$18 million. That is Leo Carlsson’s cap hit for the 2026-27 season, the highest in the NHL, according to CapWages. He is 21. Anaheim did not choose the number. The Philadelphia Flyers signed Carlsson, a restricted free agent, to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet on July 3, 2026, and the Ducks matched it six days later to keep him, as Wikipedia’s account records.
He is not alone. Four of the six highest cap hits in the league belong to players aged 21 or 22 who have just signed their second contracts. We pulled every team’s cap page on October 28, 2026 and ranked the league.
The 25 highest NHL cap hits in 2026-27
| Rank | Player | Pos. | Team | Cap hit | % of cap | 2026-27 cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leo Carlsson | C | Anaheim Ducks | $18.000M | 17.3% | $20.80M |
| 2 | Kirill Kaprizov | LW | Minnesota Wild | $17.000M | 16.3% | $19.10M |
| 3 | Connor Bedard | C | Chicago Blackhawks | $15.000M | 14.4% | $17.00M |
| 4 | Leon Draisaitl | C | Edmonton Oilers | $14.000M | 13.5% | $16.50M |
| 5 | Adam Fantilli | C | Columbus Blue Jackets | $13.750M | 13.2% | $16.00M |
| 6 | Cutter Gauthier | LW | Anaheim Ducks | $13.500M | 13.0% | $19.50M |
| 6 | Jack Eichel | C | Vegas Golden Knights | $13.500M | 13.0% | $17.70M |
| 8 | Auston Matthews | C | Toronto Maple Leafs | $13.250M | 12.7% | $11.08M |
| 9 | Nathan MacKinnon | C | Colorado Avalanche | $12.604M | 12.1% | $12.15M |
| 10 | Connor McDavid | C | Edmonton Oilers | $12.500M | 12.0% | $14.25M |
| 11 | Jason Robertson | LW | Dallas Stars | $12.000M | 11.5% | $12.00M |
| 11 | Mikko Rantanen | RW | Dallas Stars | $12.000M | 11.5% | $11.25M |
| 11 | Mitch Marner | RW | Vegas Golden Knights | $12.000M | 11.5% | $14.00M |
| 11 | Kyle Connor | LW | Winnipeg Jets | $12.000M | 11.5% | $15.00M |
| 15 | Elias Pettersson | C | Vancouver Canucks | $11.600M | 11.2% | $11.00M |
| 16 | Igor Shesterkin | G | New York Rangers | $11.568M | 11.1% | $15.85M |
| 17 | Martin Necas | C | Colorado Avalanche | $11.500M | 11.1% | $14.00M |
| 17 | Erik Karlsson | D | Pittsburgh Penguins | $11.500M | 11.1% | $7.50M |
| 17 | William Nylander | RW | Toronto Maple Leafs | $11.500M | 11.1% | $12.50M |
| 20 | David Pastrnak | RW | Boston Bruins | $11.250M | 10.8% | $11.25M |
| 21 | Rasmus Dahlin | D | Buffalo Sabres | $11.000M | 10.6% | $11.00M |
| 21 | Artemi Panarin | LW | Los Angeles Kings | $11.000M | 10.6% | $12.00M |
| 21 | Drew Doughty | D | Los Angeles Kings | $11.000M | 10.6% | $11.00M |
| 21 | Pavel Dorofeyev | RW | New York Rangers | $11.000M | 10.6% | $14.00M |
| 25 | Adrian Kempe | RW | Los Angeles Kings | $10.625M | 10.2% | $12.00M |
% of cap = cap hit ÷ $104,000,000. Cash is the salary plus signing bonus CapWages lists for 2026-27. Teams as CapWages lists them on October 28, 2026.
Five things the table shows
1. The kids got paid. The 2023 draft’s top three picks all signed second contracts this year and all rank in the top five. Connor Bedard (No. 1, Chicago) signed a five-year, $75 million extension on July 17. Carlsson (No. 2, Anaheim) got his $18 million through the offer sheet. Adam Fantilli (No. 3, Columbus) signed a six-year extension on September 24 at $13.75 million a year. Add Cutter Gauthier, re-signed by Anaheim on September 15 for six years and $81 million, and four of the top six are 22 or younger.
2. Anaheim pays two of the top six. Carlsson and Gauthier together cost the Ducks $31.5 million of cap space, 30.3% of the $104 million cap. In cash this season they are paid $40.3 million between them, the most of any pair on one team.
3. McDavid is tenth. Connor McDavid, the league’s best-known player, has a $12.5 million cap hit, below teammate Leon Draisaitl’s $14 million. We covered why he took less when he signed in 2025. He is paid $14.25 million in cash this season.
4. Centers dominate. Ten of the top 25 cap hits belong to centers. Only three are defensemen (Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Drew Doughty) and one is a goaltender, Igor Shesterkin.
5. Cap hit and pay diverge. Thirty-one players have cap hits of $10 million or more. Their actual 2026-27 pay can be very different: Gauthier’s cap hit is $13.5 million but CapWages lists $19.5 million in cash, while Erik Karlsson’s $11.5 million cap hit comes with $7.5 million in cash.
How the offer sheet set the market
When a team matches an offer sheet, it keeps the player and the bidding team gets nothing. Philadelphia’s sheet still changed the market: by naming a price, it forced Anaheim either to pay the most of anyone in the league or to let a 21-year-old center leave for draft picks. Anaheim paid. The $18 million figure is now the reference point for every young star’s next negotiation, and it is $5.5 million a year more than McDavid’s.
The cap is rising behind it. CapWages lists the 2026-27 ceiling at $104 million and 2027-28 at $113.5 million. Carlsson’s $18 million is 17.3% of this season’s cap and would be 15.9% of next year’s.
Methodology
- Source. Cap hits and 2026-27 cash come from CapWages’ 32 team pages, pulled on Wednesday, October 28, 2026. We kept each player’s contract row for the 2026-27 season and the team CapWages lists him on.
- Ranking is by cap hit (average annual value as it counts against the cap). Ties share a rank.
- Cap figures ($104 million for 2026-27, $113.5 million for 2027-28) are as CapWages lists them.
- Contract dates and draft positions come from Wikipedia’s articles on Leo Carlsson, Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli and Cutter Gauthier, which cite the original announcements.
- Our arithmetic. Percentages, counts and pair totals are our calculations.
The bottom line
The NHL’s pay scale was reset this summer by players who have not yet turned 23. Carlsson’s offer sheet put a number on what a young star is worth on the open market, and three more players aged 22 or younger signed near it. The league’s established stars, McDavid included, now sit below them.
More from Absolute Baller:
- Connor McDavid’s $12.5M Deal: Underpaid on Purpose
- Highest-Paid NBA Players 2026-27: Top 25 Salaries
- Highest-Paid NFL Players 2026: Top 25 Contracts
- 2026’s Biggest Sports Contracts, Ranked
- The World’s 10 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2026
Frequently Asked
Who is the highest-paid NHL player in 2026-27?
Leo Carlsson of the Anaheim Ducks, with an $18 million cap hit. The Philadelphia Flyers signed him to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet on July 3, 2026, and Anaheim matched it on July 9. Kirill Kaprizov ($17 million) and Connor Bedard ($15 million) are next, per CapWages.
How much does Connor McDavid make in 2026-27?
McDavid's cap hit is $12.5 million, tenth in the NHL, under the extension he signed with Edmonton in 2025. CapWages lists his 2026-27 pay at $14.25 million in cash, most of it as a signing bonus. Teammate Leon Draisaitl's cap hit is $14 million.
What is the NHL salary cap for 2026-27?
$104 million, as listed on CapWages' team pages, rising to $113.5 million for 2027-28.
What is an offer sheet in the NHL?
An offer sheet is a contract another team offers a restricted free agent. The player's current team can match it and keep him on the same terms, or decline and receive draft-pick compensation. Anaheim matched Philadelphia's sheet for Leo Carlsson, so he stayed with the Ducks at $18 million a year.
What is the difference between cap hit and salary in the NHL?
Cap hit is the contract's average annual value, which is what counts against the salary cap every season. Cash is what the player is actually paid that season, including signing bonuses, and can be higher or lower. Carlsson's cap hit is $18 million, but CapWages lists $20.8 million in 2026-27 cash; Auston Matthews' cap hit is $13.25 million and his cash is $11.08 million.