Who is the Highest Paid Player in NHL? [The Year 2022-23]
There is a lot of interest among hockey fans about how much players earn, especially the highest paid players. In every hockey fan’s mind, the question arises: who is the highest paid player in the NHL?
The salaries of players are getting increased day by day. NHL also tries its best to follow the trend. According to the most recent NHL salary ranking provided by NHL, Nathan MacKinnon is one of the highest paid player in the NHL, while before him, Connor McDavid was in this category.
They try their best to pay their players well, but they are not getting a position as other teams due to their revenue. Let’s look at the salaries of NHL players and other league players.
Table of Contents
What Makes NHL Pay their Players High?
As the player demand is increasing daily and to improve the team’s performance, NHL has to give their payers good salaries to get experienced and good players.
How is the Salary Cap Calculated?
Before the salary cap calculation, let me explain what the salary cap is. The leagues give their players a limited amount of money as their salary from their revenue, known as the salary cap.
The salary cap is calculated by dividing the total salary plus the bonus by the contract length. Players get 20% of the salary cap, as the NHL salary cap is $82.5 million.
How Does the Highest Paid Player Compare to the Average Paid Player?
The highest paid players get $12.6 million; if the highest paid player receives this amount, then how much average player will get? The average player gets $3.5 million per year.
How Does the Highest Compare to the Lowest?
In NHL, the highest salary is $12.6 million, while the lowest salary of the player is $775,000 for the 2022-23 season. There is a big difference between the highest and lowest paid salary. Most NHL players come in the category of average and lowest paid.
How Does this Compare to other Sports?
The salaries of NHL players are much less than those of other sports, such as the NFL, MLB, and NBA. The national hockey league gets less revenue from different sources, such as television broadcasting, ticket sale, and sponsorship, while all other companies have well income; therefore, they pay their players handsome salaries.
High, Low, and Average Salaries of Players in Leagues
While comparing the NHL salaries with other sports here we breakdown the salaries of various sports in the following table:
| League | Low | Average | High | Highest Paid Player |
| NHL | $775,000 | $3.5 million | $12.6 million | Nathan MacKinnon |
| NBA | $1,836,090 | $10.7 million | $93.1 million | Stephen Curry |
| NFL | $705,000 | $2.7 million | $50.272 million | Aaron Rodgers |
| MLB | $700,000 | $4.41 million | $43.3 million | Max Scherzer |
List of Top 10 Highest Paid Players in NHL in the Year 2022-23
Here is the list of the top 10 highest paid players in the year 2022-23.
| Rank | Player Name | Team | AAV (in Millions) |
| 1 | Nathan MacKinnon | Avalanche | $12.6 million |
| 2 | Connor McDavid | Oilers | $12.5 million |
| 3 | Artemi Panarin | Rangers | $11.642 million |
| 4 | Auston Matthews | Maple Leafs | $11.64 million |
| 5 | Erik Karlsson | Sharks | $11.5 million |
| 6 | Leon Draisaitl | Oilers | $11.33 million |
| 7(t) | John Tavares | Maple Leafs | $11 million |
| 7(t) | Drew Doughty | Kings | $11 million |
| 9 | Mitchell Marner | Maple Leafs | $10.9 million |
| 10 | Carey Price | Canadiens | $10.5 million |
Connor McDavid Highest Paid Player before 2022
Before the list of 2022, Connor was the highest paid player in NHL. He played well in his period as a player and got many awards. He was in demand and always earned the highest salary of all the other players. He becomes the youngest caption in history as he becomes caption after his first season. His average salary is $12.6 million.
Nathan MacKinnon Highest Paid Player of 2022-23
MacKinnon is the highest paid player in 2022-23; the team announced this last month. He signs eight years contract just at 27 for $100.8 million. It means that his average salary will be $12.6 million, which is more than the salary of Connor McDavid. Why is he paid more? Because of his performance, the love he gains from his fans, and his hard work, he is paid the highest.
How can the NHL Afford its Players to be Paid High?
If you are wondering about this, the answer is quite simple, every team’s revenue comes from different sources. NHL also has sources from which they earn less than other leagues, but they get a lot of their revenue depending on ticket sales. Their one ticket cost $61, which is higher than the cost of other team tickets.
Other than their tickets sale here, sponsorship is also strong most companies are willing to sponsor them to reach their fans. They also get $200 million per year from television broadcasting. So we get that NHL gets well from their revenue; therefore, they are willing to pay their players high.
Frequently Asked Question
Who is the Highest Paid Player in NHL?
In NHL, Nathan MacKinnon is the highest paid player nowadays.
What Makes a Player be Paid High?
The performance of a player and his experience makes a player to be paid highly by the team.
Final Verdict on Who is the Highest Paid Player in NHL?
As we know, NHL players are paid less than players in other leagues. Some player’s performance is unique, making them eligible to demand high from their team Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon are examples of such players who work hard to get this position in their league. So from this article, you learn about the highest paid player in NHL.
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