The 10 Best Canadian Players in the NHL Now
We highlight the 10 best Canadian players in the NHL right now, taking into account their statistics, trophy hauls, and years in the league.
While not on the level of other top sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, or the MLB, the 10 biggest salaries in the NHL for the 2023/2024 are still quite high.
It's a safe bet to say that the NHL will only rise in popularity. Not just because of the recent expansions southwards in the United States, but because the increasing availability of 4K TVs increases the viewing pleasure of a game where the "ball" that is the puck, is more visible. Furthermore, the violence innate to the sport offers a contrast to the sports where contact is being more and more mitigated through stricter officiating.
Highest-paid NHL players for the 2023/2024 season
All this will increase the salaries of ice hockey players in North America certainly, but for the following season, the numbers are as follows:
#10 highest-paid NHL player Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers) - $12 million annually
Florida Panthers are clinging onto the player they drafted in the 2013 NHL entry draft, and considering the side was in the Stanley Cup finals in 2023, it's easy to understand why. The veteran has played 664 regular season games in the NHL so far, scoring 243 goals and making 388 assists. In the playoffs, in 47 games the Russo-Finnish hockey player has 37 points overall. The centre signed an $80,000,000 extension with the side in 2021 so he is bound to stick around.
#9 highest-paid NHL player Adam Fox (New York Rangers) - $12 million annually
The 25-year-old Adam Fox was selected 66th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 2016 draft, so it's safe to say the American managed to exceed expectations. Landing in his native state of New York, playing for the Rangers after attending Harvard University, Fox has excelled in four seasons. In 285 regular season games he scored 36 goals and made 199 assists, boosting those stats in the 30 elimination games played with five goals and 26 assists. In 2021 he signed a seven-year extension with the Rangers.
#8 highest-paid NHL player Timo Meier (New Jersey Devils) - $12 million annually
Timo Meier is unfortunately one of the players on this list of 10 biggest salaries in the NHL for the upcoming season that doesn't warrant it, according to most fans. The Swiss pro was drafted in 2015 and got his feet on the NHL ice for the first time in the 2016/2017 campaign. In 2023, the scorer of 330 regular season points and 24 play-off points signed a contract extension for eight years, worth $70,400,000. After coming to the New Jersey Devils from San Jose Sharks in February.
#7 highest-paid NHL player Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights) - $12.3 million annually
The current champion with the Vegas Golden Knights, Alex Pietrangelo is well pass 1,000 games in the league when looking at regular and playoff games. The Canadian was asking for a no-move clause due to having children and wanting them to have a consistant home, he got it from the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020 with a six-year deal. The defenceman has bagged 140 goals and 431 assists in his 952 regular season games, alongside 72 points in 131 playoff games. With a Stanley Cup behind him, the Vegas front office is definitely happy to give the no-move clause to Pietrangelo.
#6 highest-paid NHL player Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota Wild) - $12.5 million annually
The 26-year-old Russian is only three seasons into his NHL career but he had three years with CSKA Moscow behind him in the KHL too. Making his NHL Rookie of the Year award in 2021 not that surprising. Still, the versatile left-wing player has impressed with 114 goals and 120 assists in 203 regular season games. In 2021, after hard negotiations in which Kaprizov was threatening a return to Russia, he signed a five-year deal.
#5 highest-paid NHL player Alexander Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) - $12.5 million annually
Alex Ovechkin is one of the greatest goal scorers of all time, and he is also one of the most iconic players in the league. The 36-year-old signed a five-year, $47.5 million contract extension with the Capitals in 2021, the only side he represented in the NHL. Ovechkin has won one Stanley Cup, one Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP, and nine Maurice Richard Trophies. He has scored at least 50 goals in eight of his 17 seasons, including a career-high 65 goals in 82 games in the 2007/2008. He is also the second-highest goal scorer in NHL history with only 72 goals fewer than the hockey epitome Wayne Gretzky.
#4 highest-paid NHL player Seth Jones (Chicago Blackhawks) - $12.5 million annually
Of all the NHL players with the biggest salaries for the 2023/2024 campaign, Seth Jones' income is the one that will make the fans raise their eyebrows the most. The defenceman is with his third team in the league and has signed the current deal with the Blackhawks in 2021, for a length of eight years. With a total worth of $76,000,000.
#3 highest-paid NHL player Dougie Hamilton (New Jersey Devils) - $12.5 million annually
The former defenceman for Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, and Carolina Hurricane is now with New Jersey Devils since the 2021/2022 season and has signed a seven-year deal with them. In 751 regular season games, Candian Hamilton has scored 137 times and made 308 assists. In 66 playoff matches, he has 29 points.
#2 highest-paid NHL player David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) - $13 million annually
The right-winger nicknamed Pasta has been in the league since 2014 playing only for the Boston Bruins. The Czech Republic international has scored 301 times and made 316 assists in 592 regular season games, winning the top scorer trophy in 2020. His play-off record of 79 points in 77 games has been instrumental to signing an eight-year $90,000,000 contract extension in 2023 aged 27!
#1 highest-paid NHL player Nathan MacKinnon ( Colorado Avalanche) - $16.5 million annually
Considered by all to be one of the very best players in the league, Nathan MacKinnon has stayed with Colorado Avalanche ever since been drafted by them in the 2013 draft. The centre has scored 284 times and made 475 assists in 709 games of the regular season, with 100 points in 77 playoff battles. Becoming the champion with the side in 2022, it's not surprising that the Candian signed an eight-year, $100,800,000 million contract extension in September of the same year!
Obviously, the glaring hole is the lack of Connor McDavid from this list, but the league’s almost unanimous best player is on a $11,000,000 salary for the next season. Yet with his deal expiring soon, the 26-year-old will soon top the list.
So considering the stats these players have been putting in, the 10 biggest salaries in the NHL for the 2023/2024 seem quite justified with just one or two exceptions. As we stated in the past, we can expect that these athletes will get even more money in the future, cutting the difference between them and NBA, NFL, and MLB stars.
