Here are several lists of National Hockey League players' salaries since the

1989–90 NHL season The 1989–90 NHL season was the 73rd season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Edmonton Oilers, who won the best of seven series 4–1 against the Boston Bruins. The championship was the Oilers' fifth Stanley Cup in ...

. This list does not include income from corporate endorsements or salaries before .

Top 20 salaries in the NHL since 1989

This is a list of the twenty NHL players who have earned the most in salaries between the 1989–90 season and the 2020–21 season. 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 and sponsor contracts. These totals also do not take into account partial seasons played—for which a player would only receive a partial salary—except for the shortened 2004–05 season, which affected every player. Thus, the listed totals are a ''sum of the amounts each player was contracted to receive for a full season''. :''†'' "Years active" excludes the

2004–05 NHL season The 2004–05 NHL season was the National Hockey League's 88th season of operation. The entire 1,230-game schedule, that was set to begin in October, was officially canceled on February 16, 2005 due to an unresolved lockout that began on Septem ...

, as the league was not operating that year. It also includes seasons prior to the

, although the salaries paid during this time may not be included in the total due to scarcity of information. :''a'' Jonathan Toews missed the entire

2020–21 NHL season The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

due to illness. :''b'' Henrik Lundqvist missed the entire

due to illness.

Top five contracts by season

1989–90 season

# Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $2 million # Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $1.72 million #

Mark Messier Mark John Douglas Messier (; born January 18, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre of the National Hockey League (NHL). His playing career in the NHL lasted 25 years ( 1979– 2004) with the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rang ...

( Edmonton Oilers) $0.86 million #

Steve Yzerman Stephen Gregory Yzerman (; born May 9, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player currently serving as executive vice president and general manager of the Detroit Red Wings, with whom he spent all 22 seasons of his NHL playing c ...

(

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

) $0.7 million # Bryan Trottier (

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

) $0.575 million

1990–91 season

# Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $3 million # Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.18 million #

(

) $1.3 million # Ray Bourque ( Boston Bruins) $1.194 million # Brett Hull ( St. Louis Blues) $1.116 million

1991–92 season

# Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $3 million # Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.34 million # Brett Hull ( St. Louis Blues) $1.5 million # Pat LaFontaine ( Buffalo Sabres) $1.4 million #:

(

) $1.4 million

1992–93 season

# Eric Lindros ( Philadelphia Flyers) $3.5 million # Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $3 million # Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.408 million #

( New York Rangers) $2.385 million # Pat LaFontaine ( Buffalo Sabres) $1.775 million

1993–94 season

# Eric Lindros ( Philadelphia Flyers) $3.35 million #

(

) $3.2 million # Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $3 million #: Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $3 million #

Patrick Roy ( Montreal Canadiens) $2.6593 million

1994–95 season

After the

1994–95 NHL season The 1994–95 NHL season was the 78th regular season of the National Hockey League. The teams played a shortened season, due to a lockout of the players by the owners. In addition, the NHL All-Star Game, which had been scheduled to take place Ja ...

was shortened to 48 games due to a lockout, players earned only about 56% of their predicted salary. # Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings) $3.66 million (Predicted salary of $6.54 million) #

( New York Rangers) $3.45 million (Predicted salary of $6.29 million) # Scott Stevens (

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

) $3.24 million (Predicted salary of $5.8 million) # Pavel Bure ( Vancouver Canucks) $2.61 million (Predicted salary of $4.5 million) # Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.361,429 million (Predicted salary of $4.071429 million)

1995–96 season

# Wayne Gretzky ( Los Angeles Kings/ St. Louis Blues) $6.54 million #

( New York Rangers) $6.29 million # Keith Tkachuk ( Winnipeg Jets) $6 million # Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $4.5714 million # Pavel Bure ( Vancouver Canucks) $4.5 million

1996–97 season

# Mario Lemieux ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $11.35 million #

( New York Rangers) $6 million # Pavel Bure ( Vancouver Canucks) $5 million # Pat LaFontaine ( Buffalo Sabres) $4.6 million # Patrick Roy ( Colorado Avalanche) $4.567 million

1997–98 season

# Joe Sakic ( Colorado Avalanche) $16.45 million The given salary includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. #

Chris Gratton Christopher Allan Gratton (born July 5, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is the cousin of Josh Gratton, who had also briefly played in ...

( Philadelphia Flyers) $10.15 million # Wayne Gretzky ( New York Rangers) $6.25 million #

(New York Rangers) $6 million # Pavel Bure ( Vancouver Canucks) $5.5 million

1998–99 season

# Sergei Fedorov (

) $14.5 million # Paul Kariya (

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...

) $8.25 million # Eric Lindros ( Philadelphia Flyers) $8 million #: Dominik Hasek ( Buffalo Sabres) $8 million #

Mats Sundin ( Toronto Maple Leafs) $6.347 million

1999–00 season

# Jaromir Jagr ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $11.7 million # Paul Kariya (

) $11 million # Peter Forsberg ( Colorado Avalanche) $9 million # Theoren Fleury ( New York Rangers) $8.5 million #: Eric Lindros ( Philadelphia Flyers) $8.5 million

2000–01 season

# Peter Forsberg ( Colorado Avalanche) $10 million #: Paul Kariya (

) $10 million #

Jaromir Jagr ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $9.842708 million # Pavel Bure (

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

) $9 million # Keith Tkachuk ( St. Louis Blues) $7.3 million

2001–02 season

# Jaromir Jagr ( Washington Capitals) $11 million # Pavel Bure (

/ New York Rangers) $10 million #: Paul Kariya (

) $10 million #

Joe Sakic ( Colorado Avalanche) $9.832727 million # Chris Pronger ( St. Louis Blues) $9.5 million #: Teemu Selanne ( San Jose Sharks) $9.5 million

2002–03 season

# Jaromir Jagr ( Washington Capitals) $11.483333 million # Keith Tkachuk ( St. Louis Blues) $11 million # Nicklas Lidstrom (

) $10.5 million # Pavel Bure ( New York Rangers) $10 million #: Paul Kariya ( Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) $10 million

2003–04 season

# Peter Forsberg ( Colorado Avalanche) $11 million #: Jaromir Jagr ( Washington Capitals) $11 million #

Sergei Fedorov ( Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) $10 million #: Nicklas Lidstrom (

) $10 million #: Keith Tkachuk ( St. Louis Blues) $10 million

2004–05 season

Season cancelled (see

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

2005–06 season

The team salary cap was $39 million. Under the latest

NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement The NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) is the basic contract between the National Hockey League (NHL) (32 team owners and NHL commissioner) and the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA), designed to be arrived at through the typical labour–m ...

, no player could earn more than 20 percent of the team salary cap ($7.8 million). # Jaromir Jagr ( New York Rangers) $8.36 million # Nicklas Lidstrom (

) $7.6 million #: Keith Tkachuk ( St. Louis Blues) $7.6 million #:

Alexei Yashin Alexei Valeryevich Yashin (russian: Алексей Валерьевич Яшин; born 5 November 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey centre who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and New ...

(

) $7.6 million #

Jarome Iginla ( Calgary Flames) $7 million

2006–07 season

The team salary cap was $44 million. No player could earn more than $8.8 million. # Jaromir Jagr ( New York Rangers) $8.36 million # Brad Richards ( Tampa Bay Lightning) $7.8 million # Nicklas Lidstrom (

) $7.6 million #: Mats Sundin ( Toronto Maple Leafs) $7.6 million #:

(

) $7.6 million

2007–08 season

The team salary cap was $50.3 million. No player could earn more than $10.06 million. #

Daniel Briere Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

( Philadelphia Flyers) $10 million #: Scott Gomez ( New York Rangers) $10 million #: Thomas Vanek ( Buffalo Sabres) $10 million #

Jaromir Jagr (New York Rangers) $8.36 million # Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers) $8 million

2008–09 season

The team salary cap was $56.7 million. No player could earn more than $11.34 million. # Dany Heatley ( Ottawa Senators) $10 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million #: Alexander Ovechkin ( Washington Capitals) $9 million #

Mats Sundin ( Vancouver Canucks) $8.6 million #

Miikka Kiprusoff Miikka Sakari Kiprusoff (; born October 26, 1976), nicknamed "Kipper", is a Finnish former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the San Jose Sharks and Calgary Flames during his National Hockey League (NHL) career. He was selected in ...

( Calgary Flames) $8.5 million

2009–10 season

The team salary cap was $56.8 million. No player could earn more than $11.36 million. # Vincent Lecavalier ( Tampa Bay Lightning) $10 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million #: Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million #: Alexander Ovechkin ( Washington Capitals) $9 million #

Chris Drury ( New York Rangers) $8.05 million

2010–11 season

The team salary cap was $59.4 million. No player could earn more than $11.88 million. # Vincent Lecavalier ( Tampa Bay Lightning) $10 million #: Roberto Luongo ( Vancouver Canucks) $10 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million #: Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million #: Alexander Ovechkin ( Washington Capitals) $9 million

2011–12 season

The team salary cap was $64.3 million. No player could earn more than $12.86 million. # Brad Richards ( New York Rangers) $12 million # Ilya Bryzgalov ( Philadelphia Flyers) $10 million #: Christian Ehrhoff ( Buffalo Sabres) $10 million #: Vincent Lecavalier ( Tampa Bay Lightning) $10 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million

2012–13 season

The team salary cap was $70.2 million. No player could earn more than $14.04 million. # Shea Weber ( Nashville Predators) $14 million # Tyler Myers ( Buffalo Sabres) $12 million #: Zach Parise ( Minnesota Wild) $12 million #: Brad Richards ( New York Rangers) $12 million #: Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild) $12 million

2013–14 season

The team salary cap was $64.3 million. No player could earn more than $12.86 million. # Shea Weber ( Nashville Predators) $14 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $12 million #: Zach Parise ( Minnesota Wild) $12 million #: Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild) $12 million # Eric Staal ( Carolina Hurricanes) $9.25 million

2014–15 season

The team salary cap was $69 million. No player could earn more than $13.8 million. # Shea Weber ( Nashville Predators) $14 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $12 million # Henrik Lundqvist ( New York Rangers) $11 million #: Zach Parise ( Minnesota Wild) $11 million #: Ryan Suter (Minnesota Wild) $11 million

2015–16 season

The team salary cap was $71.4 million. No player could earn more than $14.28 million. # Shea Weber ( Nashville Predators) $14 million #

Patrick Kane Patrick Timothy Kane II (born November 19, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey right winger and alternate captain for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Blackhawks selected him with the first overall pick ...

( Chicago Blackhawks) $13.8 million #: Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) $13.8 million # Sidney Crosby ( Pittsburgh Penguins) $12 million # Phil Kessel (Pittsburgh Penguins) $10 million

2016–17 season

The team salary cap was $73 million. No player could earn more than $14.6 million. # Anze Kopitar ( Los Angeles Kings) $14 million #

( Chicago Blackhawks) $13.8 million #: Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) $13.8 million # Shea Weber ( Montreal Canadiens) $12 million # Ryan O'Reilly ( Buffalo Sabres) $11 million

2017–18 season

The team salary cap was $75 million. No player could earn more than $15 million. #

( Chicago Blackhawks) $13.8 million #: Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) $13.8 million #

Jamie Benn Jamie Randolph Benn (born July 18, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger and captain of the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). In the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Benn was drafted by the Dallas Stars 129th overall. He pla ...

( Dallas Stars) $13 million #: Anze Kopitar ( Los Angeles Kings) $13 million # Shea Weber ( Montreal Canadiens) $12 million

2018–19 season

The team salary cap was $79.5 million. No player could earn more than $15.9 million. # John Tavares ( Toronto Maple Leafs) $15.9 million # Connor McDavid ( Edmonton Oilers) $15 million #: Carey Price ( Montreal Canadiens) $15 million #

( Dallas Stars) $13 million # John Carlson ( Washington Capitals) $12 million

2019–20 season

The team salary cap was $81.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.3 million. # Mitch Marner ( Toronto Maple Leafs) $16 million #

Auston Matthews Auston Taylour Matthews (born September 17, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey center and alternate captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Born in San Ramon, California, Matthews and his family moved ...

(Toronto Maple Leafs) $15.9 million #: John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs) $15.9 million # Connor McDavid ( Edmonton Oilers) $15 million #: Carey Price ( Montreal Canadiens) $15 million

2020–21 season

The team salary cap was $81.5 million. No player could earn more than $16.3 million. #

( Toronto Maple Leafs $15.9 million # Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs) $15 million # Connor McDavid ( Edmonton Oilers) $14 million # Artemi Panarin ( New York Rangers) $13 million # Sergei Bobrovsky (

) $12 million

2021–22 season

The team salary cap is $81.5 million. No player can earn more than $16.3 million. # Erik Karlsson ( San Jose Sharks) $14.5 million # Connor McDavid ( Edmonton Oilers) $13 million #: Artemi Panarin ( New York Rangers) $13 million #: Carey Price ( Montreal Canadiens) $13 million #: Tyler Seguin ( Dallas Stars) $13 million

2022–23 season

The team salary cap will be $82.5 million. No player can earn more than $16.5 million. # Tyler Seguin ( Dallas Stars) $13 million # Artemi Panarin ( New York Rangers) $12.5 million # Aleksander Barkov (

) $12 million #: Sergei Bobrovsky (Florida Panthers) $12 million #: Connor McDavid ( Edmonton Oilers) $12 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. :† Ronnie Rowe was offered a rookie contract of $2,900 plus $100 as a signing bonus. The contract was declined, and Rowe stayed in juniors to play with the OHA's Toronto MarlboroseBay.com: Ronnie Rowe Genuine 1942-43 contract
/ref> :†† Bobby Hull was playing the World Hockey Association at this time, a short-lived rival to the NHL.

Notes

External links

USA Today Salaries Database
NHL salaries from 2000–2007

- Up to date NHL Salary cap information
CapGeek.com
*http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/index.php *http://www.nhlnumbers.com/

{{DEFAULTSORT:Player Salaries In The Nhl National Hockey League lists National Hockey League labor relations NHL players National Hockey League