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We typically think of the NHL's salary cap as a 'hard cap' with a clearly defined minimum and maximum for the clubs' payrolls. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Long-Term Injured Reserve is one that always seems to come up lately as the playoffs arrive, and another is the concept of the "salary cap overage." Heading into the 2025-26 season, the Detroit Red Wings will be one of (at least) 11 teams with cap overages that will carry over onto next year's books.
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Overages stem from performance bonuses that can be built into contracts for the league's oldest and youngest players (specifically, entry level deals and age 35+ contracts). These bonuses do not need to fit under the salary cap for the league year they actually apply to. Instead, if they push a team over the season's cap, those bonus "overages" can be pushed on to the following season's cap.
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The Red Wings are one of 11 teams with a cap overage at the end of the regular season. It would rise to 12 if rookie Ryan Leonard of the Washington Capitals wins this Conn Smythe. Detroit is the only one of those 11 (or 12) to hit that cap overage without using long-term injured reserve.
The Red Wings had $2.888 million in bonuses accrue this season, offset by $2.02 million in cap space at the end of the year, leaving an overage of $871K heading onto next year's cap sheet.
The biggest chunk of that overage came from Patrick Kane's bonus-laden 35+ contract, through which he earned $1.75 million of a possible $2.5 million in bonuses by hitting his games played markers but missing out on the maximum amount because Detroit failed to qualify for the playoffs. To make up the rest of that $2.888 million, Simon Edvinsson hit three 'A' bonuses on his entry-level deal (worth $638K) and Marco Kasper hit two on his (worth $500K).
That $871K total overage is hardly an insurmountable hurdle with the cap scheduled to jump roughly $7.5 million heading into 2025-26, but it's one more obstacle for general manager Steve Yzerman to work around as he retools the Red Wings in what will doubtlessly be a pivotal summer for the "Yzerplan."
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