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NHL · 2007-08 SEASON

2007-08 NHL salaries

$136,865,700 paid to 104 players, Brad Richards the biggest at $7,800,000.

Every man the league paid that season, ranked by what the contract paid him for it. Ten of them took 42.9% of the total.

PAID OUT $136.9m
BIGGEST SALARY $7.8m
PLAYERS PAID 104
AVERAGE $1.3m
OVER $1M 22

The 2007-08 season at a glance

What the league paid, and how it split

2007-08

Paid out
$136,865,700
Players paid
104
Average
$1,316,016
Basic salary
91.4%
Signing bonus
4.4%
Top ten hold
42.9%

2007-08 is the earliest season this section ranks.

The fifteen biggest 2007-08 salaries

One season, not a career

Top ten hold 42.9%

Brad Richards $7.8m Zdeno Chara $7.5m Marian Hossa $7.0m Joe Thornton $6.7m Marian Gaborik $6.5m Jason Spezza $5.0m Patrice Bergeron $5.0m Eric Staal $4.5m Patrick Marleau $4.5m Henrik Lundqvist $4.3m Sidney Crosby $3.7m Evgeni Malkin $3.5m Henrik Zetterberg $2.7m Mikko Koivu $2.7m Ryan Miller $2.5m

Every NHL salary in 2007-08

Ranked by what the season paid

104 players

# Player Franchise Position Share Career 2007-08 salary
01 Brad Richards Detroit Red Wings Center 5.7% $107.4m $7,800,000$7.8m
02 Zdeno Chara New York Islanders Defenseman 5.5% $89.9m $7,500,000$7.5m
03 Marian Hossa Arizona Coyotes Right Wing 5.1% $93.0m $7,000,000$7.0m
04 Joe Thornton Florida Panthers Center 4.9% $111.5m $6,667,000$6.7m
05 Marian Gaborik Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing 4.7% $103.0m $6,500,000$6.5m
06 Jason Spezza Toronto Maple Leafs Center 3.7% $89.5m $5,000,000$5.0m
07 Patrice Bergeron Boston Bruins Center 3.7% $95.3m $5,000,000$5.0m
08 Eric Staal Montreal Canadiens Center 3.3% $86.9m $4,500,000$4.5m
09 Patrick Marleau San Jose Sharks Left Wing 3.3% $97.0m $4,500,000$4.5m
10 Henrik Lundqvist Washington Capitals Goaltender 3.1% $104.9m $4,250,000$4.3m
11 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins Center 2.7% $155.9m $3,700,000$3.7m
12 Evgeni Malkin Pittsburgh Penguins Center 2.6% $151.7m $3,538,900$3.5m
13 Henrik Zetterberg Detroit Red Wings Left Wing 2.0% $82.9m $2,700,000$2.7m
14 Mikko Koivu Minnesota Wild Center 2.0% $66.1m $2,700,000$2.7m
15 Ryan Miller Anaheim Ducks Goaltender 1.8% $63.6m $2,500,000$2.5m
16 Zach Parise New York Islanders Left Wing 1.5% $115.2m $2,000,000$2.0m
17 Ryan Kesler Anaheim Ducks Center 1.3% $77.9m $1,750,000$1.8m
18 Marc-Andre Fleury Minnesota Wild Goaltender 1.2% $81.5m $1,600,000$1.6m
19 Jack Johnson Colorado Avalanche Defenseman 1.1% $54.3m $1,530,000$1.5m
20 Duncan Keith Edmonton Oilers Defenseman 1.0% $77.9m $1,400,000$1.4m
21 Alexander Semin Montreal Canadiens Right Wing 0.9% $56.6m $1,200,000
22 Dustin Brown Los Angeles Kings Right Wing 0.9% $66.9m $1,175,000
23 Alex Ovechkin Washington Capitals Left Wing 0.7% $170.7m $984,200
24 Andrew Ladd Arizona Coyotes Left Wing 0.7% $70.1m $984,200
25 Cory Schneider New York Islanders Goaltender 0.7% $54.5m $984,200
26 Travis Zajac New York Islanders Center 0.7% $62.5m $984,200
27 Mike Smith Edmonton Oilers Goaltender 0.7% $51.4m $950,000
28 Braydon Coburn New York Islanders Defenseman 0.7% $42.9m $942,500
29 Brent Seabrook Tampa Bay Lightning Defenseman 0.7% $97.3m $942,400
30 Jeff Carter Pittsburgh Penguins Center 0.7% $79.5m $942,400
31 Ryan Suter Dallas Stars Defenseman 0.7% $126.1m $942,000
32 Christian Ehrhoff Chicago Blackhawks Defenseman 0.7% $52.8m $900,000
33 Johan Franzen Detroit Red Wings Left Wing 0.7% $44.7m $900,000
34 Brent Burns Carolina Hurricanes Defenseman 0.6% $103.7m $875,000
35 David Perron Detroit Red Wings Left Wing 0.6% $44.0m $875,000
36 Patrick Kane Chicago Blackhawks Right Wing 0.6% $115.6m $875,000
37 Sam Gagner Detroit Red Wings Center 0.6% $35.2m $875,000
38 Philip Kessel Arizona Coyotes Right Wing 0.6% $91.5m $872,500
39 Alexander Steen St Louis Blues Left Wing 0.6% $58.1m $870,200
40 Andrew Cogliano Colorado Avalanche Left Wing 0.6% $33.7m $850,000
41 Anze Kopitar Los Angeles Kings Center 0.6% $129.2m $850,000
42 Bobby Ryan Detroit Red Wings Right Wing 0.6% $69.7m $850,000
43 Bryan Little Arizona Coyotes Center 0.6% $63.7m $850,000
44 Carey Price Montreal Canadiens Goaltender 0.6% $131.0m $850,000
45 Derick Brassard Philadelphia Flyers Center 0.6% $39.7m $850,000
46 Erik Johnson Colorado Avalanche Defenseman 0.6% $63.4m $850,000
47 Jonathan Toews Chicago Blackhawks Center 0.6% $109.1m $850,000
48 Jordan Staal Carolina Hurricanes Center 0.6% $76.7m $850,000
49 Justin Abdelkader Detroit Red Wings Left Wing 0.6% $40.4m $850,000
50 Marc Staal Florida Panthers Defenseman 0.6% $56.9m $850,000
51 Martin Hanzal Dallas Stars Center 0.6% $34.9m $850,000
52 Mike Green Detroit Red Wings Defenseman 0.6% $68.0m $850,000
53 Nicklas Backstrom Washington Capitals Center 0.6% $115.5m $850,000
54 Trevor Lewis Calgary Flames Center 0.6% $19.3m $850,000
55 Tuukka Rask Boston Bruins Goaltender 0.6% $63.1m $850,000
56 Valtteri Filppula Detroit Red Wings Center 0.6% $49.5m $850,000
57 Joe Pavelski Dallas Stars Center 0.6% $75.7m $810,000
58 David Backes Anaheim Ducks Center 0.6% $60.0m $802,500
59 Alex Goligoski Minnesota Wild Defenseman 0.6% $60.2m $795,300
60 David Krejci Boston Bruins Center 0.6% $71.6m $775,000
61 Marc-Edouard Vlasic San Jose Sharks Defenseman 0.5% $90.3m $735,000
62 Blake Comeau Dallas Stars Left Wing 0.5% $23.7m $700,000
63 Paul Stastny Carolina Hurricanes Center 0.5% $84.9m $685,000
64 Darren Helm Colorado Avalanche Center 0.5% $33.6m $663,500
65 Loui Eriksson Arizona Coyotes Right Wing 0.5% $64.7m $650,000
66 Brandon Dubinsky Columbus Blue Jackets Center 0.5% $57.5m $645,000
67 Clarke MacArthur Ottawa Senators Left Wing 0.5% $38.5m $625,000
68 Ryan Getzlaf Anaheim Ducks Center 0.5% $95.5m $623,200
69 Niklas Hjalmarsson Arizona Coyotes Defenseman 0.5% $45.2m $620,000
70 Keith Yandle Philadelphia Flyers Defenseman 0.4% $64.8m $610,000
71 Andy Greene New York Islanders Defenseman 0.4% $41.7m $600,000
72 James Neal St Louis Blues Left Wing 0.4% $61.3m $585,000
73 Matt Niskanen Washington Capitals Defenseman 0.4% $49.0m $585,000
74 Milan Lucic Calgary Flames Left Wing 0.4% $71.8m $585,000
75 Nick Foligno Boston Bruins Left Wing 0.4% $52.6m $585,000
76 Ryan Callahan Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing 0.4% $57.3m $575,000
77 Anton Stralman Boston Bruins Defenseman 0.4% $48.1m $565,000
78 Anton Khudobin Dallas Stars Goaltender 0.4% $25.7m $560,000
79 Jonathan Quick Los Angeles Kings Goaltender 0.4% $64.4m $560,000
80 Kris Letang Pittsburgh Penguins Defenseman 0.4% $105.5m $560,000
81 Alexander Edler Los Angeles Kings Defenseman 0.4% $59.6m $550,000
82 Kris Russell Edmonton Oilers Defenseman 0.4% $32.1m $550,000
83 Patric Hornqvist Florida Panthers Right Wing 0.4% $57.4m $535,000
84 Cal Clutterbuck New York Islanders Right Wing 0.4% $37.2m $532,500
85 Craig Anderson Buffalo Sabres Goaltender 0.4% $41.2m $525,000
86 Pekka Rinne Nashville Predators Goaltender 0.4% $65.2m $520,000
87 Corey Perry Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing 0.4% $92.8m $494,000
88 Nate Thompson Philadelphia Flyers Center 0.4% $17.0m $490,000
89 Andrej Sekera Dallas Stars Defenseman 0.3% $50.4m $475,000
90 Johnny Boychuk Buffalo Sabres Defenseman 0.3% $55.0m $475,000
91 Shea Weber Montreal Canadiens Defenseman 0.3% $132.8m $475,000
92 Semyon Varlamov New York Islanders Goaltender 0.1% $59.4m $147,500
93 Jakub Voracek Columbus Blue Jackets Right Wing 0.1% $86.1m $87,500
94 Kyle Turris Edmonton Oilers Center 0.1% $52.7m $87,500
95 Logan Couture San Jose Sharks Center 0.1% $101.2m $87,500
96 Thomas Hickey New York Islanders Defenseman 0.1% $20.6m $87,500
97 Artem Anisimov Ottawa Senators Center 0.1% $38.1m $85,000
98 Brad Marchand Boston Bruins Left Wing 0.1% $72.4m $85,000
99 Claude Giroux Ottawa Senators Center 0.1% $98.0m $85,000
100 Jonathan Bernier New Jersey Devils Goaltender 0.1% $36.9m $85,000
101 Kyle Okposo Buffalo Sabres Right Wing 0.1% $57.7m $85,000
102 Michael Grabner Arizona Coyotes Right Wing 0.1% $30.0m $85,000
103 Patrick Maroon Tampa Bay Lightning Left Wing 0.0% $17.1m $52,500
104 Jaroslav Halak New York Rangers Goaltender 0.0% $46.5m $25,000

The career column is everything the same man's contracts are worth across every season he has been paid, which is the ranking the all-time list is built on.

2007-08 against every other season

What the league paid out, year by year

20 seasons

Frequently asked questions

Who was the highest paid NHL player in 2007-08?

Brad Richards, $7,800,000 at the Detroit Red Wings. That is 5.7% of everything the league paid that season.

How much did NHL players earn in total in 2007-08?

$136,865,700 across 104 players, an average of $1,316,016 each.

How many NHL players earned $1 million in 2007-08?

22 of the 104 paid that season.

How does 2007-08 compare with the rest?

2007-08 is the first season on this list. $136,865,700 across 104 players.

What is in a NHL salary figure?

Everything the contract pays in that season: basic salary, the share of a signing bonus the deal books to the year, incentives and a trade bonus where one applies. It is not a cap hit and it is not a net figure after tax or escrow.

The seasons either side

The same table, 16 other years

2008-09 NHL salaries · 2009-10 NHL salaries · 2010-11 NHL salaries · 2011-12 NHL salaries · 2012-13 NHL salaries · 2013-14 NHL salaries · 2014-15 NHL salaries · 2015-16 NHL salaries · 2019-20 NHL salaries · 2020-21 NHL salaries · 2021-22 NHL salaries · 2022-23 NHL salaries · 2023-24 NHL salaries · 2024-25 NHL salaries · 2025-26 NHL salaries · 2026-27 NHL salaries · NHL career earnings

Where to next

The seasons, the franchises and the rest of the league

Every season

Every franchise

Every position

The money lists