Highest-paid NHL players: Auston Matthews’ reign will last one year

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

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto, $13,250,000, four years, $53 million
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, $12,600,000, eight years, $100.8 million
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton, $12,500,000, eight years, $100 million
4. Artemi Panarin, N.Y. Rangers, $11,642,857, seven years, $81.5 million
5. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, $11,600,000, eight years, $92.8 million
6. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,500,000, eight years, $92 million
7. William Nylander, Toronto, $11,500,000, eight years, $92 million
8. David Pastrnak, Boston, $11,250,000, eight years, $89 million
9. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $11,000,000, eight years, $88 million
10. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000, eight years, $88 million
11. John Tavares, Toronto, $11,000,000, seven years, $77 million
12. Mitch Marner, Toronto, $10,903,000, six years, $65,418,000
13. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary, $10,500,000, eight years, $84 million
14. Jack Eichel, Vegas, $10,000,000, eight years, $80 million
15. Aleksander Barkov, Florida, $10,000,000, eight years, $80 million
16. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, $10,000,000, seven years, $70 million
17. Tyler Seguin, Dallas, $9,850,000, eight years, $78.8 million
18. Sebastian Aho, $9,750,000, eight years, $78 million
19. Zach Werenski, Columbus, $9,583,333, six years, $57.5 million
20. Seth Jones, Chicago, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
21. Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
22. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
23. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
24. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
25. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
26. Mark Stone, Vegas, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
27. Jamie Benn, Dallas, $9,500,000, eight years, $76 million
28. Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $9,500,000, seven years, $66.5 million
29. Alex Ovechkin, Washington, $9,500,000, five years, $47.5 million
30. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $9,250,000, eight years, $74 million
31. 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)

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto, $16,700,000
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado, $16,500,000
3. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver, $14,500,000
4. William Nylander, Toronto, $13,500,000
5. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay, $13,263,157
6. David Pastrnak, Boston, $13,000,000
7. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $13,000,000
8. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey, $12,600,000
9. Seth Jones, Chicago, $12,500,000
10. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas, $12,500,000
11. Aleksander Barkov, Florida, $12,000,000
12. Sebastian Aho, Carolina, $12,000,000
13. Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, $12,000,000
14. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay, $12,000,000
15. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $12,000,000
16. Zach Werenski, Columbus, $11,500,000
17. Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $11,500,000
18. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida, $11,250,000
19. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington, $11,250,000
20. Roope Hintz, Dallas, $11,250,000
21. Timo Meier, New Jersey, $11,100,000
22. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah, $11,050,000
23. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,000,000
24. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000
25. Alex Ovechkin, Washington, $11,000,000
26. Mark Stone, Vegas, $11,000,000
27. Dylan Larkin, Detroit, $11,000,000
28. Sam Reinhart, Florida, $11,000,000
29. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, $11,000,000
30. Seth Jarvis, Carolina, $10,950,000

Highest-paid NHL defensemen

Player, team, cap hit

1. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh, $11,500,000
2. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo, $11,000,000
3. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles, $11,000,000
4. Zach Werenski, Columbus, $9,583,333
5. Seth Jones, Chicago, $9,500,000
6. Charlie McAvoy, Boston, $9,500,000
7. Adam Fox, N.Y. Rangers, 9,500,000
8. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton, $9,250,000
9. Roman Josi, Nashville, $9,059,000
10. Cale Makar, Colorado, $9,000,000
11. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey, $9,000,000
12. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas, $8,800,000
13. Moritz Seider, Detroit, $8,550,000
14. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah, $8,500,000
15. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas, $8,450,000
16. Owen Power, Buffalo, $8,350,000
17. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa, $8,050,000
18. Brent Burns, Carolina, $8,000,000
19. John Carlson, Washington, $8,000,000
20. Jacob Trouba, N.Y. Rangers, $8,000,000
21. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa, $8,000,000

Highest-paid NHL goaltenders

Player, team, cap hit

1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida, $10,000,000
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay, $9,500,000
3. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg, $8,500,000
4. Ilya Sorokin, N.Y. Islanders, $8,250,000
5. John Gibson, Anaheim, $6,400,000
6. Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey, $6,000,000
7. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis, $6,000,000
8. Philipp Grubauer, Seattle, $5,900,000
9. Igor Shesterkin, N.Y. Rangers, $5,666,667
10. Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus, $5,400,000
11. Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh, $5,375,000
12. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles, $5,250,000
13. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver, $5,000,000
14. Juuse Saros, Nashville, $5,000,000
15. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa, $5,000,000
16. Adin Hill, Vegas, $4,900,000
17. Ville Husso, Detroit, $4,750,000
18. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo, $4,750,000
19. Spencer Knight, Florida, $4,500,000
20. 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.