Canadiens Lock Up Ivan Demidov for 8 Years at $9.13 Million AAV

Q: With the salary cap soaring, will today's mega-deals for stars like Nico Hischier become the NHL's next great bargains?

Yes—many of today’s big-ticket NHL contracts are likely to look much more team-friendly within a year or two, provided the player remains near peak form. The main reason is arithmetic. The cap is jumping from $95.5 million to $104 million in 2026-27, then is projected to reach $113.5 million in 2027-28. That means a fixed cap hit shrinks as a share of team payroll. Hischier’s new $11.7 million AAV, for example, would be about 11.3% of a $104 million cap and roughly 10.3% of a $113.5 million cap. In a rising market, that is far less daunting than the raw dollar figure suggests. That is why teams are moving aggressively now. New Jersey locking up Hischier, Montreal extending Ivan Demidov at $9.13 million, and Chicago betting big on Bowen Byram at $12.5 million all reflect the same logic: sign core talent before the next cap jump resets the market again. Future elite deals could push much higher, especially with the individual max salary now at $20.8 million. There is precedent. Contracts once viewed as massive—such as Nathan MacKinnon’s and Connor McDavid’s—came to be seen as bargains as the cap and top-end salaries rose around them. The caution is that not every mega-deal ages well. Injury risk, decline years, and role changes still matter, especially on long terms for defensemen or players nearing 30. But for true top-line centers in their prime, like Hischier, the cap environment strongly favors these deals aging into value rather than excess.

Q: Will Vegas lose its top scorer, Pavel Dorofeyev, to an offer sheet from a cap-rich rival like the Penguins?

No. Vegas is not at risk of losing Pavel Dorofeyev to an offer sheet now because he is no longer a Golden Knight. Dorofeyev was traded by Vegas to the New York Rangers before free agency, and he has already signed a seven-year, $77 million contract there. That removes the offer-sheet question entirely. A rival such as Pittsburgh cannot sign him away from Vegas because Vegas no longer controls his rights. Before the trade, the concern was real. Dorofeyev had been Vegas’s leading goal scorer over the past two seasons, and his projected price tag was high enough to make him a logical offer-sheet target. Vegas was also managing a tight cap picture even with the expected relief from Alex Pietrangelo going on LTIR, while also needing room for other major commitments such as Rasmus Andersson’s new deal. That is why teams with major cap flexibility, including the Penguins, were viewed as plausible threats in theory. Pittsburgh had ample space and the draft-pick compensation needed to make a serious offer. But that scenario is now moot because Vegas chose to move Dorofeyev rather than risk a cap squeeze or a restricted free-agent standoff. So the answer is straightforward: Vegas will not lose Dorofeyev to an offer sheet from Pittsburgh or anyone else, because he has already been traded to the Rangers and signed long term.

1 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jul 1

Montreal kept Calder Trophy finalist Ivan Demidov off the market with an eight-year extension worth a $9.13 million average annual value.
The deal removes one of the biggest potential future names from free agency as NHL signing activity accelerates ahead of the July 1 market opening.
Philadelphia also extended goaltender Dan Vladar for five years at $5.5 million AAV starting in 2027-28, while Vegas re-signed Rasmus Andersson for seven years at $8.5 million AAV.
The move lands in a hectic offseason already shaped by Carolina's Stanley Cup win, nonstop trade activity and a 2026 draft that placed 224 players with NHL clubs.