NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – July 31, 2026
The potential effect of Sharks center Macklin Celebrini’s new contract on future signings, the latest on Maple Leafs prospect Gavin McKenna, three teams face a salary-cap crunch, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
THE ATHLETIC: James Mirtle believes Macklin Celebrini’s new contract spells the end of long-term deals for young NHL talent.
San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini (NHL Images).
Celebrini, 20, signed a five-year contract extension with an NHL record average annual value of $18.8 million earlier this week. Mirtle believes those five-year deals, instead of the league maximum of eight years (dropping to seven years starting on Sept. 16), will become the norm for other rising young stars.
The NHL has only projected its salary cap to 2027-28, but Mirtle reports every league executive and player agent he’s spoken to believes the salary cap will rise dramatically starting in 2028. By 2031-32, the cap could reach between $150 million and $160 million.
That’s why Celebrini’s contract is five years long. By 2031-32, his new AAV will be only 12 percent of the salary cap, which will be a relative bargain historically.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The sharp increase in the salary cap is starting to change the landscape for NHL contracts.
Players will prefer shorter-term deals over the league maximum of seven years for players re-signing with their teams and six years for unrestricted free agents. Their contracts won’t age out too quickly, ensuring they can still maximize their value in their playing prime to keep pace with the rising cap.
By the way, the league maximum salary under a $150 million salary cap is $30 million. Under a $160 million cap, it’s $32 million.
NHL.COM: Speaking of Celebrini, he’s been training this summer with Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Gavin McKenna, who came away impressed with the offseason training regimen of the Sharks superstar.
“My trainers probably won’t like to hear this, but there was a week where we were on the ice for 17 hours,” McKenna said. “So, yeah, max crazy, but every skate out there, you’re getting better, and it’s a competitive group. So, I had a lot of fun with it.”
McKenna, 18, was chosen first overall in the 2026 NHL Draft by the Maple Leafs. He’s expected to make his NHL debut this season.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: McKenna is trying to follow in Celebrini’s footsteps. Training with the young superstar could give the Maple Leafs’ top prospect an edge as he begins his NHL career.
LA PAGE SPORTIVE: Louis-Andre Lariviere noted the Maple Leafs, Dallas Stars, and Vegas Golden Knights are feeling the pinch of their salary-cap crunch.
Because of the expensive contracts of stars such as Auston Matthews and William Nylander, the Maple Leafs are sitting above the $104 million salary cap by $2.75 million. They’re permitted to be above the cap by 10 percent during the offseason, but must shed a salary or two to become cap-compliant when their regular season begins in late September.
The cost of re-signing Jason Robertson to a one-year, $12 million contract pushed the Stars over the cap by $1.36 million. Like the Maple Leafs, they must make a cost-cutting move before their regular season begins.
As for the Golden Knights, they’re over the cap by $8.66 million, but are expected to place defenseman Alex Pietrangelo on long-term injury reserve to start the season to become cap-compliant.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Maple Leafs will likely place Max Domi ($3.75 million) on LTIR to get under the cap. He suffered complications from back surgery, and there is no firm timetable for his return to action. Meanwhile, the Stars could send a low-paid player or two to the minors to address their issue.
Speaking of the salary cap, I raised a point in yesterday’s Morning Coffee Headlines regarding the use of signing bonuses and whether it would be a contentious issue in the next round of collective bargaining. It was subsequently brought to my attention that the issue was already addressed. Signing bonuses will be capped at 60 percent of the total contract value for future contracts starting on Sept 16, 2026. Stick tap to foleyd7 for the info.
THE HOCKEY NEWS: Bryan McCabe is moving on from his long-time stint in player development with the Florida Panthers. The former defenseman started as a development coach with the Panthers in 2012, became Director of Player Development a year later, and was promoted to Director of Player Personnel in 2017.
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH: The Blue Jackets aren’t renewing the contract of Bob McElligott, who was their radio play-by-play broadcaster since 2009. It’s a cost-cutting measure for the club. They are expected to lose revenue by shifting to NHL Productions for TV broadcasts rather than contracting with a regional sports network.
RDS: Former NHL player Pierre Dagenais has become general manager of the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL.
TSN: The Vancouver Canucks and the city of Vancouver are exploring the construction of a practice rink for the club.
I’d like to know what fans think about Celebrini ‘s over 18 Mill a year contract. Do you think he should have gone lower to help his team was it an agent who asked for that amount?
or did Macklin see $ signs infront of his eyes?
I mean are there any players left that actually care about their team anymore? What has to happen now to at least quell the rising cost of keeping players. This is starting to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I know the Kirill contract was just a step below Macklin. I played hockey till my late teens. I know it sound pretty cliche but I would have played for an nhl team if they offered me $50 grand a year Although I wasn’t talented enough.
Macklin’s deal is far better than the Carlsson deal. At least Celibrini is worth it NOW!
Just thinking outloud but I can’t help but wonder if Detroit is about to clean house and is bringing in Bryan McCabe as director of player development. It’s possible Detroit has a new GM in place and he’s filling out a new staff.
No I don’t really blame Celebrini, especially if cap projections prove true.
Unfortunately for myself the NHL dream also never happened, but I sure have destroyed my body both within and without sports.
I’m only in my 40’s but have been forced onto LTD due to said injuries and some failed surgeries. You never know what life can bring, especially in a hockey career. Maximize your earnings.
Sure he could have left a little on the table but if cap projections prove true, it will be a deal in a few years.
NHL salaries are starting to make there way upward. I don’t think they will ever be as high as MLB,NFL,and NBA.As the price of doing business rises so does the price for fans . An easy example is the end of Hockey Night In Canada on CBC on over the air tv.
Hi Gary, not sure what you meant about HNIC moving which is unfortunate, agreed. But salaries are causing the move away from CBC, salaries are going up because of the move and others like it.
Going to a game has become more and more a corporate event, or those who can afford it personally for season tix, which is becoming a smaller and smaller portion of the population.
Limited live game supply and still high demand. Won’t change until demand shrinks. For both game revenue and subscriptions to watch at home.
The more imminent issue is small market teams and will the national TV deals be enough to compete with the localized media deals. Will the small market teams be able to spend to the cap when it is $150M?
NHL may have to adopt a revenue sharing agreement that is different than the one that exists today.