Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews becomes the NHL's top-paid player this season now that his four-year, $53 million extension has taken effect.
But his reign will last only one season.
Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl has signed an eight-year, $112 million extension that begins in 2025-26. His $14 million cap hit next season will pass Matthews' $13.25 million as NHL teams take advantage of the rising salary cap.
Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon was the top-paid player ($12.6 million cap hit) in 2023-24 and Oilers captain Connor McDavid led with a $12.5 million average annual salary in 2022-23.
Here are the NHL leaders in cap hit and salary for the 2024-25 season (per puckpedia.com):
Highest-paid NHL players by salary cap hit
Player, team, cap hit, contract
Auston Matthews, Toronto, $13,250,000, four years, $53 million
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, $12,600,000, eight years, $100.8 million
Connor McDavid, Edmonton, $12,500,000, eight years, $100 million
Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers, $11,642,857, seven years, $81.5 million
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, $11,600,000, eight years, $92.8 million
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,500,000, eight years, $92 million
William Nylander, Toronto, $11,500,000, eight years, $92 million
David Pastrnak, Boston, $11,250,000, eight years, $89 million
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $11,000,000, eight years, $88 million
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000, eight years, $88 million
John Tavares, Toronto, $11,000,000, seven years, $77 million
Mitch Marner, Toronto, $10,903,000, six years, $65,418,000
Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary, $10,500,000, eight years, $84 million
Jack Eichel, Vegas, $10,000,000, eight years, $80 million
Aleksander Barkov, Florida, $10,000,000, eight years, $80 million
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, $10,000,000, seven years, $70 million
Tyler Seguin, Dallas, $9,850,000, eight years, $78.8 million
Sebastian Aho, $9,750,000, eight years, $78 million
Zach Werenski, Columbus, $9,583,333, six years, $57.5 million
Seth Jones, Chicago, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Mark Stone, Vegas, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Jamie Benn, Dallas, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $9,500,000, seven years, $66.5 million
Alex Ovechkin, Washington, $9,500,000, five years, $47.5 million
Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $9,250,000, eight years, $74 million
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado, $9,250,000, six years, $55.5 million
Note: Canadiens goalie Carey Price averages $10.5 million but isn't included because he's on long-term injured reserve.
Highest-paid NHL players by 2024-25 salary
Player, team, salary(includes signing bonus)
Auston Matthews, Toronto, $16,700,000
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, $16,500,000
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, $14,500,000
William Nylander, Toronto, $13,500,000
Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay, $13,263,157
David Pastrnak, Boston, $13,000,000
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $13,000,000
Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey, $12,600,000
Seth Jones, Chicago, $12,500,000
Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas, $12,500,000
Aleksander Barkov, Florida, $12,000,000
Sebastian Aho, Carolina, $12,000,000
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $12,000,000
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay, $12,000,000
Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $12,000,000
Zach Werenski, Columbus, $11,500,000
Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $11,500,000
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida, $11,250,000
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington, $11,250,000
Roope Hintz, Dallas, $11,250,000
Timo Meier, New Jersey, $11,100,000
Mikhail Sergachev, Utah, $11,050,000
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,000,000
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000
Alex Ovechkin, Washington, $11,000,000
Mark Stone, Vegas, $11,000,000
Dylan Larkin, Detroit, $11,000,000
Sam Reinhart, Florida, $11,000,000
Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, $11,000,000
Seth Jarvis, Carolina, $10,950,000
Highest-paid NHL defensemen
Player, team, cap hit
Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,500,000
Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $11,000,000
Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000
Zach Werenski, Columbus, $9,583,333
Seth Jones, Chicago, $9,500,000
Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $9,500,000
Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, 9,500,000
Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $9,250,000
Roman Josi, Nashville, $9,059,000
Cale Makar, Colorado, $9,000,000
Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey, $9,000,000
Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas, $8,800,000
Moritz Seider, Detroit, $8,550,000
Mikhail Sergachev, Utah, $8,500,000
Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, $8,450,000
Owen Power, Buffalo, $8,350,000
Jake Sanderson, Ottawa, $8,050,000
Brent Burns, Carolina, $8,000,000
John Carlson, Washington, $8,000,000
Jacob Trouba, N.Y. Rangers, $8,000,000
Thomas Chabot, Ottawa, $8,000,000
Highest-paid NHL goaltenders
Player, team, cap hit
Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, $10,000,000
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg, $8,500,000
Ilya Sorokin, N.Y. Islanders, $8,250,000
John Gibson, Anaheim, $6,400,000
Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey, $6,000,000
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis, $6,000,000
Philipp Grubauer, Seattle, $5,900,000
Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers, $5,666,667
Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus, $5,400,000
Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh, $5,375,000
Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles, $5,250,000
Thatcher Demko, Vancouver, $5,000,000
Juuse Saros, Nashville, $5,000,000
Linus Ullmark, Ottawa, $5,000,000
Adin Hill, Vegas, $4,900,000
Ville Husso, Detroit, $4,750,000
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo, $4,750,000
Spencer Knight, Florida, $4,500,000
Petr Mrazek, Chicago, $4,250,000
Note: Injured Price and Robin Lehner ($5 million) aren't included.
What is the NHL salary cap for 2024-25?
The 2024-25 NHL salary cap is $88 million, up from $83.5 million last season. It was the first significant rise since the pandemic.
Who could pass Leon Draisaitl?
Very simple. McDavid. He can receive a contract extension on July 1, 2025, and he can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Either way, the three-time MVP will reap the benefits of being the NHL's best player since he was drafted No. 1 overall in 2015.
A player to watch: Chicago Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard's entry-level contract expires in 2026, though he'll be a restricted free agent. But he's considered a generational player and McDavid got his $12.5 million cap hit contract extension after his second season.
