From Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin to Jaromir Jagr and Vinny Lecavalier, Boardroom brings you the definitive list of the highest-paid hockey players ever.
The National Hockey League tends not to hand out exorbitant player contracts with quite the same frequency as its cousins in the Big Four US sports leagues. At the same time, it’s not so terribly uncommon for the game’s enduring stars to play 16, 18, or even 20 or more NHL seasons.
(Separately, you could be Jaromir Jagr, who left the NHL for good in 2018 but is somehow still on the active roster for his beloved Rytíři Kladno back home in the Czech Republic despite turning 50 earlier this year.)
With the 2022-23 NHL regular season very much here, that got us thinking — how do hockey salaries, as accrued over the course of a full career, stack up to the hundreds upon hundreds of millions that apex earners like LeBron James (NBA), Tom Brady (NFL), and Alex Rodriguez (MLB) in the other big four US sports leagues?
Well, you have questions and Boardroom has answers. Check out the master list of highest-paid NHL players of all time.
Click here to read Boardroom’s list of highest-paid players in the NHL for the 2022-23 season.
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The 50 Highest-paid NHL Players of All Time
All dollar figures via Spotrac. Reflects estimated total cash salary compensation through the end of the 2022-23 NHL season.
1. Penguins C Sidney Crosby: $149,890,244
- Career: 2005-present
- NHL seasons: 18
2. Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin: $138,220,893
- Career: 2004-present
- NHL seasons: 17
3. RW Jaromir Jagr: $135,382,322
- Career: 1990-present (final NHL season was 2017-18)
- NHL seasons: 25
4. Penguins C Evgeni Malkin: $135,270,893
- Career: 2004-present
- NHL seasons: 18
5. Golden Knights D Shea Weber: $129,831,000
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 18
6. RW Vincent Lecavalier: $126,335,718
- Career: 1998-2016
- NHL seasons: 25
7. Kings D Anze Kopitar: $122,250,000
- Career: 2004-present
- NHL seasons: 18
8. Blackhawks RW Patrick Kane: $115,637,195
- Career: 2007-present
- NHL seasons: 16
9. D Chris Pronger: $113,950,000
- Career: 1993-2011
- NHL seasons: 23
10. Stars D Ryan Suter: $112,492,666
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 18
11. C Joe Thornton: $111,541,561
- Career: 1997-present
- NHL seasons: 24
12. Islanders LW Zach Parise: $110,243,398
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 18
13. Lightning C Steven Stamkos: $110,175,000
- Career: 2008-present
- NHL seasons: 15
14. Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews: $109,062,195
- Career: 2006-present
- NHL seasons: 15
15. Canadiens G Carey Pryce: $107,550,000
- Career: 2005-present
- NHL seasons: 16
16. G Roberto Luongo: $106,455,148
- Career: 1997-2019
- NHL seasons: 22
17. G Henrik Lundqvist: $104,908,390
- Career: 2000-2020
- NHL seasons: 17
18. C Brad Richards: $104,245,448
- Career: 1998-2016
- NHL seasons: 21
19. RW Marian Gaborik: $103,025,013
- Career: 2000-2018
- NHL seasons: 20
20. D Zedeno Chara: $100,413,695
- Career: 1996-2022
- NHL seasons: 23
t-21. Sharks D Erik Karlsson: $99,929,878
- Career: 2008-present
- NHL seasons: 14
t-21. Kings D Drew Doughty: $99,929,878
- Career: 2008-present
- NHL seasons: 15
23. Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom: $97,550,000
- Career: 2006-present
- NHL seasons: 16
24. LW Patrick Marleau: $97,017,172
- Career: 1997-2021
- NHL seasons: 22
25. RW Jarome Iginla: $96,122,561
- Career: 1995-2017
- NHL seasons: 20
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26. Ducks C Ryan Getzlaf: $95,471,766
- Career: 2003-2022
- NHL seasons: 17
27. Bruins C Patrice Bergeron: $95,284,153
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 19
28. Maple Leafs C John Tavares: $95,141,463
- Career: 2009-present
- NHL seasons: 14
29. Hurricanes D Brent Burns: $93,650,000
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 16
30. RW Marian Hossa: $93,024,390
- Career: 1997-2017
- NHL seasons: 22
31. Golden Knights RW Phil Kessel: $93,002,866
- Career: 2006-present
- NHL seasons: 17
32. D Brent Seabrook: $92,827,200
- Career: 2003-2019
- NHL seasons: 18
33. Lightning RW Corey Perry: $92,820,883
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 18
34. Panthers G Sergei Bobrovsky: $90,866,829
- Career: 2010-present
- NHL seasons: 12
35. C Jason Spezza: $89,519,259
- Career: 2001-2022
- NHL seasons: 19
36. Stars LW Jamie Benn: $89,194,512
- Career: 2007-present
- NHL seasons: 15
37. LW Rick Nash: $88,618,780
- Career: 2002-2018
- NHL seasons: 15
38. D Dion Phaneuf: $86,994,214
- Career: 2003-2019
- NHL seasons: 18
39. Sabres C Eric Staal: $86,908,010
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 17
40. Stars C Tyler Seguin: $85,700,000
- Career: 2010-present
- NHL seasons: 13
41. Senators C Claude Giroux: $85,548,780
- Career: 2006-present
- NHL seasons: 16
42. Blackhawks G Marc-Andre Fleury: $84,991,432
- Career: 2003-present
- NHL seasons: 19
43. Hurricanes C Paul Stastny: $84,943,415
- Career: 2005-present
- NHL seasons: 17
44. LW Henrik Zetterberg: $82,936,585
- Career: 1999-2018
- NHL seasons: 18
45. D P.K. Subban: $78,660,670
- Career: 2007-2022
- NHL seasons: 13
46. LW Thomas Vanek: $78,634,987
- Career: 2003-2019
- NHL seasons: 14
47. Flyers RW Jakub Voracek: $78,612,805
- Career: 2007-present
- NHL seasons:
48. C Ryan Kesler: $77,944,000
- Career: 2003-2019
- NHL seasons: 17
49. D Duncan Keith: $77,900,000
- Career: 2002-2022
- NHL seasons: 17
50. C Pavel Datsyuk: $77,246,951
- Career: 1998-2021
- NHL seasons: 15
Other Notable Top-100 Career NHL Earners
53. Penguins D Kris Letang: $76,918,780
57. Oilers C Connor McDavid: $74,625,000
t-64. Canucks LW Daniel Sedin: $71,635,732
t-64. Canucks C Henrik Sedin: $71,635,732
66. Devils C Patrik Elias: $71,626,327
73. D Sergei Gonchar: $68,683,490
78. Rangers LW Artemi Panarin: $66,032,500
85. Kings G Jonathan Quick: $64,375,122
91. Bruins LW Brad Marchand: $63,446,464
93. Bruins G Tuukka Rask: $63,098,780
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