The Vancouver Canucks have ample cap space, but is anyone looking to buy some?

The Vancouver Canucks have been operating well under the NHL salary cap through the opening quarter of the 2026-27 season. According to our friends at PuckPedia and as of Tuesday November 10, the Canucks have a projected cap space of just over $16 million. That means that, if they continue to spend the same amount on a daily basis for the remainder of the year, they’ll wind up having spent only about $88 million of the maximum allowable $104 million.

Through the magic of salary cap accrual, which we’ve got deep into before and won’t get into again here, the Canucks have already built up an effective $20 million in available spending room, and that number is projected to grow as high as $75 million by the March 1, 2027 Trade Deadline.

This gives the Canucks the second-highest amount of cap space in the league by any measure, trailing just the Detroit Red Wings. Who, it should be mentioned, have only achieved such a low cap through the decision to not re-sign one of the best and brightest young players.

In other words, the Canucks don’t just have cap space, they’ve got more cap space than they could ever reasonably spend. And if the Canucks aren’t going to spend that space themselves, they might reasonably look to ‘sell’ it, via taking on cap dumps and other things of that nature. The question, as always, is who’s buying?

Though cap space has been more abundant this season than ever before, there are still teams who find themselves ‘over the cap.’ A total of nine, in fact, which is more than a quarter of the league. To assess the market for the Canucks’ excess cap, we’re going through those teams one-by-one to see what their salary-cutting needs may be, and if the Canucks can be of any compensated assistance.

For each team, you’ll see two numerical values listed. The first, their Projected Cap Space, can be understood as “How Far Over The Cap Are They?”, based on their total annual cap hits. The second, their Current Cap Space, is how much functional spending room they’ve gained through placing players on long-term injured reserve and activating their ‘relief space.’ Teams are listed in descending order of total cap hit.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$8.97 million
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $500K

The Golden Knights’ financial situation is, as always, not as bad as it looks on paper. In this season in particular, almost all of their ‘over the cap’ space is being taken up by the LTIRetired Alex Pietrangelo and his $8.8 million cap hit.

That said, the Golden Knights have already used up pretty much all of their relief space. If they want to do any major shuffling toward the deadline, as they often do, they’ll need to do some sort of shuffling around.

If the Golden Knights wanted to get themselves under the cap so as to accrue some space for the deadline, that’d involve finding someone else to take on this last year of Pietrangelo’s contract, and it’s worth noting that the Canucks are one of two teams who could actually afford to take it – though not without some compensation, of course.

Beyond that, the pieces the Knights might otherwise sell are likely too expensive and too tenured for the Canucks to take.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$6.82 million
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $3.3 million

The Leafs situation is a little different than the Knights’, in that the Leafs will have to cut some cap at some point unless they incur more injuries. They’ve got Max Domi on seemingly permanent LTIR, but they’re only under the cap by virtue of also having Elvis Merzlikins and his one remaining year at $4.43 million on LTIR, and Merzlikins is due to return in January. Even if they want to send him down to the minors at that point, the Leafs will still be responsible for most of his cap hit, and it’s going to be tricky for them to fit under the cap.

The Canucks could help out by taking on Merzlikins themselves and be paid a draft pick in compensation, but adding another goaltender to the Vancouver mix is less than ideal. The next-most convenient cap dump for the Leafs might be former Canuck Dakota Joshua and his two remaining years at $3.25 million, though he’d only make sense for the Canucks if they’d already ditched several veterans from their roster first.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$3.33 million
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $1.31 million

The Panthers came into the season over the cap and have only stayed under it by juggling LTIR placements, including the early long-term injury of captain Aleksander Barkov. But if Barkov wants to return within the 2026-27 season, they’ll likely have to do some cutting in order to make that possible.

But it’s tough to see how they’ll do it. Most of the Panthers’ larger contracts are tied up in no-trade clauses, and the lower end of their roster doesn’t make enough money to make much of a difference. They might look to sell off someone like Eetu Luostarinen and his $3 million cap hit, but at age 28, he’s a little too old for the Canucks to have much interest in purchasing him. Florida’s answers probably lie in more of a ‘hockey trade’ that Vancouver can offer right now.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$2.88 million
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $1.4 million

The Stars are another team that will need to cut cap if they hope to activate Matt Duchene and his $4.5 million cap hit from LTIR within the season. One interesting option they’ll have is selling former Canuck Tyler Myers and the final year of his $1.5 million cap hit. Under the right circumstances and for a slight bit of compensation, a Myers return might make some sense.

Another cap dump the Canucks might reasonably accept could be Radek Faksa, a gritty depth forward with two more years at $2 million remaining. Like the aforementioned Joshua, however, taking on Faksa would have to come with compensation and after the Canucks had already sold off some vets of their own.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$1.14 million
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $2.75 million

Anaheim isn’t all that much over the cap, but they will need to carve out some more space at some point to activate Troy Terry from the LTIR. Their easiest piece to sell is probably quasi-backup Ville Husso and his one remaining year of $2.2 million, though as with Merzlikins, taking on a goalie cap dump is not exactly ideal for the Canucks.

Other cap dumps include Frank Vatrano, who has two years remaining at $4.57 million, but who reportedly might not accept a trade to a Canadian market due to the deferred salary in his contract. A less complicated cap dump might be Alex Killorn, a veteran with some Cup-winning history and a year remaining on his $6.25 million contract. He’d be a player the Canucks would look to get paid twice for – once for taking him on from Anaheim, and again through selling him with some retention at the deadline.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$1.1 million
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $3.82 million

The Rangers don’t bear too much mention here. They’ve got goalie Igor Shesterkin and his $11.57 million cap hit on LTIR for the entire season, and that gives them all the relief space they’ll ever need. Getting back down under the actual cap is a little more complicated, and probably ultimately unnecessary for the Rangers within this season. They’ll just use the relief space and call it a year. 

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): $-716K
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $3.07 million

Once we get into this zone, we reach the teams that aren’t really over the cap. The Capitals are over by less than the minimum salary amount, which means that as soon as they want to active Rasmus Sandin from LTIR, all they have to do is send one of their other D contracts down to the minors in order to have room.

Still, if Washington wants to do any adding throughout the season, they’d need space for that. Their most logical cap dump is probably another former Canuck in the form of Anthony Beauvillier and his one remaining year at $2.75 million. The Canucks might be willing to take him on as a cap dump, but chances are the Caps will instead look to sell him at a slight profit closer to the deadline instead.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$545K
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $3.37 million

The Wild are in that zone where they don’t truly need cap space, but if they’re as set on contending this year as they seem to be, they will need more space for acquisitions all the same. The Wild might look to cut either Yakov Trenin ($3.5 million) or Olli Maatta ($3.5 million), both of whom have two years remaining on their deals, and both of whom have slight trade protection. There’s probably not a real fit there for the Canucks.

How Far Over The Cap Are They? (Projected Cap Space): -$466K
How Much Cap Space Do They Have Via LTIR Relief? (Current Cap Space): $3.92 million

Colorado, too, would probably like to buy some wiggle room for potential acquisitions, especially with how they’ve struggled by their standards in the early going. Their easiest cut is probably Nicolas Roy, who has one year remaining at a $3 million cap hit and no trade protection. If the Canucks could get compensated for taking him on and then sell him with retention toward the deadline, that’d be pretty much ideal for their purposes, and Roy would even give them a little extra in-season centre depth.

Keep an eye on this one.