NHL superstar Connor McDavid misses out on top spot in league’s highest-earners list
Colorado Avalanche ace Nathan MacKinnon narrowly secured top spot ahead of Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid as three Toronto Maple Leafs' stars also make the top ten.
Nathan MacKinnon penned a whopping eight-year £84.3million deal in September last year that’ll keep the Canadian in Colorado well into his thirties. He’s not the only player set for a big pay-day well into the twilight of his career.
Below is a list of the NHL’s top-ten earners. according to figures from sports betting website BetMGM.
10. Carey Price - £8.8m per year
Considering Price’s age you may be forgiven for baulking at the length of contract the Montreal Canadiens handed the goaltender, if not the overall amount.
The 35-year-old is on the books with the club for the next two seasons but it’s anyone’s guess how much he’ll actually play as Price is currently nursing a chronic knee injury which requires surgery.
9. Mitch Marner - £9.1m per year
Toronto Maple Leaf forward Mitch Marner had a career-best points scoring season last term and finished up with 97 points in 72 appearances.
The 25-year-old is managing to hit a similar level of production this term as he reaches the end of the six-year £54.7m deal he signed with the team in 2019.
The Maple Leafs are some way off the Bruins in second in the Atlantic standings, but they’ll still be hopeful of claiming in the ultimate prize come play-off time with three players on this list.
8. Drew Doughty - £9.2m per year
The Los Angeles Kings are shelling out over 10% of their salary cap on the defenseman, who committed to an eight-year £73.7m deal in 2018. It’s a fair price for a player who led the franchise to two Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.
But at 33 years old, and with injuries mounting up, only time will tell how long he has remaining at the elite level.
7. John Tavares - £9.2m per year
The second Maple Leaf to feature on this list, Tavares signed his long-term deal with the club in 2018. Adding the Canadian’s salary to his teammates, who also feature in the top ten, amounts to nearly 50% of the team’s entire cap.
6. Leon Draisitl - £9.5m per year
For Draisitl’s level of production some could argue the 27-year-old is underpaid. The Oilers’ hitman has ranked in the top four of NHL’s point-scoring list in each of the last four seasons, topping the charts outright in 2019/20.
Those displays, added to his Hart Trophy win in 2020 have more than repaid the eight-year £57m deal the German penned in 2017.
5. Erik Karlsson - £9.6m per year
Karlsson and the San Jose Sharks are yet to claim the maiden Stanley Cup honour his arrival promised and now, at 32 years old, time is running out. The Swede’s eight-year deal takes him up until the end of the 2027 season.
Related articles
4. Auston Matthews - £9.7m per year
The NHL’s reigning Hart Trophy winner is all but assured to top this one once his current deal expires in 2026. Toronto must have known they’d snapped up the starman for a steal when locking him into a five-year £48.7m deal in 2019.
The 25-year-old has gone on to dazzle for the club and fans will hope to see him turning out for the outfit for many years to come.
3. Artemi Panarin - £9.7m per year
Panarin’s seven-year £68.1m deal with the New York Rangers sees him slide into a top-three spot on the list. The Bread Man put up career-best numbers last term with 96 points.
2. Connor McDavid - £10.5m per year
A two-time Hart Trophy winner, McDavid is widely considered to be the best player on the planet with one of the biggest contracts to match.
The 26-year-old signed a lengthy £83.6m deal back in 2017 and will surely have repaid his franchise with a Stanley Cup by the time it expires.
1. Nathan MacKinnon - £10.5m per year
The Avalanche man just sneaks in at the top with his recent lucrative deal with the Colorado outfit. A one club man, MacKinnon was instrumental in Avalanche’s Stanley Cup triumph last season.
The Canadian led all skaters with 13 goals in the 2022 play-offs, a tally only matched by Oilers man Evander Kane. The 27-year-old’s bumper deal landed him a massive payday and will see him earn £10.5m a year when the extension kicks in next season.
MacKinnon’s strike in Avalanche’s 4-1 victory of the Calgary Flames last weekend extended his points streak to seven games and maintains the franchise’s position among the Western Conference Central Division leaders.
