List of player salaries in the NHL

Here are several lists of National Hockey League players' salaries since the 1989–90 NHL season. This list does not include income from corporate endorsements or salaries before .
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==Top 20 salaries in the NHL since 1989==
This is a list of the twenty NHL players who have earned the most in salaries between the 1989–90 season and the 2007–08 season.
These figures have been shot from different angles,Sources: Sports Illustrated, Forbes, l'Équipe magazine, NHL.com, and certain financial sites dedicated to professional sports. and so may not be perfectly accurate. This is merely an estimation that, for the most part, does not take into account bonuses and sponsor contracts.
These totals also do not take into account partial seasons played—for which a player would only receive a partial salary—except for the shortened 2004–05 season, which affected every player. Thus, the listed totals are a sum of the amounts each player was contracted to receive for a full season.
 Top 20 NHL salary-earners from 1989–90 to 2007–08
Rank	Player name 	Salary (USD)	Years active†
1 	Jaromir Jagr 	$ 	17 (1990–91 – 2007–08)
2 	Joe Sakic 	$ 	20 (1988–89 – 2008–09)
3 	Mats Sundin 	$ 	18 (1990–91 – 2008–09)
4 	Keith Tkachuk 	$ 	17 (1991–92 – 2009-10)
5 	Rob Blake 	$ 	19 (1989–90 – 2009-10)
6 	Nicklas Lidstrom	$ 	17 (1991–92 – present)
7 	Paul Kariya 	$ 	14 (1994–95 – present)
8 	Peter Forsberg 	$ 	12 (1994–95 – 2007–08)a
9 	Mike Modano 	$ 	19 (1989–90 – present)
10 	Chris Pronger 	$ 	15 (1993–94 – present)
11 	Steve Yzerman 	$ 	22 (1983–84 – 2005–06)
12 	Sergei Fedorov 	$ 	18 (1990–91 – 2008–09)
13 	Brian Leetch 	$ 	18 (1987–88 – 2005–06)
14 	Mark Messier 	$ 	25 (1979–80 – 2003–04)
15 	Brendan Shanahan	$ 	21 (1987–88 – 2008–09)
16 	Teemu Selanne 	$ 	16 (1992–93 – present)
17 	Patrick Roy 	$ 	19 (1984–85 – 2002–03)
18 	Pavel Bure 	$ 	12 (1991–92 – 2002–03)
19 	Doug Weight 	$ 	17 (1991–92 – present)
20 	Dominik Hasek 	$ 	16 (1990–91 – 2007–08)b
:† "Years active" excludes the 2004–05 NHL season, as the league was not operating that year. It also includes seasons prior to the 1989–90 NHL season, although the salaries paid during this time may not be included in the total due to scarcity of information.
:a Peter Forsberg missed the 2001–02 NHL season and almost all of the 2007–08 NHL season due to injury.
:b Dominik Hasek did not play the 2002–03 NHL season because he had retired, though he returned the following season.
==Top five contracts by season==
===1989–90 season===
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $2 million
# Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) $1.72 million
# Mark Messier (Edmonton Oilers) $0.86 million
# Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) $0.7 million
# Bryan Trottier (New York Islanders) $0.575 million
===1990–91 season===
# Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) $3 million
# Mario Lemieux ([[Pittsburgh Penguins]) $2.18 million
# Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) $1.3 million
# Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins) $1.194 million
# Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) $1.116 million
===1991–92 season===
# Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) $3 million
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.34 million
# Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues) $1.5 million
# Pat LaFontaine (Buffalo Sabres) $1.4 million
#: Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) $1.4 million
===1992–93 season===
# Eric Lindros (Philadelphia Flyers) $3.5 million
# Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) $3 million
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.408 million
# Mark Messier (New York Rangers) $2.385 million
# Pat LaFontaine (Buffalo Sabres) $1.775 million
===1993–94 season===
# Eric Lindros (Philadelphia Flyers) $3.35 million
# Steve Yzerman (Detroit Red Wings) $3.2 million
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $3 million
#: Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) $3 million
# Patrick Roy (Montreal Canadiens) $2.659,3 million
===1994–95 season===
After the 1994–95 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to a lockout, players earned only about 56% of their predicted salary.
# Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings) $3.66 million (Predicted salary of $6.54 million)
# Mark Messier (New York Rangers) $3.45 million (Predicted salary of $6.29 million)
# Scott Stevens (New Jersey Devils) $3.24 million (Predicted salary of $5.8 million)
# Pavel Bure (Vancouver Canucks) $2.61 million (Predicted salary of $4.5 million)
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $2.361,429 million (Predicted salary of $4.071,429 million)
===1995–96 season===
# Wayne Gretzky (Los Angeles Kings/St. Louis Blues) $6.54 million
# Mark Messier (New York Rangers) $6.29 million
# Keith Tkachuk (Winnipeg Jets) $6 million
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $4.571,4 million
# Pavel Bure (Vancouver Canucks) $4.5 million
===1996–97 season===
# Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) $11.35 million
# Mark Messier (New York Rangers) $6 million
# Pavel Bure (Vancouver Canucks) $5 million
# Pat LaFontaine (Buffalo Sabres) $4.6 million
# Patrick Roy (Montreal Canadiens) $4.567 million
===1997–98 season===
# Joe Sakic (Colorado Avalanche) $16.45 million The given salary includes a signing bonus.
# Chris Gratton (Philadelphia Flyers) $10.15 million
# Wayne Gretzky (New York Rangers) $6.250,500 million
# Mark Messier (New York Rangers) $6 million
# Pavel Bure (Vancouver Canucks) $5.5 million
===1998–99 season===
# Sergei Fedorov (Detroit Red Wings) $14.5 million 
# Paul Kariya (Anaheim Ducks) $8.25 million
# Eric Lindros (Philadelphia Flyers) $8 million
#: Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) $8 million
# Mats Sundin (Toronto Maple Leafs) $6.347 million
===1999–00 season===
# Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh Penguins) $11.7 million
# Paul Kariya (Anaheim Ducks) $10 million
# Peter Forsberg (Colorado Avalanche) $9 million
# Theoren Fleury (New York Rangers) $8.5 million
#: Eric Lindros (Philadelphia Flyers) $8.5 million
===2000–01 season===
# Peter Forsberg (Colorado Avalanche) $10 million
#: Paul Kariya (Anaheim Ducks) $10 million
# Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh Penguins) $9.842,708 million
# Pavel Bure (Florida Panthers) $9 million
# Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis Blues) $7.3 million
===2001–02 season===
# Jaromir Jagr (Washington Capitals) $11 million
# Pavel Bure (Florida Panthers/New York Rangers) $10 million
#: Paul Kariya (Anaheim Ducks) $10 million
# Joe Sakic (Colorado Avalanche) $9.832,727 million
# Chris Pronger (St. Louis Blues) $9.5 million
#: Teemu Selanne (San Jose Sharks) $9.5 million
===2002–03 season===
# Jaromir Jagr (Washington Capitals) $11.483,333 million
# Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis Blues) $11 million
# Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings) $10.5 million
# Pavel Bure (New York Rangers) $10 million
#: Paul Kariya (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) $10 million
===2003–04 season===
# Peter Forsberg (Colorado Avalanche) $11 million
#: Jaromir Jagr (Washington Capitals) $11 million
# Sergei Fedorov (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) $10 million
#: Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings) $10 million
#: Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis Blues) $10 million
===2004–05 season===
Season cancelled (see 2004–05 NHL lockout).
===2005–06 season===
The team salary cap is $39 million. Under the latest NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, no player can earn more than 20 percent of the team salary cap ($7.8 million).
# Jaromir Jagr (New York Rangers) $8.36 million$7.8 million + $0.56 million in arrears from the Washington Capitals.
# Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings) $7.6 million
#: Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis Blues) $7.6 million
#: Alexei Yashin (New York Islanders) $7.6 million
# Jarome Iginla (Calgary Flames) $7 million
===2006–07 season===
The team salary cap is $44 million. No player can earn more than $8.8 million.
# Jaromir Jagr (New York Rangers) $8.36 million
# Brad Richards (Tampa Bay Lightning) $7.8 million
# Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit Red Wings) $7.6 million
#: Mats Sundin (Toronto Maple Leafs) $7.6 million
#: Alexei Yashin (New York Islanders) $7.6 million
===2007–08 season===
The team salary cap is $50.3 million. No player can earn more than $10.06 million.
# Daniel Briere (Philadelphia Flyers) $10 million
#: Scott Gomez (New York Rangers) $10 million
#: Thomas Vanek (Buffalo Sabres) $10 million
# Jaromir Jagr (New York Rangers) $8.36 million
# Kimmo Timonen (Philadelphia Flyers) $8 million
===2008–09 season===
The team salary cap is $56.7 million. No player can earn more than $11.34 million.
# Dany Heatley (Ottawa Senators) $500 million
# Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million
#: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) $9 million
# Mats Sundin (Vancouver Canucks) $8.6 million
# Miikka Kiprusoff (Calgary Flames) $8.5 million
===2009–10 season===
The team salary cap is $56.8 million. No player can earn more than $11.36 million.
# Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay Lightning) $10 million
# Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) $9million
#: Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) $9 million
#: Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) $9 million
# Chris Drury (New York Rangers) $8.05 million
==Sample salaries from earlier seasons==
Salary figures prior to the 1989–90 season are not readily available. The following table presents a sample of salaries from various seasons; the players listed were not necessarily the highest paid that year.
Season 	Player name 	SalaryHockey Zone Plus: Historic Salaries
1917–18	Newsy Lalonde 	CAN $1,300
1921–22	Newsy Lalonde 	CAN $2,000
1923–24	Howie Morenz 	CAN $3,500
1925–26	Frank Fredrickson 	CAN $3,500
1953–54	Jean Beliveau 	CAN $21,000
1954–55	Jean Beliveau 	CAN $21,000
1955–56	Jean Beliveau 	CAN $21,000
1956–57	Jean Beliveau 	CAN $21,000
1957–58	Jean Beliveau 	CAN $21,000
1959–60	Doug Harvey 	CAN $25,000
1959–60	Maurice Richard 	CAN $25,000
1962–63	Frank Mahovlich 	CAN $25,000
1963–64	(NHL minimum salary)	CAN $7,000
1963–64	Phil Esposito 	US $5,800
1965–66	Gump Worsley 	CAN $28,000
1966–67	Bobby Orr 	US $35,000
1967–68	Bobby Orr 	US $35,000
1967–68	Derek Sanderson 	US $10,000
1969–70	Derek Sanderson 	US $13,000
1974–75	Mario Tremblay 	CAN $80,000
1977–78	Bobby Hull † 	US $1,000,000
1977–78	Bernie Parent 	US $1,000,000
1977–78	Derek Sanderson 	US $1,000,000
1982–83	Brian Hayward 	US $65,000
:† Bobby Hull was playing the World Hockey Association at this time, a short-lived rival to the NHL.
==See also==
* List of team payrolls in the NHL, for yearly team payrolls
* Salary cap
* NHL Players Association
==Notes==
==External links==
*USA Today Salaries Database NHL salaries from 2000–2007
*NHLSCAP - Up to date NHL Salary cap information
*http://www.hockeybuzz.com/cap-central/index.php
*http://www.nhlnumbers.com/
*NHL players' salary history
Category:NHL