List of highest-paid NHL players by season


Here are several lists of National Hockey League players' salaries since the 1989–90 NHL season. This list does not include income from corporate endorsements or salaries before.

Top salaries in the NHL since 1989

This is an unofficial list of the twenty NHL players who have earned the most in total salary from the through the s.
These figures have been gleaned from certain financial sites dedicated to professional sports, and so may not be perfectly accurate. This is merely an estimation that, for the most part, does not take into account bonuses nor sponsor contracts. They do not take into account inflation, nor the growth in the popularity of the game allowing league revenue, and thus player salaries, to grow faster than inflation over the decades. For example, the highest salary in 1989–90 was Mario Lemieux's million, while the salary cap for any single player in the was $17.6 million.
These totals take into account players missing an entire season due to illness or injury, such as Jonathan Toews missing all of due to illness. These totals do not take into account reductions for partial seasons played, due to injuries or suspensions, for which a player would only receive a partial salary.
The list counts no salary for any player during the 2004–05 NHL lockout, when the was cancelled in its entirety. It is not apparent, from the notes left here, if there has been an adjustment for the reduction in salaries paid when the 1994–95 NHL lockout shortened the by, or when the 2012–13 NHL lockout shortened the by, or when the COVID-19 pandemic shortened the by varying amounts, with teams having played anywhere from 68 to 71 of their scheduled 82 games when the season was halted.
Became a Stanley Cup champion during their playing career

Top five contracts by season

1989–90 season

  1. Mario Lemieux million
  2. Wayne Gretzky $1.72million
  3. Mark Messier $0.86million
  4. Steve Yzerman $0.7million
  5. Bryan Trottier $0.575million

1990–91 season

  1. Wayne Gretzky $3 million
  2. Mario Lemieux $2.18 million
  3. Steve Yzerman $1.3 million
  4. Ray Bourque $1.19 million
  5. Brett Hull $1.12 million

1991–92 season

  1. Wayne Gretzky million
  2. Mario Lemieux $2.34million
  3. Brett Hull $1.5million
  4. Pat LaFontaine $1.4million
Steve Yzerman $1.4million

1992–93 season

  1. Eric Lindros million
  2. Wayne Gretzky $3million
  3. Mario Lemieux $2.41million
  4. Mark Messier $2.39million
  5. Pat LaFontaine $1.78million

1993–94 season

  1. Eric Lindros million
  2. Steve Yzerman $3.2million
  3. Mario Lemieux $3million
Wayne Gretzky $3million
  2. Patrick Roy $2.66million

1994–95 season

After the 1994–95 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to a lockout, players earned only about 56% of their predicted salary.
  1. Wayne Gretzky $3.66 million
  2. Mark Messier $3.45 million
  3. Scott Stevens $3.24 million
  4. Pavel Bure $2.61 million
  5. Mario Lemieux $2.36 million

1995–96 season

  1. Wayne Gretzky $6.54 million
  2. Mark Messier $6.29 million
  3. Keith Tkachuk $6 million
  4. Mario Lemieux $4.57 million
  5. Pavel Bure $4.5 million

1996–97 season

  1. Mario Lemieux $11.35 million
  2. Mark Messier $6 million
  3. Pavel Bure $5 million
  4. Pat LaFontaine $4.6 million
  5. Patrick Roy $4.57 million

1997–98 season

  1. Joe Sakic $16.45 million
  2. Chris Gratton $10.15 million
  3. Wayne Gretzky $6.25 million
  4. Mark Messier $6 million
  5. Pavel Bure $5.5 million

1998–99 season

  1. Sergei Fedorov $14.5 million
  2. Paul Kariya $8.25 million
  3. Eric Lindros $8 million
  4. : Dominik Hasek $8 million
  6. Mats Sundin $6.35 million

1999–00 season

  1. Jaromir Jagr $11.7 million
  2. Paul Kariya $11 million
  3. Peter Forsberg $9 million
  4. Theoren Fleury $8.5 million
  5. : Eric Lindros $8.5 million

2000–01 season

  1. Peter Forsberg $10 million
  2. : Paul Kariya $10 million
  4. Jaromir Jagr $9.8 million
  5. Pavel Bure $9 million
  6. Keith Tkachuk $7.3 million

2001–02 season

  1. Jaromir Jagr $11 million
  2. Pavel Bure $10 million
  3. : Paul Kariya $10 million
  5. Joe Sakic $9.83 million
  6. Chris Pronger $9.5 million
  7. : Teemu Selanne $9.5 million

2002–03 season

  1. Jaromir Jagr $11.48 million
  2. Keith Tkachuk $11 million
  3. Nicklas Lidstrom $10.5 million
  4. Pavel Bure $10 million
  5. : Paul Kariya $10 million

2003–04 season

  1. Peter Forsberg $11 million
  2. : Jaromir Jagr $11 million
  4. Sergei Fedorov $10 million
  5. : Nicklas Lidstrom $10 million
  6. : Keith Tkachuk $10 million

2004–05 season

Season cancelled.

2005–06 season

The team salary cap was $39 million. Under the latest NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, no player could earn more than 20 percent of the team salary cap.
  1. Jaromir Jagr $8.36 million
  2. Nicklas Lidstrom $7.6 million
  3. : Keith Tkachuk $7.6 million
  4. : Alexei Yashin $7.6 million
  6. Jarome Iginla $7 million

2006–07 season

The team salary cap was $44 million. No player could earn more than $8.8 million.
  1. Jaromir Jagr $8.36 million
  2. Brad Richards $7.8 million
  3. Nicklas Lidstrom $7.6 million
  4. : Mats Sundin $7.6 million
  5. : Alexei Yashin $7.6 million

2007–08 season

The team salary cap was $50.3 million. No player could earn more than $10.06 million.
  1. Daniel Briere $10 million
  2. : Scott Gomez $10 million
  3. : Thomas Vanek $10 million
  5. Jaromir Jagr $8.36 million
  6. Kimmo Timonen $8 million

2008–09 season

The team salary cap was $56.7 million. No player could earn more than $11.34 million.
  1. Dany Heatley $10 million
  2. Sidney Crosby $9 million
  3. : Alexander Ovechkin $9 million
  5. Mats Sundin $8.6 million
  6. Miikka Kiprusoff $8.5 million

2009–10 season

The team salary cap was $56.8 million. No player could earn more than $11.36 million.
  1. Vincent Lecavalier $10 million
  2. Sidney Crosby $9 million
  3. : Evgeni Malkin $9 million
  4. : Alexander Ovechkin $9 million
  6. Chris Drury $8.05 million

2010–11 season

The team salary cap was $59.4 million. No player could earn more than $11.88 million.
  1. Vincent Lecavalier $10 million
  2. : Roberto Luongo $10 million
  3. Sidney Crosby $9 million
  4. : Evgeni Malkin $9 million
  5. : Alexander Ovechkin $9 million

2011–12 season

The team salary cap was $64.3 million. No player could earn more than $12.86 million.
  1. Brad Richards $12 million
  2. Ilya Bryzgalov $10 million
  3. : Christian Ehrhoff $10 million
  4. : Vincent Lecavalier $10 million
  5. Sidney Crosby $9 million

2012–13 season

The team salary cap was $70.2 million. No player could earn more than $14.04 million.
  1. Shea Weber $14 million
  2. Tyler Myers $12 million
  3. : Zach Parise $12 million
  4. : Brad Richards $12 million
  5. : Ryan Suter $12 million

2013–14 season

The team salary cap was $64.3 million. No player could earn more than $12.86 million.
  1. Shea Weber $14 million
  2. Sidney Crosby $12 million
  3. : Zach Parise $12 million
  4. : Ryan Suter $12 million
  5. Eric Staal $9.25 million

2014–15 season

The team salary cap was $69 million. No player could earn more than $13.8 million.
  1. Shea Weber $14 million
  2. Sidney Crosby $12 million
  3. Henrik Lundqvist $11 million
  4. : Zach Parise $11 million
  5. : Ryan Suter $11 million

2015–16 season

The team salary cap was $71.4 million. No player could earn more than $14.28 million.
  1. Shea Weber $14 million
  2. Patrick Kane $13.8 million
  3. : Jonathan Toews $13.8 million
  4. Sidney Crosby $12 million
  5. Phil Kessel $10 million

2016–17 season

The team salary cap was $73 million. No player could earn more than $14.6 million.
  1. Anze Kopitar $14 million
  2. Patrick Kane $13.8 million
  3. : Jonathan Toews $13.8 million
  4. Shea Weber $12 million
  5. Ryan O'Reilly $11 million

2017–18 season

The team salary cap was $75 million. No player could earn more than $15 million.
  1. Patrick Kane $13.8 million
  2. : Jonathan Toews $13.8 million
  3. Jamie Benn $13 million
  4. : Anze Kopitar $13 million
  5. Shea Weber $12 million

2018–19 season

The team salary cap was $79.5 million. No player could earn more than $15.9 million.
  1. John Tavares $15.9 million
  2. Connor McDavid $15 million
  3. : Carey Price $15 million
  4. Jamie Benn $13 million
  5. John Carlson $12 million

2019–20 season

The team salary cap was $81.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.3 million.
  1. Mitch Marner $16 million
  2. Auston Matthews $15.9 million
  3. : John Tavares $15.9 million
  4. Connor McDavid $15 million
  5. : Carey Price $15 million

2020–21 season

The team salary cap was $81.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.3 million.
  1. Auston Matthews $15 million
  2. Connor McDavid $14 million
  3. Artemi Panarin $13 million
  4. Sergei Bobrovsky $12 million

2021–22 season

The team salary cap was $81.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.3 million.
  1. Erik Karlsson $14.5 million
  2. Connor McDavid $13 million
  3. : Artemi Panarin $13 million
  4. : Carey Price $13 million
  5. : Tyler Seguin $13 million

2022–23 season

The team salary cap was $82.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.5 million.
  1. Tyler Seguin $13 million
  2. Artemi Panarin $12.5 million
  3. Aleksander Barkov $12 million
  4. : Sergei Bobrovsky $12 million
  5. : Connor McDavid $12 million

2023–24 season

The team salary cap was $83.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.7 million.
  1. Nathan MacKinnon $16.5 million
  2. David Pastrnak $13 million
  3. Dougie Hamilton $12.6 million
  4. Seth Jones $12.5 million
  5. Kirill Kaprizov $12.5 million

2024–25 season

The team salary cap was $88 million. No player could earn more than $17.6 million.
  1. Auston Matthews $16.7 million
  2. Nathan MacKinnon $16.5 million
  3. Elias Pettersson $14.5 million
  4. William Nylander $13.5 million
  5. Jake Guentzel $13.26 million

2025–26 season

The team salary cap is $95.5 million. No player can earn more than $19.1 million.
  1. Leon Draisaitl $16.5 million
  2. Nathan MacKinnon $16.05 million
  3. Igor Shesterkin $15.825 million
  4. Auston Matthews $15.2 million
  5. Mitch Marner $15 million

Sample salaries from earlier seasons

Salary figures prior to the 1989–90 season are not readily available. The following table presents a sample of salaries from various seasons; the players listed were not necessarily the highest paid that year.
SeasonPlayer nameSalary
1917–18Newsy LalondeCAN $1,300
1921–22Newsy LalondeCAN $2,000
1923–24Howie MorenzCAN $3,500
1925–26Frank FredricksonCAN $3,500
1942–43Ronnie RoweCAN $3,000
1953–54Jean BeliveauCAN $21,000
1954–55Jean BeliveauCAN $21,000
1955–56Jean BeliveauCAN $21,000
1956–57Jean BeliveauCAN $21,000
1957–58Jean BeliveauCAN $21,000
1959–60Doug HarveyCAN $25,000
1959–60Maurice RichardCAN $25,000
1962–63Frank MahovlichCAN $25,000
1963–64CAN $7,000
1963–64Phil EspositoUS $54,990
1965–66Gump WorsleyCAN $28,000
1966–67Bobby OrrUS $35,000
1967–68Bobby OrrUS $35,000
1967–68Derek SandersonUS $10,000
1969–70Derek SandersonUS $13,000
1974–75Mario TremblayCAN $80,000
1977–78Bobby HullUS $1,000,000
1977–78Bernie ParentUS $1,000,000
1977–78Derek SandersonUS $1,000,000
1982–83Brian HaywardUS $65,000