There is a big discrepancy in the salaries of professional hockey players. The highest-paid player in the NHL, for example, made over $15 million last season while the league’s lowest-paid player only earned about $575,000. However, many lower-level or semi-professional players may only earn a few thousand dollars annually.
The average salary for an NHL player is about $2.4 million per year but there is a wide range in what different players make. For example, superstars like Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid earn much more than the league average while many role players and fringe NHLers earn significantly less.
Many factors contribute to a player’s salary including their skill level, role on their team, length of their contract and how well their team performs. Players who are just breaking into the NHL usually make close to the league minimum which is currently $700,000 per year but can increase based on performance bonuses.
Players who have been in the league for several years and have established themselves as good but not great players will often sign contracts worth around $3 million or so per season while star players can command much higher salaries. In recent years, we have seen some massive contracts given out to top players like Alexander Ovechkin ($9.54 million per year), Patrick Kane ($10.5 million) and Carey Price ($10.5 million).
Interestingly enough, though most people assume that American hockey players are paid more than Canadian hockey players due to higher revenues in the United States, this is not always true. In fact, many Canadian teams actually pay their players more on average than American teams because they generate more revenue from things like ticket sales and television rights deals..