the limit.
Contract structure is tighter, too. The difference in pay between any two adjacent seasons cannot exceed 20% of the first year’s compensation. The lowest-paid season of a deal must be at least 71% of the highest-paid season. Deferred salary is no longer allowed.
Beginning with the 2026-27 season, the regular season grows from 82 games to 84. Each team is limited to four preseason games. The league minimum salary rises from $775,000 to $850,000 this season, then to $900,000 in 2027-28, $950,000 in 2028-29, and $1 million in 2029-30, according to a breakdown of the agreement on the Buffalo Sabres’ team site. Emergency backup goaltenders are now team employees approved by the league, and a player assigned to the AHL has to appear in a minor league game before his NHL club can recall him.
Ryan Leonard And Cale Makar Among Final Eight-Year Contracts
Tuesday was the last day an NHL team could sign a player to an eight-year deal. That morning, the Washington Capitals signed forward Ryan Leonard to an eight-year, $84 million extension. The contract carries a $10.5 million average annual value.
Leonard, 21, is entering the final season of his three-year entry-level contract. Washington drafted him eighth overall in 2023. As a rookie last season, he scored 20 goals and finished with 45 points in 75 games.
Before Tuesday, nine players had signed eight-year contracts this summer. The biggest belonged to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who signed a record eight-year, $163.8 million contract last month. Makar’s $20.4 million average annual value sits just under the $20.8 million maximum, which is 20% of the current salary cap.
Jason Robertson And Dallas Stars Contracts Under The New CBA
Jason Robertson signed a one-year, $12 million contract with the Dallas Stars on July 21. He cannot sign an extension until Jan. 1. Under the new rules, the longest deal Dallas can give him is seven years. Robertson is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July 2027, and another team could offer him a maximum of six years.
Last season, Robertson led Dallas with 45 goals, 51 assists, and 96 points in 82 games. Earlier this year, he turned down an eight-year deal with a cap hit of roughly $15 million as part of a failed sign-and-trade with the Seattle Kraken, according to TSN.
Dallas looked at both long-term and short-term deals before settling on one year, Stars general manager Jim Nill said July 22.
“During negotiations, it was very clear through Jason’s representatives that he wanted to be a Dallas Star,” Nill said. “And so we went through negotiations, looked at all different scenarios, long term, short term. And in the end, this was probably the best fit for … his contract status in the League and timing for our team. So, we’re very happy to have him signed, and go forward from there.”
Robertson had filed for salary arbitration on July 5. The one-year contract kept him out of a hearing.
“Dallas obviously it’s where I started,” Robertson said. “I’ve built a great career out here and obviously throughout the summer you see where the League is going, see what happens and everything.”
“Obviously, if anything was going to work for me,” Robertson continued, “just to keep reevaluating because things were happening so quickly and things are changing that going this route and seeing what happens, see what’s going to happen and reevaluate and have the time and everything, it helps along the way.”
Two Stars already hold eight-year deals signed under the old rules. Mikko Rantanen is entering the second season of the eight-year, $96 million extension he signed after the March 2025 trade that brought him to Dallas from the Carolina Hurricanes. Thomas Harley signed an eight-year, $84.696 million extension on Oct. 28, 2025. Harley’s deal begins this season and runs through 2033-34.
Tyler Seguin is in the last season of the eight-year, $78.8 million extension he signed with Dallas on Sept. 13, 2018. He is working back from a torn right ACL. Seguin is one of nine pending unrestricted free agents on the Stars’ roster, according to TSN.
Dallas opens training camp Thursday, Sept. 17, at Comerica Center in Frisco. The Stars play four preseason games, starting Saturday, Sept. 19, at the St. Louis Blues at 6 p.m. CT. Dallas hosts St. Louis in the regular-season opener on Oct. 2 at American Airlines Center, with puck drop set for 8 p.m. CT on TNT.
