NHL salaries keep going up, and Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar became the third player to set a record this offseason.
Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov was going to enter this season with a record $17 million cap hit. But he was passed by Anaheim forward Leo Carlsson, who averages $18 million in the Philadelphia Flyers' five-year, $90 million offer sheet that was matched by the Ducks.
The San Jose Sharks topped that with a five-year, $94 million extension ($18.8 million average) for Macklin Celebrini, and Makar topped that again with his eight-year, $163.2 million extension ($20.4 million average) signed on Aug. 28. He's the first NHL player with a $20 million cap hit and came in just short of the $20.8 million maximum.
Both of
their deals kick in during the 2027-28 season.
The NHL salary cap has been spiking since the flat cap COVID era, allowing for the rapid rise in individual contracts. The offer sheet to 21-year-old Carlsson also helped fuel the increase. The top average in 2022-23 had been $12.5 million by Edmonton's Connor McDavid, who now has been passed by seven different players
Here's a look at the highest-paid NHL players by cap hit, salary and position (figures from puckpedia.com):
Highest-paid NHL players in 2026-27 by cap hit
Note: Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar will average $20.4 million and Sharks center Macklin Celebrini will average $18.8 million, starting in 2027-28.
▶ Top 50 plus ties
- C Leo Carlsson, Ducks, $18,000,000
- LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $17,000,000
- C Connor Bedard, Blackhawks, $15,000,000
- C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $14,000,000
- C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $13,500,000
- C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $13,250,000
- C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,604,000
- C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $12,500,000
- LW Jason Robertson, Stars, $12,000,000
- RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $12,000,000
- RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $12,000,000
- LW Kyle Connor, Jets, $12,000000
- C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,600,000
- C/RW William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $11,500,000
- C Martin Necas, Avalanche, $11,500,000
- D Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
- RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
- D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
- LW Artemi Panarin, Kings, $11,000,000
- LW Pavel Dorofeyev, Rangers, $11,000,000
- C Adrian Kempe, Kings, $10,625,000
- D Thomas Harley, Stars, $10,587,000
- D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
- RW Alex Tuch, Capitals, $10,500,000
- LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
- C Logan Cooley, Mammoth, $10,000,000
- C Tyler Seguin, Stars, $9,850,0000
- C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $9,750,000
- D Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,334
- D Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
- D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
- RW Nikita Kucherov, Lightning, $9,500,000
- C Brayden Point, Lightning, $9,500,000
- D Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
- RW Mark Stone, Golden Knights, $9,500,000
- D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
- LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $9,500,000
- D Darnell Nurse, Sharks, $9,250,000
- C Mathew Barzal, Islanders, $9,150,000
- C Trevor Zegras, Flyers, $9,125,000
- D Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
- LW Jake Guentzel, Lightning, $9,000,000
- D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
- D Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
- D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
- D Luke Hughes, Devils, $9,000,000
- D Jackson LaCombe, Ducks, $9,000,000
- D Lane Hutson, Canadiens, $8,850,000
- RW Timo Meier, Devils, $8,800,000
Highest-paid players in 2026-27 by salary
▶ Top 30, plus ties
- C Leo Carlsson, Ducks, $20,800,000
- LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $19,100,000
- C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $17,700,000
- C Connor Bedard, Blackhawks, $17,000,000
- C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $16,500,000
- RW Alex Tuch, Capitals, $15,700,000
- LW Kyle Connor, Jets, $15,000,000
- C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $14,250,000
- C Martin Necas, Avalanche, $14,000,000
- RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $14,000,000
- LW Pavel Dorofeyev, Rangers, $14,000,000
- C Logan Cooley, Mammoth, $13,000,000
- D Thomas Harley, Stars, $13,000,000
- C/RW William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $12,500,000
- C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,150,000
- D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $12,000,000
- D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $12,000,000
- C Adrian Kempe, Kings, $12,000,000
- LW Jason Robertson, Stars, $12,000,000
- LW Artemi Panarin, Kings, $12,000,000
- D Lane Hutson, Canadiens, $12,000,000
- RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000
- RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $11,250,000
- C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $11,080,000
- D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
- D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
- D Darren Raddysh, Maple Leafs, $11,000,000
- C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,000,000
- D Jacob Trouba, Sharks, $11,000,000
- D Rasmus Andersson, Golden Knights, $10,500,000
- LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
- C Trevor Zegras, Flyers, $10,500,000
Highest-paid defensemen in 2026-27 by cap hit
Note: Makar will average $20.4 million and Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram will have a $12.5 million cap hit, starting in 2027-28.
▶ Top 30 plus ties
- Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
- Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
- Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
- Thomas Harley, Stars, $10,587,000
- Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
- Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,334
- Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
- Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
- Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
- Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
- Darnell Nurse, Sharks, $9,250,000
- Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
- Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
- Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
- Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
- Jackson LaCombe, Ducks, $9,000,000
- Luke Hughes, Devils, $9,000,000
- Lane Hutson, Canadiens, $8,850,000
- Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000
- John Carlson, Lightning, $8,500,000
- Darren Raddysh, Maple Leafs, $8,500,000
- Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000
- Rasmus Andersson, Golden Knights, $8,500,000
- Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000
- Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000
- Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $8,450,000
- Owen Power, Sabres, $8,350,000
- Jacob Trouba, Sharks, $8,250,000
- Jake Sanderson, Senators, $8,050,000
- Victor Hedman, Lightning, $8,000,000
- Thomas Chabot, Senators, $8,000,000
- Philip Broberg, Blues, $8,000,000
Highest-paid goaltenders in 2026-27 by cap hit
▶ Top 30
- Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,567,857
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000
- Thatcher Demko, Canucks, $8,500,000
- Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000
- Jake Oettinger, Stars, $8,250,000
- Jeremy Swayman, Bruins, $8,250,000
- Linus Ullmark, Senators, $8,250,000
- Ilya Sorokin, Islanders, $8,250,000
- Juuse Saros, Predators, $7,740,000
- Dustin Wolf, Flames, $7,500,000
- Sergei Bobrovsky, Maple Leafs, $7,000,000
- Filip Gustavsson, Wild, $6,800,000
- Lukas Dostal, Ducks, $6,500,000
- John Gibson, Red Wings, $6,400,000
- Adin Hill, Golden Knights, $6,250,000
- Jordan Binnington, Blues, $6,000,000
- Jacob Markstrom, Panthers, $6,000,000
- Philipp Grubauer, Kraken, $5,900,000
- Logan Thompson, Capitals, $5,850,000
- Spencer Knight, Blackhawks, $5,833,333
- Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets, $5,400,000
- Tristan Jarry, Oilers, $5,375,000
- MacKenzie Blackwood, Avalanche, $5,250,000
- Darcy Kuemper, Kings, $5,250,000
- Jet Greaves, Blue Jackets, $5,000,000
- Joey Daccord, Kraken, $5,000,000
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres, $4,750,000
- Karel Vejmelka, Mammoth, $4,750,000
- Kevin Lankinen, Canucks, $4,500,000
- Joonas Korpisalo, Rangers, $4,000,000
What is the NHL salary cap for 2026-27 and 2027-28?
2026-27
- Upper limit: $104 million
- Lower limit: $76.9 million
2027-28
- Upper limit: $113.5 million
- Lower limit: $83.9 million
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who are the NHL's highest-paid players in 2026-27? See full breakdown
