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NHL · 2026-27 SEASON

2026-27 NHL salaries

$572,486,047 paid to 96 players, Nathan MacKinnon the biggest at $12,150,000.

Every man the league paid that season, ranked by what the contract paid him for it. Ten of them took 17.6% of the total.

PAID OUT $572.5m
BIGGEST SALARY $12.2m
PLAYERS PAID 96
AVERAGE $6.0m
OVER $1M 92

The 2026-27 season at a glance

What the league paid, and how it split

2026-27

Paid out
$572,486,047
Players paid
96
Average
$5,963,396
Basic salary
76.8%
Signing bonus
23.2%
Top ten hold
17.6%

2025-26 paid $890,002,937 to 143 players, so 2026-27 is down 35.7% on the season before it.

The fifteen biggest 2026-27 salaries

One season, not a career

Top ten hold 17.6%

Nathan MacKinnon $12m Drew Doughty $11m Jonathan Huberdeau $11m Aleksander Barkov $10m Charles Mcavoy $10m Thomas Chabot $10m Brayden Point $9.7m Johnny Gaudreau $9.7m Miro Heiskanen $9.0m Alex Pietrangelo $8.8m Brady Tkachuk $8.5m Clayton Keller $8.5m Kevin Fiala $8.5m Mika Zibanejad $8.5m Nico Hischier $8.5m

Every NHL salary in 2026-27

Ranked by what the season paid

96 players

# Player Franchise Position Share Career 2026-27 salary
01 Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche Center 2.1% $153.6m $12,150,000$12.2m
02 Drew Doughty Los Angeles Kings Defenseman 1.9% $143.9m $11,000,000$11.0m
03 Jonathan Huberdeau Calgary Flames Left Wing 1.8% $129.0m $10,500,000$10.5m
04 Aleksander Barkov Florida Panthers Center 1.7% $118.4m $10,000,000$10.0m
05 Charles Mcavoy Boston Bruins Defenseman 1.7% $93.4m $10,000,000$10.0m
06 Thomas Chabot Ottawa Senators Defenseman 1.7% $67.3m $10,000,000$10.0m
07 Brayden Point Tampa Bay Lightning Center 1.7% $98.2m $9,750,000$9.7m
08 Johnny Gaudreau Columbus Blue Jackets Left Wing 1.7% $112.4m $9,750,000$9.7m
09 Miro Heiskanen Dallas Stars Defenseman 1.6% $70.3m $9,000,000$9.0m
10 Alex Pietrangelo Vegas Golden Knights Defenseman 1.5% $109.6m $8,800,000$8.8m
11 Brady Tkachuk Ottawa Senators Left Wing 1.5% $60.3m $8,500,000$8.5m
12 Clayton Keller Arizona Coyotes Center 1.5% $60.8m $8,500,000$8.5m
13 Kevin Fiala Los Angeles Kings Left Wing 1.5% $68.5m $8,500,000$8.5m
14 Mika Zibanejad New York Rangers Center 1.5% $102.7m $8,500,000$8.5m
15 Nico Hischier New Jersey Devils Center 1.5% $53.5m $8,500,000$8.5m
16 Dougie Hamilton New Jersey Devils Defenseman 1.5% $101.1m $8,400,000$8.4m
17 Quinn Hughes Vancouver Canucks Defenseman 1.4% $49.2m $8,250,000$8.2m
18 Robert Thomas St Louis Blues Center 1.4% $73.1m $8,250,000$8.2m
19 Andrei Vasilevski Tampa Bay Lightning Goaltender 1.4% $88.8m $8,000,000$8.0m
20 Darnell Nurse Edmonton Oilers Defenseman 1.4% $92.5m $8,000,000$8.0m
21 Jack Hughes New Jersey Devils Center 1.4% $66.8m $8,000,000$8.0m
22 Seth Jones Chicago Blackhawks Defenseman 1.4% $111.4m $8,000,000$8.0m
23 Tomas Hertl San Jose Sharks Center 1.4% $95.7m $8,000,000$8.0m
24 Sean Couturier Philadelphia Flyers Center 1.4% $94.0m $7,750,000$7.7m
25 Adam Fox New York Rangers Defenseman 1.3% $69.3m $7,500,000$7.5m
26 Erik Karlsson San Jose Sharks Defenseman 1.3% $138.9m $7,500,000$7.5m
27 Filip Forsberg Nashville Predators Center 1.3% $106.9m $7,500,000$7.5m
28 Zachary Werenski Columbus Blue Jackets Defenseman 1.3% $75.3m $7,250,000$7.2m
29 Roman Josi Nashville Predators Defenseman 1.3% $102.8m $7,222,000$7.2m
30 Tage Thompson Buffalo Sabres Center 1.2% $56.0m $7,142,857$7.1m
31 Andrei Svechnikov Carolina Hurricanes Right Wing 1.2% $64.8m $7,000,000$7.0m
32 Nazem Kadri Calgary Flames Center 1.2% $88.1m $7,000,000$7.0m
33 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay Lightning Right Wing 1.2% $92.5m $7,000,000$7.0m
34 Tyler Seguin Dallas Stars Center 1.2% $116.0m $6,750,000$6.8m
35 Cale Makar Colorado Avalanche Defenseman 1.2% $55.8m $6,700,000$6.7m
36 Drake Batherson Ottawa Senators Center 1.1% $30.8m $6,550,000$6.5m
37 John Gibson Anaheim Ducks Goaltender 1.1% $66.7m $6,400,000$6.4m
38 Colton Parayko St Louis Blues Defenseman 1.1% $81.3m $6,350,000$6.3m
39 Hampus Lindholm Boston Bruins Defenseman 1.1% $87.0m $6,350,000$6.3m
40 Alexander Killorn Anaheim Ducks Center 1.1% $69.0m $6,250,000$6.3m
41 MacKenzie Weegar Calgary Flames Defenseman 1.1% $63.7m $6,250,000$6.3m
42 Nick Suzuki Montreal Canadiens Center 1.1% $65.6m $6,250,000$6.3m
43 Ryan Pulock New York Islanders Defenseman 1.1% $63.6m $6,150,000$6.2m
44 Jared Spurgeon Minnesota Wild Defenseman 1.1% $83.4m $6,025,000$6.0m
45 Gabriel Landeskog Colorado Avalanche Left Wing 1.0% $97.5m $6,000,000$6.0m
46 Joel Eriksson Ek Minnesota Wild Center 1.0% $47.7m $6,000,000$6.0m
47 Joel Farabee Philadelphia Flyers Left Wing 1.0% $32.7m $6,000,000$6.0m
48 Logan Couture San Jose Sharks Center 1.0% $101.2m $6,000,000$6.0m
49 Mark Stone Vegas Golden Knights Right Wing 1.0% $95.2m $6,000,000$6.0m
50 Morgan Rielly Toronto Maple Leafs Defenseman 1.0% $92.9m $6,000,000$6.0m
51 Torey Krug St Louis Blues Defenseman 1.0% $74.0m $6,000,000$6.0m
52 Vincent Trocheck New York Rangers Center 1.0% $68.5m $6,000,000$6.0m
53 Valeri Nichushkin Colorado Avalanche Right Wing 1.0% $61.2m $5,800,000$5.8m
54 Adam Pelech New York Islanders Defenseman 1.0% $53.9m $5,750,000$5.8m
55 William Karlsson Vegas Golden Knights Center 1.0% $55.7m $5,600,000$5.6m
56 Jonas Brodin Minnesota Wild Defenseman 1.0% $70.1m $5,500,000$5.5m
57 Oliver Ekman-Larsson Vancouver Canucks Defenseman 0.9% $101.4m $5,250,000$5.3m
58 Zach Hyman Edmonton Oilers Center 0.9% $48.4m $5,175,000$5.2m
59 Bryan Rust Pittsburgh Penguins Right Wing 0.9% $46.7m $5,125,000$5.1m
60 Chris Kreider New York Rangers Left Wing 0.9% $71.1m $5,000,000$5.0m
61 Jeff Skinner Buffalo Sabres Left Wing 0.9% $109.1m $5,000,000$5.0m
62 Ryan Strome Anaheim Ducks Center 0.9% $53.2m $5,000,000$5.0m
63 Samuel Girard Colorado Avalanche Defenseman 0.9% $37.1m $5,000,000$5.0m
64 Blake Coleman Calgary Flames Center 0.9% $35.3m $4,900,000$4.9m
65 Jesperi Kotkaniemi Carolina Hurricanes Center 0.8% $47.4m $4,820,000$4.8m
66 Joshua Morrissey Winnipeg Jets Defenseman 0.8% $58.9m $4,800,000$4.8m
67 Kris Letang Pittsburgh Penguins Defenseman 0.8% $105.5m $4,800,000$4.8m
68 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Edmonton Oilers Center 0.8% $85.8m $4,750,000$4.8m
69 Jordan Binnington St Louis Blues Goaltender 0.8% $45.8m $4,500,000$4.5m
70 Justin Faulk St Louis Blues Defenseman 0.8% $77.0m $4,500,000$4.5m
71 Phillip Grubauer Seattle Kraken Goaltender 0.8% $47.7m $4,500,000$4.5m
72 Ryan Ellis Philadelphia Flyers Defenseman 0.8% $64.9m $4,500,000$4.5m
73 John Marino Pittsburgh Penguins Defenseman 0.8% $28.3m $4,450,000$4.5m
74 Brayden Schenn St Louis Blues Center 0.8% $79.9m $4,300,000$4.3m
75 Mattias Samuelsson Buffalo Sabres Defenseman 0.7% $31.7m $4,285,714$4.3m
76 Jared McCann Seattle Kraken Left Wing 0.7% $36.0m $4,250,000$4.3m
77 Phillip Danault Los Angeles Kings Center 0.7% $44.7m $4,250,000$4.3m
78 Elvis Merzlikins Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltender 0.7% $36.0m $4,225,000$4.2m
79 Artturi Lehkonen Colorado Avalanche Left Wing 0.7% $32.4m $4,000,000$4.0m
80 Brendan Gallagher Montreal Canadiens Right Wing 0.7% $64.0m $4,000,000$4.0m
81 Rasmus Ristolainen Philadelphia Flyers Defenseman 0.7% $60.2m $4,000,000$4.0m
82 Jack Campbell Edmonton Oilers Goaltender 0.7% $31.3m $3,900,000$3.9m
83 Darcy Kuemper Washington Capitals Goaltender 0.7% $44.5m $3,750,000$3.8m
84 Pavel Zacha Boston Bruins Center 0.7% $32.0m $3,750,000$3.8m
85 Josh Anderson Montreal Canadiens Right Wing 0.6% $44.8m $3,500,000$3.5m
86 Brandon Carlo Boston Bruins Defenseman 0.6% $32.0m $3,250,000$3.3m
87 Barclay Goodrow New York Rangers Left Wing 0.4% $26.3m $2,500,000$2.5m
88 Casey Cizikas New York Islanders Center 0.4% $35.9m $2,500,000$2.5m
89 Nicholas Paul Tampa Bay Lightning Center 0.4% $27.2m $2,500,000$2.5m
90 Zach Whitecloud Vegas Golden Knights Defenseman 0.4% $18.9m $2,500,000$2.5m
91 Kyle Turris Edmonton Oilers Center 0.3% $52.7m $2,000,000$2.0m
92 Martin Jones Seattle Kraken Goaltender 0.3% $43.6m $1,666,667$1.7m
93 Colin White Florida Panthers Center 0.2% $21.3m $875,000
94 Christian Ehrhoff Chicago Blackhawks Defenseman 0.1% $52.8m $857,143
95 Ryan Suter Dallas Stars Defenseman 0.1% $126.1m $833,333
96 Zach Parise New York Islanders Left Wing 0.1% $115.2m $833,333

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.

2026-27 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 2026-27?

Nathan MacKinnon, $12,150,000 at the Colorado Avalanche. That is 2.1% of everything the league paid that season.

How much did NHL players earn in total in 2026-27?

$572,486,047 across 96 players, an average of $5,963,396 each.

How many NHL players earned $1 million in 2026-27?

92 of the 96 paid that season.

How does 2026-27 compare with 2025-26?

2025-26 paid $890,002,937 across 143 players. 2026-27 is down 35.7% on it.

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

2007-08 NHL salaries · 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 · 2018-19 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 · 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