The ice beneath NHL players’ skates isn’t the only thing that’s cold and hard — so is the cash they take home from their often-lucrative contracts.
It definitely pays to be an NHL player at any level, but who makes the most money playing hockey, and which teams shell out the most cash in their quests for a Stanley Cup title? Let’s take a look.
Don’t forget: You can watch all of your favorite NHL stars earn their dough live on TV all throughout the 2025-2026 NHL season on DIRECTV!
Who Are the Highest-Paid NHL Players in 2025?
When it comes to big contracts, the NHL’s top earners are a mix of familiar faces and rising stars redefining the game. While Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov made headlines with a record-setting $136 million, eight-year extension ($17 million per year) — the richest deal in NHL history — his new contract doesn’t officially begin until 2026.
For now, the highest-paid NHL player in 2025 is Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers, who signed a $112 million deal ($14 million annually) in 2024. Draisaitl and teammate Connor McDavid have led Edmonton to back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, solidifying themselves as the league’s elite duo. McDavid also secured his own two-year extension in October 2025 as the season began.
Behind them on the earnings list are Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche) and McDavid — each earning between $13.2 million and $12.5 million annually.
All of these players have led their teams deep into the playoffs in recent years, with MacKinnon’s Av’s securing the Stanley Cup in 2022 and McDavid’s Oilers nearly doing the same in both 2023-24 (after a historic near-comeback effort from a 3-0 series deficit against the Florida Panthers) and 2024-25, also against the Panthers.
Here’s the complete list of the highest-paid players in the NHL right now by cap hit for the 2025-2026 season.
| Rank | Player | Team | Position | Cap Hit/Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leon Draisaitl | Edmonton Oilers | Center | $14 million |
| 2 | Auston Matthews | Toronto Maple Leafs | Center | $13.2 million |
| 3 | Nathan MacKinnon | Colorado Avalanche | Center | $12.6 million |
| 4 | Connor McDavid | Edmonton Oilers | Center | $12.5 million |
| 5 | Mitch Marner | Vegas Golden Knights | Right Wing | $12 million |
| 6 | Mikko Rantanen | Dallas Stars | Right Wing | $12 million |
| 7 | Artemi Panarin | New York Rangers | Left Wing | $11.6 million |
| 8 | Elias Pettersson | Vancouver Canucks | Center | $11.6 million |
| 9 | Erik Karlsson | Pittsburgh Penguins | Defenseman | $11.5 million |
| 10 | William Nylander | Toronto Maple Leafs | Center | $11.5 million |
| 11 | Igor Shesterkin | New York Rangers | Goalie | $11.5 million |
| 12 | David Pastrnak | Boston Bruins | Right Wing | $11.2 million |
| 13 | Drew Doughty | LA Kings | Defenseman | $11 million |
| 14 | Rasmus Dahlin | Buffalo Sabres | Defenseman | $11 million |
| 15 | Evan Bouchard | Edmonton Oilers | Defenseman | $10.5 million |
| 16 | Jonathan Huberdeau | Calgary Flames | Left Wing | $10.5 million |
| 17 | Aleksander Barkov | Florida Panthers | Center | $10 million |
| 18 | Jack Eichel | Vegas Golden Knights | Center | $10 million |
| 19 | Sergei Bobrovsky | Florida Panthers | Goalie | $10 million |
| 20 | Tyler Seguin | Dallas Stars | Center | $9.8 million |
| 21 | Sebastian Aho | Carolina Hurricanes | Center | $9.8 million |
| 22 | Zach Werenski | Columbus Blue Jackets | Defenseman | $9.6 million |
| 23 | Alex Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | Left Wing | $9.5 million |
| 24 | Mark Stone | Vegas Golden Knights | Right Wing | $9.5 million |
| 25 | Nikita Kucherov | Tampa Bay Lightning | Right Wing | $9.5 million |
| 26 | Seth Jones | Florida Panthers | Defenseman | $9.5 million |
| 27 | Brayden Point | Tampa Bay Lightning | Center | $9.5 million |
| 28 | Matthew Tkachuk | Florida Panthers | Left Wing | $9.5 million |
| 29 | Charlie McAvoy | Boston Bruins | Defenseman | $9.5 million |
| 30 | Adam Fox | New York Rangers | Defenseman | $9.5 million |
| 31 | Noah Dobson | Montreal Canadiens | Defenseman | $9.5 million |
| 32 | Andrei Vasilevskiy | Tampa Bay Lightning | Goalie | $9.5 million |
| 33 | Darnell Nurse | Edmonton Oilers | Defenseman | $9.2 million |
| 34 | Mathew Barzal | New York Islanders | Center | $9.2 million |
| 35 | Roman Josi | Nashville Predators | Defenseman | $9.1 million |
| 36 | Dougie Hamilton | New Jersey Devils | Defenseman | $9 million |
| 37 | Jake Guentzel | Tampa Bay Lightning | Left Wing | $9 million |
| 38 | Kirill Kaprizov | Minnesota Wild | Left Wing | $9 million |
| 39 | Jakob Chychrun | Washington Capitals | Defenseman | $9 million |
| 40 | Cale Makar | Colorado Avalanche | Defenseman | $9 million |
| 41 | Luke Hughes | New Jersey Devils | Defenseman | $9 million |
| 42 | Alex Pietrangelo | Vegas Golden Knights | Defenseman | $8.8 million |
| 43 | Timo Meier | New Jersey Devils | Right Wing | $8.8 million |
| 44 | Travis Konecny | Philadelphia Flyers | Right Wing | $8.8 million |
| 45 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | Center | $8.7 million |
| 46 | Dylan Larkin | Detroit Red Wings | Center | $8.7 million |
| 47 | Patrik Laine | Montreal Canadiens | Left Wing | $8.7 million |
| 48 | Sam Reinhart | Florida Panthers | Center | $8.6 million |
| 49 | Moritz Seider | Detroit Red Wings | Defenseman | $8.6 million |
| 50 | Brock Faber | Minnesota Wild | Defenseman | $8.5 million |
| 51 | Mika Zibanejad | New York Rangers | Center | $8.5 million |
| 52 | Mark Scheifele | Winnepeg Jets | Center | $8.5 million |
| 53 | Filip Forsberg | Nashville Predators | Center | $8.5 million |
| 54 | Bo Horvat | New York Islanders | Center | $8.5 million |
| 55 | Nikolaj Ehlers | Carolina Hurricanes | Left Wing | $8.5 million |
| 56 | Ivan Provorov | Columbus Blue Jackets | Defenseman | $8.5 million |
| 57 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | Washington Capitals | Center | $8.5 million |
| 58 | Mikhail Sergachev | Utah Mammoth | Defenseman | $8.5 million |
| 59 | Connor Hellebuyck | Winnepeg Jets | Goalie | $8.5 million |
What is the NHL Salary Cap?
Like many other professional sports leagues, the NHL uses a salary cap system to attempt to maintain a level playing field between the teams. That’s to say, each team has a limit on the amount of money they can put towards paying players and attracting talent each season. The 2025-26 NHL salary cap currently stands at about $92 million.
How Does the NHL Salary Cap Work?
The NHL’s salary cap works similarly to those in other sports leagues, like the NFL and the WNBA. The amount of salary each player is paid each season that contributes to their team’s salary cap maximum is known as the team’s “cap hit.” This is calculated by taking the player’s contract and bonus values, adding them together, then dividing it that number by the number of years their contract is for. The resulting number is the player’s cap hit for the season.
Adding up the full roster’s cap hits gives us the team’s total cap hit. The cap hit is not necessarily a proxy for a team’s payroll, but it does give a good sense of how much per year a team is paying its players and how much wiggle room it has to add new talent.
A team needs to be at or under its salary cap maximum by the end of the year. That means teams can go over the salary cap throughout the year, as long as the total doesn’t exceed the limit by year’s end. Confusing, we know.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the highest-paid NHL player?
Leon Draisaitl, of the Edmonton Oilers, is the highest-paid player in the NHL at $14 million per year.
What contract did the Minnesota Wild offer forward Kirill Kaprizov?
Kirill Kaprizoy made headlines with a record-setting $136 million, eight-year extension ($17 million per year) - the richest deal in NHL history, but his new contract doesn’t officially begin until 2026.
Who are the top three best-paid players?
The top three highest-paid players in the NHL are Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon in 2025.
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