Who Are Highest-paid Nhl Players For 2026-27 Season? See Top 50 List

NHL salaries are rising so quickly that Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby has dropped out of the top 50 and Minnesota Wild standout Kirill Kaprizov didn't get a chance to earn a paycheck with the title of top-paid player.

Kaprizov signed an eight-year, $136 million extension in 2025 that gave him the top cap hit at $17 million heading into the season. But he was surpassed when the Philadelphia Flyers signed Leo Carlsson to a five-year, $90 million offer sheet ($18 million), which the Anaheim Ducks matched.

Carlsson's status was also surpassed when the San Jose Sharks announced on Wednesday, July 29, that Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year extension with an $18.8 million average. His deal won't kick in until the 2027-28 season.

Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard signed a five-year deal with a $15 million cap hit that makes him No. 3 overall in 2026-27 behind Carlsson and Kaprizov. Anaheim's Cutter Gauthier and Columbus' Adam Fantilli, restricted free agents without arbitration rights, have yet to sign for the upcoming season.

The NHL salary cap, which was stagnant after the pandemic, rose to $95.5 million last season and $104 million this season.

Crosby, whose $8.7 million cap hit is derived from his 87 jersey number, is now ranked 52nd in average annual value.

Here are the top 50 players in the league in cap hits, plus the top salaries and the top defensemen and goaltenders (money figures are from puckpedia.com):

Highest-paid NHL players in 2026-27 by cap hit

Note: Sharks center Macklin Celebrini will average $18.8 million, starting in 2027-28

Top 50 plus ties

1. C Leo Carlsson, Ducks, $18,000,000
2. LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $17,000,000
3. C Connor Bedard, Blackhawks, $15,000,000
4. C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $14,000,000
5. C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $13,500,000
6. C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $13,250,000
7. C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,604,000
8. C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $12,500,000
9. LW Jason Robertson, Stars, $12,000,000
10. RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $12,000,000
11. RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $12,000,000
12. LW Kyle Connor, Jets, $12,000000
13. C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,600,000
14. C/RW William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $11,500,000
15. C Martin Necas, Avalanche, $11,500,000
16. D Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
17. RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000
18. D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
19. D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
20. LW Artemi Panarin, Kings, $11,000,000
21. LW Pavel Dorofeyev, Rangers, $11,000,000
22. C Adrian Kempe, Kings, $10,625,000
23. D Thomas Harley, Stars, $10,587,000
24. D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
25. RW Alex Tuch, Capitals, $10,500,000
26. LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
27. C Logan Cooley, Mammoth, $10,000,000
28. C Tyler Seguin, Stars, $9,850,0000
29. C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $9,750,000
30. D Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,334
31. D Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
32. D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
33. RW Nikita Kucherov, Lightning, $9,500,000
34. C Brayden Point, Lightning, $9,500,000
35. D Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
36. RW Mark Stone, Golden Knights, $9,500,000
37. D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
38. LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $9,500,000
39. D Darnell Nurse, Sharks, $9,250,000
40. C Mathew Barzal, Islanders, $9,150,000
41. C Trevor Zegras, Flyers, $9,125,000
42. D Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
43. LW Jake Guentzel, Lightning, $9,000,000
44. D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
45. D Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
46. D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
47. D Luke Hughes, Devils, $9,000,000
48. D Jackson LaCombe, Ducks, $9,000,000
49. D Lane Hutson, Canadiens, $8,850,000
50. RW Timo Meier, Devils, $8,800,000

Highest-paid players in 2026-27 by salary

Top 30, plus ties

1. C Leo Carlsson, Ducks, $20,800,000
2. LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $19,100,000
3. C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $17,700,000
4. C Connor Bedard, Blackhawks, $17,000,000
5. C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $16,500,000
6. RW Alex Tuch, Capitals, $15,700,000
7. LW Kyle Connor, Jets, $15,000,000
8. C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $14,250,000
9. C Martin Necas, Avalanche, $14,000,000
10. RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $14,000,000
11. LW Pavel Dorofeyev, Rangers, $14,000,000
12. C Logan Cooley, Mammoth, $13,000,000
13. D Thomas Harley, Stars, $13,000,000
14. C/RW William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $12,500,000
15. C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,150,000
16. D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $12,000,000
17. D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $12,000,000
18. C Adrian Kempe, Kings, $12,000,000
19. LW Jason Robertson, Stars, $12,000,000
20. LW Artemi Panarin, Kings, $12,000,000
21. D Lane Hutson, Canadiens, $12,000,000
22. RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000
23. RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $11,250,000
24. C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $11,080,000
25. D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
26. D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
27. D Darren Raddysh, Maple Leafs, $11,000,000
28. C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,000,000
29. D Jacob Trouba, Sharks, $11,000,000
30. D Rasmus Andersson, Golden Knights, $10,500,000
31. LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000
32. C Trevor Zegras, Flyers, $10,500,000

Highest-paid defensemen in 2026-27 by cap hit

Note: Blackhawks defenseman Bowen Byram will have a $12.5 million cap hit, starting in 2027-28.

Top 30 plus ties

1. Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000
2. Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000
3. Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000
4. Thomas Harley, Stars, $10,587,000
5. Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000
6. Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,334
7. Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000
8. Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000
9. Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000
10. Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000
11. Darnell Nurse, Sharks, $9,250,000
12. Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000
13. Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000
14. Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000
15. Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000
16. Jackson LaCombe, Ducks, $9,000,000
17. Luke Hughes, Devils, $9,000,000
18. Lane Hutson, Canadiens, $8,850,000
19. Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000
20. John Carlson, Lightning, $8,500,000
21. Darren Raddysh, Maple Leafs, $8,500,000
22. Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000
23. Rasmus Andersson, Golden Knights, $8,500,000
24. Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000
25. Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000
26. Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $8,450,000
27. Owen Power, Sabres, $8,350,000
28. Jacob Trouba, Sharks, $8,250,000
29. Jake Sanderson, Senators, $8,050,000
30. Victor Hedman, Lightning, $8,000,000
31. Thomas Chabot, Senators, $8,000,000
32. Philip Broberg, Blues, $8,000,000

Highest-paid goaltenders in 2026-27 by cap hit

Top 30

1. Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,567,857
2. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000
3. Thatcher Demko, Canucks, $8,500,000
4. Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000
5. Jake Oettinger, Stars, $8,250,000
6. Jeremy Swayman, Bruins, $8,250,000
7. Linus Ullmark, Senators, $8,250,000
8. Ilya Sorokin, Islanders, $8,250,000
9. Juuse Saros, Predators, $7,740,000
10. Dustin Wolf, Flames, $7,500,000
11. Sergei Bobrovsky, Maple Leafs, $7,000,000
12. Filip Gustavsson, Wild, $6,800,000
13. Lukas Dostal, Ducks, $6,500,000
14. John Gibson, Red Wings, $6,400,000
15. Adin Hill, Golden Knights, $6,250,000
16. Jordan Binnington, Blues, $6,000,000
17. Jacob Markstrom, Panthers, $6,000,000
18. Philipp Grubauer, Kraken, $5,900,000
19. Logan Thompson, Capitals, $5,850,000
20. Spencer Knight, Blackhawks, $5,833,333
21. Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets, $5,400,000
22. Tristan Jarry, Oilers, $5,375,000
23. MacKenzie Blackwood, Avalanche, $5,250,000
24. Darcy Kuemper, Kings, $5,250,000
25. Jet Greaves, Blue Jackets, $5,000,000
26. Joey Daccord, Kraken, $5,000,000
27. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres, $4,750,000
28. Karel Vejmelka, Mammoth, $4,750,000
29. Kevin Lankinen, Canucks, $4,500,000
30. Joonas Korpisalo, Rangers, $4,000,000

What is the NHL salary cap for 2026-27 and beyond?

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 highest-paid NHL players for 2026-27 season? See top 50 list