Top-Earning Players in the NHL: A Look at Hockey’s Highest Salaries
This season, Auston Matthews from the Toronto Maple Leafs is the highest-paid player in the NHL, thanks to the activation of his four-year, $53 million contract extension.
However, his position at the top is likely to change after just one season.
Starting in the 2025-26 season, Edmonton Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl will likely take over with his eight-year, $112 million deal, resulting in a $14 million cap hit, surpassing Matthews’ $13.25 million as teams benefit from an increasing salary cap.
In the previous seasons, Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche held the highest cap hit at $12.6 million in 2023-24, while Connor McDavid, also from the Oilers, topped the charts with a $12.5 million average annual salary in 2022-23.
Below are the NHL leaders in terms of cap hit and salary for the 2024-25 season (according to puckpedia.com):
Top NHL Players by Salary Cap Hit
Player, Team, Cap Hit, Contract
- Auston Matthews, Toronto, $13,250,000, four years, $53 million
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, $12,600,000, eight years, $100.8 million
- Connor McDavid, Edmonton, $12,500,000, eight years, $100 million
- Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers, $11,642,857, seven years, $81.5 million
- Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, $11,600,000, eight years, $92.8 million
- Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,500,000, eight years, $92 million
- William Nylander, Toronto, $11,500,000, eight years, $92 million
- David Pastrnak, Boston, $11,250,000, eight years, $89 million
- Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $11,000,000, eight years, $88 million
- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000, eight years, $88 million
- John Tavares, Toronto, $11,000,000, seven years, $77 million
- Mitch Marner, Toronto, $10,903,000, six years, $65,418,000
- Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary, $10,500,000, eight years, $84 million
- Jack Eichel, Vegas, $10,000,000, eight years, $80 million
- Aleksander Barkov, Florida, $10,000,000, eight years, $80 million
- Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, $10,000,000, seven years, $70 million
- Tyler Seguin, Dallas, $9,850,000, eight years, $78.8 million
- Sebastian Aho, Carolina, $9,750,000, eight years, $78 million
- Zach Werenski, Columbus, $9,583,333, six years, $57.5 million
- Seth Jones, Chicago, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Matthew Tkachuk, Florida, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Brayden Point, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Mark Stone, Vegas, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Jamie Benn, Dallas, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
- Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $9,500,000, seven years, $66.5 million
- Alex Ovechkin, Washington, $9,500,000, five years, $47.5 million
- Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $9,250,000, eight years, $74 million
- Mikko Rantanen, Colorado, $9,250,000, six years, $55.5 million
Note: Carey Price, the goaltender for the Canadiens, has an average salary of $10.5 million but is currently not listed due to being on long-term injured reserve.
Top NHL Players by Salary for 2024-25
Player, Team, Salary (including signing bonuses)
- Auston Matthews, Toronto, $16,700,000
- Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, $16,500,000
- Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, $14,500,000
- William Nylander, Toronto, $13,500,000
- Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay, $13,263,157
- David Pastrnak, Boston, $13,000,000
- Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $13,000,000
- Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey, $12,600,000
- Seth Jones, Chicago, $12,500,000
- Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas, $12,500,000
- Aleksander Barkov, Florida, $12,000,000
- Sebastian Aho, Carolina, $12,000,000
- Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $12,000,000
- Brayden Point, Tampa Bay, $12,000,000
- Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $12,000,000
- Zach Werenski, Columbus, $11,500,000
- Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $11,500,000
- Matthew Tkachuk, Florida, $11,250,000
- Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington, $11,250,000
- Roope Hintz, Dallas, $11,250,000
- Timo Meier, New Jersey, $11,100,000
- Mikhail Sergachev, Utah, $11,050,000
- Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,000,000
- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000
- Alex Ovechkin, Washington, $11,000,000
- Mark Stone, Vegas, $11,000,000
- Dylan Larkin, Detroit, $11,000,000
- Sam Reinhart, Florida, $11,000,000
- Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, $11,000,000
- Seth Jarvis, Carolina, $10,950,000
Top-Paid NHL Defensemen
Player, Team, Cap Hit
- Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,500,000
- Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $11,000,000
- Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000
- Zach Werenski, Columbus, $9,583,333
- Seth Jones, Chicago, $9,500,000
- Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $9,500,000
- Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $9,500,000
- Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $9,250,000
- Roman Josi, Nashville, $9,059,000
- Cale Makar, Colorado, $9,000,000
- Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey, $9,000,000
- Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas, $8,800,000
- Moritz Seider, Detroit, $8,550,000
- Mikhail Sergachev, Utah, $8,500,000
- Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, $8,450,000
- Owen Power, Buffalo, $8,350,000
- Jake Sanderson, Ottawa, $8,050,000
- Brent Burns, Carolina, $8,000,000
- John Carlson, Washington, $8,000,000
- Jacob Trouba, N.Y. Rangers, $8,000,000
- Thomas Chabot, Ottawa, $8,000,000
Top-Paid NHL Goaltenders
Player, Team, Cap Hit
- Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, $10,000,000
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000
- Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg, $8,500,000
- Ilya Sorokin, N.Y. Islanders, $8,250,000
- John Gibson, Anaheim, $6,400,000
- Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey, $6,000,000
- Jordan Binnington, St. Louis, $6,000,000
- Philipp Grubauer, Seattle, $5,900,000
- Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers, $5,666,667
- Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus, $5,400,000
- Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh, $5,375,000
- Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles, $5,250,000
- Thatcher Demko, Vancouver, $5,000,000
- Juuse Saros, Nashville, $5,000,000
- Linus Ullmark, Ottawa, $5,000,000
- Adin Hill, Vegas, $4,900,000
- Ville Husso, Detroit, $4,750,000
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo, $4,750,000
- Spencer Knight, Florida, $4,500,000
- Petr Mrazek, Chicago, $4,250,000
Note: Injured Carey Price and Robin Lehner ($5 million) are not listed here.
What is the NHL salary cap for 2024-25?
The NHL salary cap for the 2024-25 season has been set at $88 million, increasing from $83.5 million last year. This marks the first major increase since the pandemic began.
Who might exceed Leon Draisaitl’s contract?
It’s straightforward: Connor McDavid is the name to remember. He can negotiate a contract extension starting July 1, 2025, and will become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Regardless, the three-time MVP is expected to benefit greatly from his status as the NHL’s premier player since he was drafted first overall in 2015.
Another player to keep an eye on is rookie Connor Bedard from the Chicago Blackhawks. His entry-level contract will end in 2026, putting him in the restricted free agent category. Bedard is viewed as a generational talent, similar to McDavid, who secured a $12.5 million contract extension after playing just two seasons.
