Nathan MacKinnon is the Highest Paid NHL Hockey Player in 2023. Nathan MacKinnon yearly salary is $12.6 million dollars.
MacKinnon, who has not played in a team other than the Colorado Avalanche, signed an eight-year extension in 2022. The contract will take effect from the 2023-24 season.
In the following eight years, he is guaranteed to receive $100,800,000, which includes a $85,340,000 signing bonus. The contract led MacKinnon to be the highest-paid NHLer.
Nathan MacKinnon, with an average annual salary of $12.6 million, exceeds Connor McDavid only by $100,000. The Avalanche will provide 16.37% of the contract amount in the first year.
The Player's base salary is $775000, while it will peak at $9,150,000 in the 2026-27 season to balance the average pay. The base salary will then maintain at $990,000 from that season.
Contract Structure of Nathan MacKinnon
Seasons
(Base Salary + Signing Bonus)
2023 - 2024
($775,000 + $15,725,000)
2024 - 2025
($775,000 + $15,725,000)
2025 - 2026
($800,000 + $15,725,000)
2026 - 2027
($9,150,000 + $3,000,000)
2027 - 2028
($990,000 + $8,910,000)
2028 - 2029
($990,000 + $8,910,000)
2029 - 2030
($990,000 + $8,910,000)
2030 - 2031
($990,000 + $8,910,000)
Total
$100,800,000
Nathan signed an Entry-Level contract of 3 years with the Avalanche. He received an annual average salary of $3,775,000 for three years, including performance bonuses.
The team made a Standard Contract of 7 years presenting McKinnon, 44,100,000 Guaranteed.
Although he has not won the Hart, Art Ross, or Rocket Richard Trophies, he was influential in bringing Avalanche's first Stanly Cup in 21 years.
Also, he is in his late 20s and a Star forward of the team; he will make a good captain in the coming years.
Hockey Player Salary Average is $3.5 million per year in NHL. The National Hockey League pays the highest among all leagues.
In NHL, the minimum salary for the player is $750,000 per year. The team can not sign players if the signing amount exceeds the maximum salary cap of $82.5 million.
It increased by around a million in the 2022-23 season for the first time in three years.
The following highest-paying hockey league is Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). It comprises 22 clubs based mainly in Russia(19).
Founded in 2008, KHL is already in the second position to pay high checks. The player's average salary in KHL is around $425,000.
The National League, based in Switzerland, is the top-tier league of the Swiss system. It comprises 14 hockey teams.
The average player's salary in the National League (NL) is around $228,000.
Similarly, $110,000 is the average salary of the players in the Swedish Hockey League. The league is the highest division in the Swedish Ice hockey system.
SM-Liiga called the Finnish Elite League in English, pays around $100,000 annually.
Likewise, the average salaries of the players in some other hockey leagues are:
American Hockey League: $107,674
Canadian Hockey League: $40,950
ECHL: $75,000
Hockey Canada: $40,950
United States Hockey League: $54,971
Southern Professional Hockey League: $21,000
Western Hockey League: $70,754
NHL Salary Cap History
NHL Salary Cap History from the 2005-06 season is increased by 43.5 million till the 2022-23 season.
Before the 2004-05 lockout, NHL was the only Major North American Professional League without a Salary cap.
There was no need for it because of the NHL's Reverse Clause. In the 1994-95 season, a dispute occurred over the salary cap, which led to the partial cancellation of regular-season games.
The NHL salaries were being paid in USD, so it caused hardships among the small Canadian teams in trading due to the weak revenue generation in the Canadian dollar.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman swayed the American-based teams to donate towards a pool to mitigate the effect of the exchange rate.
After the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement in 2004, a new NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement was formed, which centered on players' salaries.
Bettman demanded cost certainty and presented the NHLPa with many concepts for a salary cap, but never accepted.
A lockout happened due to a labor dispute which caused the abandonment of the whole 2004-05 season. The lockout was set with an agreement between NHLPA and NHL for a hard salary limit based on league revenues.
The Salary cap was titled "Upper Limit of the Payroll Range" in the 2005-12 collective bargaining agreement. It was set at $39 million per team.
Since then, it has been increased except for the 2012-13 season. Due to Covid-19, it was frozen at $81.5 million for three years, which increased by $1 million in the 2022-23 season.
The following table shows each year's NHL Salary ceiling since the 2005-06 season.
2005-2006
$39 million
2006-2007
$44 million
2007-2008
$50.3 million
2008-2009
$56.7 million
2009-2010
$56.8 million
2010-2011
$59.4 million
2011-2012
$64.3 million
2012-2013
$60 -$70.2 million(pro-rated)
2013-2014
$64.3 million
2014-2015
$69 million
2015-2016
$71.4 million
2016-2017
$73 million
2017-2018
$75 million
2018-2019
$79.5 million
2019-2020
$81.5 million
2020-2021
$81.5 million
2021-2022
$81.5 million
2022-2023
$82.5 million
NHL salary cap 2022-23 by Team
NHL salary cap 2022-23 by Team is fixed at $82.5 million. However, they can add 10% more space during the offseason.
The amount a team can distribute to its player in the next season is expected to increase by more than $1 million to around $83.5 million.
NHL 2023-24 is almost on the verge of off-season. The teams that are out of the playoffs have started trading players.
During this time, the franchise trades without crossing the Salary limit. Also, the limit is maintained to acquire free agents and trade on their wishlists.
As the Stanley Cup Finals and NHL Entry Draft pick are near, most teams have saved up some space for new recruitments.
In the current scenario, the Chicago Blackhawks, the winner of 2023's first overall, have the most space for new players. However, the Vancouver Cannucks' space is negative.
But in the 2022-23 season, Buffalo Sabres had the highest ceiling space, and Florida Panthers exceeded the cap by around $5 million.
The estimated total cap andspace for every franchise are listed below.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Colombus Blue Jackets Salary Cap is $66,670,832. It has a total cap space of $16,829,168.
In 2022, they adjusted the players with total capital of $82,500,000. The Jacket's roster in 2022-23 consisted of Twenty-two players.
The majority of the space was filled with the forward lines. Colombus Blue Jacket spent $30,222,837 on forwards, 9,526419 on blue lines, and $5,774,324 on Goalies.
Colorado Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche Salary Cap is $69,512,500. The Avalance has a cap space of $13,350,000.
Last season, it had filled the players tight with a cap of $82,475,000.
The utilization of the total salary cap of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2022-2023 roster is as follows:
Active Player: 24/23
Forward: $37,916,123
Defense: $30,180,384
Goaltender: $5,400,000
Total: $82,475,000
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Blackhawks Salary Cap is $41,655,123. The Blackhawk's current cap space is $41,844,877.
The expenditures of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2022-23 are:
Active Player: 25/23
Forward: $30,222,837
Defense: $21,748,650
Goaltender: $5,324,774
Total: $81,924,351
Carolina Hurricanes
Carolina Hurricanes Salary Cap is $58,926,917 with a space of $24,573,083.
The expenses of the Hurricanes in the 2022-23 roster are:
Toronto Maple Leafs Salary Cap is $74,356,449. The Leaf still has an unsigned amount of $9,143,551.
The expenditures of the Leafs 2022-23 roster are:
Active Player: 26/23
Forward: $51,452,701
Defense: $18,251,081
Goaltender: $6,487,500
Total: $82,287,500
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks Salary Cap is $83,318,750. The Cannuck have already crossed the limit of space for 2023-24. It has a negative $6,668,750 of room left.
The expenditures of the Canucks 2022-23 roster are:
Active Player: 23/23
Forward: $30,948,867
Defense: $17,747,298
Goaltender: $5,531,081
Total: $81,250,000
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas Golden Knights Salary Cap is $80,037,483. The Golden Knights only have $3,462,517 of space left in their room.
