Highest-paid NHL players: Leon Draisaitl leads but will be passed

The NHL will enter the 2025-26 season with a new highest-paid player for the third season in a row.

That honor goes to Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, who signed an eight-year, $112 million extension ($14 million cap hit) in 2024.

That deal takes effect this season, pushing him past last year’s leader, Toronto’s Auston Matthews ($13.25 million). Matthews had passed Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million, starting in 2023-24), who had topped Edmonton’s Connor McDavid ($12.5 million since 2018-19).

Draisaitl’s reign will last only a year. The salary cap is going up and McDavid, Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and Vegas’ Jack Eichel are among the high-profile 2026 unrestricted free agents. Kaprizov reportedly turned down a record-setting eight-year offer.

Here’s a look at the highest-paid players for the 2025-26 season (figures from puckpedia.com):

Highest-paid NHL players by cap hit

Top 50 plus ties

1. C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $14,000,000
2. C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $13,250,000
3. C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,600,000
4. C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $12,500,000
5. RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $12,000,000
6. RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $12,000,000
7. LW Artemi Panarin, Rangers, $11,642,857
8. C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,600,000
9. D Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
10. C William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $11,500,000
11. G Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,500,000
12. RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000
13. D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
14. D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
15. D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
16. LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
17. C Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, $10,000,000
18. C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $10,000,000
19. G Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, $10,000,000
20. C Tyler Seguin, Stars, $9,850,000
21. C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $9,750,000
22. D Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,333
23. LW Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, $9,500,000
24. RW Mark Stone, Golden Knights, $9,500,000
25. RW Nikita Kucherov, Lightning, $9,500,000
26. D Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
27. C Brayden Point, Lightning, $9,500,000
28. LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $9,500,000
29. D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
30. D Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
31. D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
32. G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000
33. D Darnell Nurse, Oilers, $9,250,000
34. C Mathew Barzal, Islanders, $9,150,000
35. D Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
36. D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
37. LW Jake Guentzel, Lightning, $9,000,000
38. LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $9,000,000
39. D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
40. D Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
41. D Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, $8,800,000 (currently injured)
42. RW Timo Meier, Devils, $8,800,000
43. RW Travis Konecny, Flyers, $8,750,000
44. C Sidney Crosby, Penguins, $8,700,000
45. C Dylan Larkin, Red Wings, $8,700,000
46. LW Patrik Laine, Canadiens, $8,700,000
47. C Sam Reinhart, Panthers, $8,625,000
48. D Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000
49. D Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000
50. C Mika Zibanejad, Rangers, $8,500,000
51. C Mark Scheifele, Jets, $8,500,000
52. C Filip Forsberg, Predators, $8,500,000
53. C Bo Horvat, Islanders, $8,500,000
54. LW Nikolaj Ehlers, Hurricanes, $8,500,000
55. D Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000
56. C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals, $8,500,000
57. D Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000
58. G Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000

Highest-paid NHL players by salary

Top 30 plus ties

1. C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $16,500,000
2. C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $16,050,000
3. G Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $15,825,000
4. C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $15,200,000
5. RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $15,000,000
6. RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $15,000,000
7. C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $14,500,000
8. C William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $13,500,000
9. RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $12,500,000
10. D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $12,000,000
11. D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $12,000,000
12. C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $12,000,000
13. C Brayden Point, Lightning, $12,000,000
14. D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $12,000,000
15. C Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, $11,600,000
16. D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $11,550,000
17. D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $11,500,000
18. C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals, $11,350,000
19. LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $11,250,000
20. D Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $11,050,000
21. D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
22. D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $11,000,000
23. RW Travis Konecny, Flyers, $11,000,000
24. D Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $11,000,000
25. C Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes, $10,950,000
26. RW Timo Meier, Devils, $10,750,000
27. LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
28. D Seth Jones, Panthers, $10,500,000
29. L Brady Tkachuk, Senators, $10,500,000
30. C Jordan Kyrou, Blues, $10,500,000
31. C Robert Thomas, Blues, $10,500,000

Highest-paid NHL defensemen by cap hit

1. Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
2. Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
3. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
4. Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
5. Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,333
6. Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
7. Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
8. Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
9. Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
10. Darnell Nurse, Oilers, $9,250,000
11. Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
12. Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
13. Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
14. Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
15. Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, $8,800,000 (currently injured)
16. Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000
17. Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000
18. Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000
19. Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000
20. Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $8,450,000
21. Owen Power, Sabres, $8,350,000
22. Jake Sanderson, Senators, $8,050,000
23. John Carlson, Capitals, $8,000,000
24. Victor Hedman, Lightning, $8,000,000
25. Jacob Trouba, Ducks, $8,000,000
26. Thomas Chabot, Senators, $8,000,000
27. Quinn Hughes, Canucks, $7,850,000
28. Jared Spurgeon, Wild, $7,575,000
29. Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs, $7,500,000
30. K’Andre Miller, Hurricanes, $7,500,000

Highest-paid NHL goaltenders by cap hit

1. Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,500,000
2. Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, $10,000,000
3. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000
4. Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000
5. Jeremy Swayman, Bruins, $8,250,000
6. Jake Oettinger, Stars, $8,250,000
7. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders, $8,250,000
8. Linus Ullmark, Senators, $8,250,000
9. Juuse Saros, Predators, $7,740,000
10. Lukas Dostal, Ducks, $6,500,000
11. John Gibson, Red Wings, $6,400,000
12. Adin Hill, Golden Knights, $6,250,000
13. Jacob Markstrom, Devils, $6,000,000
14. Jordan Binnington, Blues, $6,000,000
15. Philipp Grubauer, Kraken, $5,900,000
16. Logan Thompson, Capitals, $5,850,000
17. Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets, $5,400,000
18. Tristan Jarry, Penguins, $5,375,000
19. MacKenzie Blackwood, Avalanche, $5,250,000
20. Darcy Kuemper, Kings, $5,250,000
21. Joey Daccord, Kraken, $5,000,000
22. Thatcher Demko, Canucks, $5,000,000
23. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres, $4,750,000
24. Karel Vejmelka, Mammoth, $4,750,000
25. Kevin Lankinen, Canucks, $4,500,000
26. Spencer Knight, Blackhawks, $4,500,000
27. Petr Mrazek, Ducks, $4,250,000
28. Joonas Korpisalo, Bruins, $4,000,000
29. Filip Gustavsson, Wild, $3,750,000
30. Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs, $3,666,667

Who could pass Leon Draisaitl as top-paid player?

The 2026 free-agent class is star-studded, and includes Connor McDavid (current $12.5 million cap hit), Jack Eichel ($10 million) and Kirill Kaprizov ($9 million).

All are eligible to sign extensions before they become unrestricted free agents on July 1.

The reported offer to Kaprizov was eight years with an average annual value of $16 million. That would give him the top cap hit, and the $128 million total would set a record for largest NHL contract, passing the 13-year, $124 million contract that Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin signed in 2008.

In the end, McDavid should re-establish himself as the NHL’s top-paid player. He is a three-time MVP who has taken his team to the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons.