The NHL once again has a new highest-paid player this season.
And once again, his reign will be short-lived.
The top-paid player for 2025-26 is Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, who will average $14 million in the eight-year, $112 million contract extension he signed in 2024.
But he will be passed next season by Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov, whose eight-year, $136 million extension kicks in during 2026-27. The total amount and $17 million cap hit are NHL records.
The highest-paid player title has changed for three seasons in a row. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million) topped Edmonton’s Connor McDavid ($12.5 million) in 2023-24. Toronto’s Auston Matthews ($13.25 million) passed MacKinnon last season, and Draisaitl topped Matthews.
Kaprizov could remain at top for a while. McDavid was expected to regain the title, but he signed a two-year extension with a team-friendly $12.5 million cap hit, his current average.
Here’s a look at the highest-paid players for the 2025-26 season (figures are from puckpedia.com):
Highest-paid NHL players by cap hit
Top 50 plus ties
C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $14,000,000
C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $13,250,000
C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,600,000
C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $12,500,000
RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $12,000,000
RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $12,000,000
LW Artemi Panarin, Rangers, $11,642,857
C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,600,000
D Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
C William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $11,500,000
G Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,500,000
RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000
D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
C Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, $10,000,000 (currently injured)
C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $10,000,000
G Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, $10,000,000
C Tyler Seguin, Stars, $9,850,000
C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $9,750,000
D Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,333
LW Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, $9,500,000
RW Mark Stone, Golden Knights, $9,500,000
RW Nikita Kucherov, Lightning, $9,500,000
D Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
C Brayden Point, Lightning, $9,500,000
LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $9,500,000
D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
D Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000
D Darnell Nurse, Oilers, $9,250,000
C Mathew Barzal, Islanders, $9,150,000
D Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
LW Jake Guentzel, Lightning, $9,000,000
LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $9,000,000
D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
D Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
D Luke Hughes, Devils, $9,000,000
D Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, $8,800,000 (currently injured)
RW Timo Meier, Devils, $8,800,000
RW Travis Konecny, Flyers, $8,750,000
C Sidney Crosby, Penguins, $8,700,000
C Dylan Larkin, Red Wings, $8,700,000
LW Patrik Laine, Canadiens, $8,700,000
C Sam Reinhart, Panthers, $8,625,000
D Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000
D Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000
C Mika Zibanejad, Rangers, $8,500,000
C Mark Scheifele, Jets, $8,500,000
C Filip Forsberg, Predators, $8,500,000
C Bo Horvat, Islanders, $8,500,000
LW Nikolaj Ehlers, Hurricanes, $8,500,000
D Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000
C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals, $8,500,000
D Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000
G Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000
Highest-paid NHL players by salary
Top 30 plus ties
C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $16,500,000
C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $16,050,000
G Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $15,825,000
C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $15,200,000
RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $15,000,000
RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $15,000,000
C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $14,500,000
C William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $13,500,000
RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $12,500,000
D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $12,000,000
D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $12,000,000
C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $12,000,000
C Brayden Point, Lightning, $12,000,000
D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $12,000,000
C Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, $11,600,000
D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $11,550,000
D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $11,500,000
C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals, $11,350,000
LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $11,250,000
D Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $11,050,000
D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $11,000,000
RW Travis Konecny, Flyers, $11,000,000
D Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $11,000,000
C Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes, $10,950,000
RW Timo Meier, Devils, $10,750,000
LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
D Seth Jones, Panthers, $10,500,000
L Brady Tkachuk, Senators, $10,500,000
C Jordan Kyrou, Blues, $10,500,000
C Robert Thomas, Blues, $10,500,000
Highest-paid NHL defensemen by cap hit
Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,333
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, Oilers, $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
Luke Hughes, Devils, $9,000,000
Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, $8,800,000
Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000
Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $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
Jake Sanderson, Senators, $8,050,000
John Carlson, Capitals, $8,000,000
Victor Hedman, Lightning, $8,000,000
Jacob Trouba, Ducks, $8,000,000
Thomas Chabot, Senators, $8,000,000
Quinn Hughes, Canucks, $7,850,000
Jared Spurgeon, Wild, $7,575,000
Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs, $7,500,000
K’Andre Miller, Hurricanes, $7,500,000
Highest-paid NHL goaltenders by cap hit
Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,500,000
Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, $10,000,000
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000
Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000
Jeremy Swayman, Bruins, $8,250,000
Jake Oettinger, Stars, $8,250,000
Ilya Sorokin, Islanders, $8,250,000
Linus Ullmark, Senators, $8,250,000
Juuse Saros, Predators, $7,740,000
Lukas Dostal, Ducks, $6,500,000
John Gibson, Red Wings, $6,400,000
Adin Hill, Golden Knights, $6,250,000
Jacob Markstrom, Devils, $6,000,000
Jordan Binnington, Blues, $6,000,000
Philipp Grubauer, Kraken, $5,900,000
Logan Thompson, Capitals, $5,850,000
Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets, $5,400,000
Tristan Jarry, Penguins, $5,375,000
MacKenzie Blackwood, Avalanche, $5,250,000
Darcy Kuemper, Kings, $5,250,000
Joey Daccord, Kraken, $5,000,000
Thatcher Demko, Canucks, $5,000,000
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres, $4,750,000
Karel Vejmelka, Mammoth, $4,750,000
Kevin Lankinen, Canucks, $4,500,000
Spencer Knight, Blackhawks, $4,500,000
Petr Mrazek, Ducks, $4,250,000
Joonas Korpisalo, Bruins, $4,000,000
Filip Gustavsson, Wild, $3,750,000
Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs, $3,666,667
What is the NHL salary cap for 2025-26 and beyond?
The 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons could have minor adjustments up or down based on revenues:
2025-26
Upper limit: $95.5 million
Lower limit: $70.6 million
2026-27
Upper limit: $104 million
Lower limit: $76.9 million
2027-28
Upper limit: $113.5 million
Lower limit: $83.9 million