NHL25: How to make Franchise Mode accurate due to LTIR

Written by Data782, NHL25 Expert. Check out YouTube Channel

Welcome to the 4th annual cheat sheet to making your rosters salary cap-compliant on NHL 25!

As you may know, within Franchise Mode in the NHL-series games, the absence of LTIR (long-
term injured reserve) can make things a bit frustrating. For example, due to the Colorado
Avalanche’s current cap situation, each player on NHL 25 would be reduced in their AAV by
~$0.500M to account for the LTIR being used (ex. Nathan MacKinnon’s AAV of $12.600M
would be changed to $12.070M). This makes it easier for a team like COL to maneuver the
salary cap. To alleviate this problem, you can follow my guide for what salaries you should alter
BEFORE you start your Franchise Mode to keep the AI from changing up the salaries of players
throughout the league. The realism will never be perfect, but I prefer to change the salary of just
one or two players per team for one season instead of having an entire team be altered for
multiple years. By making these changes, we can get a real challenge as the GM of these teams
or see how the AI GM deals with the team’s contract situation in future years.

If you’re playing on the PS5 version of NHL 25, you can download this roster from “Roster
Sharing” instead of having to make these changes yourself. For more on this and the rest of the
changes I’ve made in my roster, check out my video that explains all of these changes:
October 2024 (“Data Cap Compliant): https://youtu.be/0670KZCvEUI
December 2024 (“Data Franchise V2”): https://youtu.be/UJv56WcVwhE

March 2025 (“Data Cap Compliant 2” & “Data Franchise V3”): https://youtu.be/DmPn-Tp9vrE

Note: Some players who are not coming back to the NHL but still cost against the salary such as
Carey Price or Shea Weber are listed as 70 OVR players making league minimum. These players
can stay on the team, be dropped to free agency (where they will not be signed at this overall), or
be removed from the game completely by transferring them to an international team in “player
movement.” Furthermore, when I give suggestions on whose salary to adjust, keep in mind that
there could theoretically be multiple options to make a team cap compliant and that I am just
showcasing the one that I think is easiest/has the smallest impact on the team.

AS OF EA ONLINE ROSTER DATED MARCH 10, 2025
ANAHEIM DUCKS: No changes necessary.
BOSTON BRUINS: No changes necessary.
BUFFALO SABRES: No changes necessary.
CALGARY FLAMES: No changes necessary.
CAROLINA HURRICANES: No changes necessary. Note: For some reason, EA’s extension
on Jaccob Slavin is 8x$6.460m and not the actual 8x$6.395m.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS: No changes necessary. Optional: drop SHEA WEBER to free
agency/transfer to any international team to remove completely.
COLORADO AVALANCHE:
Option 1: Transfer GABRIEL LANDESKOG to an international team to remove him from both
COL and the NHL.
Option 2: Reduce JONATHAN DROUIN $2.50m to $1.75m, RYAN LINDGREN $2.25m to
$775k, & MACKENZIE BLACKWOOD (contract, not extension) $2.35m to 775k.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: Increase any one or more expiring UFA by a total of ~$500k
(ex. IVAN PROVOROV $4.725M to $5.225M).
DALLAS STARS: Over by a bit this year but heavily in 2025-26. Reduce JAMIE BENN
$9.50m to $7.50m, MASON MARCHMENT $4.50m to $1.50m, MATT DUMBA $3.750m to
$775k, & ILYA LYBUSHKIN $3.25m to $775k.
DETROIT RED WINGS: No changes necessary.
EDMONTON OILERS: No changes necessary.
FLORIDA PANTHERS: Reduce AARON EKBLAD $7.50m to $6m, CARTER
VERHAEGHE (contract, not extension) $4.165m to $775k, VITEK VANECEK $3.40m to
$775k, & NICO STURM $2m to $775k.
LOS ANGELES KINGS: No changes necessary.
MINNESOTA WILD: No changes necessary.
MONTREAL CANADIENS: No changes necessary. Optional: drop CAREY PRICE to free
agency/transfer to any international team to remove completely.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS: No changes necessary.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS: No changes necessary.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS: No changes necessary.

NEW YORK RANGERS: No changes necessary.
OTTAWA SENATORS: No changes necessary.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS: No changes necessary. Optional: drop RYAN ELLIS to free
agency/transfer to any international team to remove completely.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS: No changes necessary.
SAN JOSE SHARKS: No changes necessary.
SEATTLE KRAKEN: No changes necessary.
ST. LOUIS BLUES: No changes necessary.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: Reduce RYAN MCDONAUGH $6.75m to $4.75m.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS: Reduce JAKE MCCABE (contract, not extension) $2m to
$1.25m.
UTAH HOCKEY CLUB: No changes necessary.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS: No changes necessary.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS: Reduce SHEA THEODORE (contract, not extension) $5.20m
to $3.75m. Optional: drop ROBIN LEHNER to free agency/transfer to any international team to
remove completely.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS: Reduce TJ OSHIE $5.75m to $4.50m. Optional: drop NICKLAS
BACKSTROM to free agency/transfer to any international team to remove completely.
WINNIPEG JETS: No changes necessary.
FREE AGENTS: Optional: transfer Carter Hart, Marco Scandella, & Blake Wheeler to any
international team to remove completely.

When starting up your franchise mode after making these changes, the game will give you a
“SALARY CAP WARNING” that asks if you want to keep the salary cap on because the system
will fix team that are not compliant. Ignore this and keep the salary cap on.

There you have it! Remember that, if you are playing on the PS5 version of NHL 25, you may
download these rosters right away. For more guides on NHL 25 as well as Franchise Mode series
and career simulations, check out my YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/data782), or drop into our Discord server where we’re always talking Franchise Mode, hockey, and more
(https://discord.gg/rRDYpTx).

Data782