Many of the NHL’s highest cap hits don’t match those players’ actual salaries, mainly as front-loaded deals enter their later stages. That’s why a player like Connor McDavid remains among the highest cap hits in the league at $12.5MM despite signing his deal seven years ago. Still, his actual compensation from base salary and signing bonuses has dropped to an unremarkable $10MM compared to some of the NHL’s other elite talents.
When a player signs a long-term deal, it’s up to the team and player to structure it. In some cases, teams will prefer to spread cash out evenly throughout the contract, meaning the total salary being paid out matches or very nearly matches their cap hit. In some cases, though, deals will be front-loaded with excess money paid to the players in the first few seasons of the contract. This, assuming the deal isn’t paid out primarily in signing bonuses, makes a potential buyout much more palatable if needed near the end of the agreement.
With some help from PuckPedia’s player dashboard, listed below are the top 50 highest-paid NHL players for the 2024-25 season. The players on this list don’t necessarily have the largest contracts out there in terms of total value remaining, and some of them may have wildly lower or higher cap hits than their total salary this season indicates. This top 50 only considers the current league year with the players’ 2024-25 combined base salary and signing bonuses listed.
Here are the NHL’s highest-paid players for the 2024-25 season, with the cutoff point closest to the $10MM mark than ever before:
- Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs: $16.7MM
- Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche: $16.5MM
- Elias Pettersson, Canucks: $14.5MM
- William Nylander, Maple Leafs: $13.5MM
- Jake Guentzel, Lightning: $13.26MM
- Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres: $13MM
David Pastrňák, Bruins: $13MM - Dougie Hamilton, Devils: $12.6MM
- Seth Jones, Blackhawks: $12.5MM
Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights: $12.5MM - Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes: $12MM
Aleksander Barkov, Panthers: $12MM
Adam Fox, Rangers: $12MM
Darnell Nurse, Oilers: $12MM
Brayden Point, Lightning: $12MM - Charlie McAvoy, Bruins: $11.5MM
Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets: $11.5MM - Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals: $11.25MM
Roope Hintz, Stars: $11.25MM
Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers: $11.25MM - Timo Meier, Devils: $11.1MM
- Mikhail Sergachev, Utah: $11.05MM
- Drew Doughty, Kings: $11MM
Miro Heiskanen, Stars: $11MM
Erik Karlsson, Penguins: $11MM
Dylan Larkin, Red Wings: $11MM
Alex Ovechkin, Capitals: $11MM
Sam Reinhart, Panthers: $11MM
Mark Stone, Golden Knights: $11MM - Jordan Kyrou, Blues: $10.9MM
Robert Thomas, Blues: $10.9MM - Cale Makar, Avalanche: $10.6MM
- Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames: $10.5MM
Brady Tkachuk, Senators: $10.5MM
Mika Zibanejad, Rangers: $10.5MM - Tomáš Hertl, Golden Knights: $10.25MM
- Thomas Chabot, Senators: $10MM
Jack Eichel, Golden Knights: $10MM
Filip Forsberg, Predators: $10MM
Connor Hellebuyck, Jets: $10MM
Kirill Kaprizov, Wild: $10MM
Elias Lindholm, Bruins: $10MM
Connor McDavid, Oilers: $10MM
Artemi Panarin, Rangers: $10MM
Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs: $10MM
Mark Scheifele, Jets: $10MM
Brady Skjei, Predators: $10MM
Nick Suzuki, Canadiens: $10MM
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning: $10MM - Cole Caufield, Canadiens: $9.975MM
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Thought Marner would be on this list.
$10.9MM cap hit, but only $8.025MM in total salary this season. His deal was really quite frontloaded, paying him $16MM and $15MM in total salary in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
There are only 7 players in the NHL making more than Dougie Hamilton this year.
There are only 8 making more than Seth Jones.
And there are only 10 making more than Darnell Nurse (who might very well get used in a 3rd pairing role).
Absolute insanity.
(So, so many overpaid defensemen-only 15 making more than Zach Werenski, only 21 making more than Sergachev, & Chabot and Skjei are making the same amount as McDavid, Panarin, Hellebuyck, and Vasilevskiy.)
I’ll take the balanced salary structure in Raleigh
PLD!
i already knew it was bad,but dear lord the further dig into Seth jones contract gets worse and worse.
There hasnt been a better fleece this decade than PLD. Bravo!