TSN's Travis Yost analyzed the rise in bonus-laden contracts in the NHL and argued that it is directly related to the expiration of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA. With the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement after the 2025-26 NHL season, several issues come into play, but many players have begun to protect themselves by increasing bonuses and lowering their salaries.
The protective nature of signing bonuses in a potential lockout is clear. Since signing bonuses are due in the summer before the start of the season, a lockout would not prevent players from receiving their signing bonuses. Player salaries are typically frozen during a lockout, but this was unfortunately used to coerce the NHLPA during the 2004-05 and 2012-13 lockouts.
Yost noted in his article that the percentage of contracts that include signing bonuses is increasing, as roughly 80% of contracts signed since January 2024 included signing bonuses for the 2026-27 NHL season. When the current CBA ends, the ownership group will not be able to impose frozen salaries on the players, putting them in a much stronger negotiating position.
There are 38 players in the league with total contract values of more than $3 million for 2026-27, and 22 with more than $1 million. Basic math assumes all 32 teams maintain their 23-man rosters for 2026-27, which works out to about 8% of players with remaining contract values.
That number is sure to grow over the next two years as players like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Mikko Rantanen and Artemi Panarin reach the end of their current contracts and try to protect themselves in case of a lockout. The new CBA between the NHL and NHLPA is still about a year and a half away from going into effect, but players are already taking the necessary steps to ensure their financial security.
