What is NHL Minimum Salary for Men and Women?

Laelia Yang January 13, 2022 | 03:30

What is the average NHL (National Hockey League) salary for men and women and who is paid the most in the world?

What is the National Hockey League Minimum Salary for Men and Women?

The NHL functions on a cap-based system when it comes to player salaries. Each year, the NHL sets a minimum and maximum spending cap in relation to overall league profits.

While the minimum salary is currently fixed at $700,000 USD, the maximum for any one player is tied to the upper cap limit. That is, a player’s salary cannot exceed 20% of the maximum limit, which was set to $81.5 million USD for the 2020-21 NHL season.

Therefore, the highest salary any individual player can make for this year is $16.3 million USD. As a note, the league minimum is scheduled to rise to $750,000 USD in 2022-23 and to $775,000 USD in the subsequent year. Below is a table depicting the yearly NHL Minimum Salary asset in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

What is the average salary for an NHL player?

The average salary for an NHL player is $2.69 million per year as of the 2019/2020 season, although that can vary a great deal across different teams and individual players. This is higher than the national average for all athletes and sports competitors, which is $51,370 annually, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This difference is because of the high profile of the NHL and its players, much like in the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and Major League Baseball.

Which NHL teams pay their players the most?

The NHL teams that pay their players the most on average per year are:

The Minnesota Wild: $3.32 million
Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.28 million
St. Louis Blues: $3.19 million

The team that pays the lowest average salary in the NHL is the Toronto Maple Leafs, with an average of $1.54 million per year. The Maple Leafs, despite having the lowest average player salary, also had the highest-paid player in the league as of 2019/2020, with John Tavares earning $15.9 million per year.

What is the NHL minimum salary?

The NHL's minimum wage is scheduled to increase in the coming years reaching $650,000 in 2017-2018, $700,000 in 2019-2020, and $750,000 in 2021-2022. The maximum player salary shall remain at 20% of the team salary cap during this span.

A minimum salary is in place in the National Hockey League to ensure that the players are fairly compensated for their endeavors. This minimum wage stood at 650 thousand U.S. dollars in 2019, a steady increase from the 500 thousand U.S. dollars minimum salary in place in 2011. Even though the LA Kings had the highest average salary in 2019, it was the Washington Capitals who topped the league for player expenses. The Capitals spent 85 million U.S. dollars on player expenses in 2018, whilst the Carolina Hurricanes spent the lowest in the league at 62 million U.S. dollars. The league-wide average payroll for the 2017/18 season stood at 75.35 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 25 million U.S. dollars on the figure from ten years before.

What is the Median Salary?

When looking at salaries a helpful number to look at is the median salary. The Median salary is what the middle player between the highest and lowest is making.

According to my calculations, the middle player is Dale Weise of the Montreal Canadians and he is making $2.35 million.

The Median number being lower than the average means that there is a higher proportion of money concentrated at the top and not as spread out evenly as it probably could be. So, the stars are being paid and the 4th liners are earning less than they could be.

Who is the highest-paid male hockey playerof the 2021-22 season NHL?

Photo: NHL

The highest-paid player in the NHL is the captain of the Edmonton Oilers and Canadian national team player, Connor McDavid. The 22-year old pocketed 19 million U.S. dollars in 2019, of which 15 million U.S. dollars came from his salary and a further four million was generated through endorsements. However, the honor of being the player who commands the highest salary in the league belongs to John Tavares - the Toronto Maple Leaf's player had a yearly salary of 15.9 million U.S. dollars.

McDavid’s growing endorsement portfolio includes Adidas, CIBC, BioSteel, Canadian Tire, and Rogers Communications. He was also on the cover of EA Sports NHL 18 and is part of the video game maker's marketing for this year's game. McDavid’s deal with equipment supplier CCM ended at the end of last season, but the two-time All-Star continues to use the brand’s sticks, gloves, and skates. Negotiations between the two parties are ongoing.

Who has the lowest cap hit of the 2021-22 season NHL?

The lowest salary that can be given to a player for this season is $750,000. It’s the minimum salary set by the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and the NHLPA.

There are a number of players that are playing on this salary for the year. They mostly consist of young players on their first standard contract, players signed to a two-way contract so they might not be full-time NHLers or veterans taking the minimum amount to stick around the game.

This season, among those getting paid the league minimum, are veterans Zdeno Chara, Jason Spezza, Joe Thornton, and Tyler Bozak. Some promising young players skating on the cheap deal are Zach Whitecloud, Nico Sturm, Morgan Geekie, and Vitek Vanecek.

Top 10 highest cap hits of the 2021-22 season NHL

1.Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) -- $12,500,000

2. Artemi Panarin (New York Rangers) -- $11,642,875

3. Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) -- $11,640,250

4. Erik Karlsson (San Jose Sharks) -- $11,500,000

T-5. John Tavares (Toronto Maple Leafs) -- $11,000,000

T-5. Drew Doughty (Los Angeles Kings) -- $11,000,000

7. Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs) -- $10,903,000

T-8. Patrick Kane (Chicago Blackhawks) -- $10,500,000

T-8. Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks) -- $10,500,000

T-8. Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens) -- $10,500,000

How much do NWHL (National Women's Hockey League) players get paid?

Photo: nbcsports

In the NWHL salaries in the first season of operation (2015-16) ranged from US$10,000 to US$26,000 per season, but these were reduced in the second season, often by 50 percent.

The NWHL has an average salary of $15,000 and a salary cap of $270,000 per team. Stack is the highest-paid player in the league at $25,000 for the season.

Also Know, how much do NHL players make per game? At the individual player level, the maximum salary is also set relative to the salary cap, and cannot exceed 20% of the upper limit ($14.6 million for 2016-17, $15 million for 2017-18). The minimum salary is adjusted on a set schedule: it was set at $575,000 in 2016-17 and boosted to $650,000 for the 2017-18 season.

Who is the highest-paid female hockey player in 2022?

It's been common knowledge for several months the league would have a $270,000 salary cap per team, as the NWHL made that number public in March. A $270,000 cap for 18-player rosters averages out to $15,000 per player. But a source close to the league has revealed to THN some additional details about the breakdown. The top 10 highest-paid NWHLers, all on one-year deals:

Kelli Stack, F, Connecticut Whale, $25,000

Megan Bozek, D, Buffalo Beauts, $22,500

Meghan Duggan, F, Buffalo Beauts, $22,500

Kacey Bellamy, D, Boston Pride, $22,000

Brianna Decker, F, Boston Pride, $22,000

Hilary Knight, F, Boston Pride, $22,000

Brianne McLaughlin, G, Buffalo Beauts, $22,000

Katia Smolentsveta, F, Connecticut Whale, $22,000

Emily Pfalzer, D, Buffalo Beauts, $21,000

Nana Fujimoto, G, New York Riveters, $21,000

The league minimum is $10,000. According to the source, Buffalo and Boston are maxed out at the $270,000 cap right now, with New York at $265,000 and Connecticut at $262,000.

THN has also learned that players must notify their coaches and GM at least 30 days in advance if they know they will miss a game or practice, barring an emergency or medical problem. Missing games and practices will result in salary deductions.

On top of their salaries, each player will earn an individual commission of 15 percent for every one of her own jerseys sold. That's a different setup than that of the NHL, which pools jersey sales into one pot to divide among the players. Jerseys are the only officially merchandised product the NWHL is selling right now, but players affiliated with the U.S. national team will earn an additional percentage of any other merchandise the league introduces and sells that has their names, images and likenesses.

What is professional women's hockey?

The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States. The league was established in 2015 with four teams and has since grown to five teams: the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale, Metropolitan Riveters, and the Minnesota Whitecaps.

Hockey Player Salary: What do the Pros Make?

A player’s salary is primarily determined by the HHR (HockeyRelated Revenues) the league projects on a given year. Professional hockey player salaries, on the other hand, are determined yearly by a number of factors.

League and Team Factors

The League’s projected revenue is split into two parts before the season. One half is directed to the owners and the other half goes to the players.

Each team’s salary range is determined by dividing the players’ portion by the number of teams in the league. That number is then used to find a team’s salary cap, ceiling, and floor.

No one player can earn above 20 percent more than the salary cap, and all players must be paid a minimum determined by the money allotted to their team. The minimum salary is going up, and the 2019-2020 season’s minimum is set at $700,000 per year.

Last year, the league’s highest-earning player was Connor McDavid, who took in 19 million dollars. The difference in pay is specified in each player’s contract, which can be affected by a number of factors.

Individual Factors

After the specifics of the team’s paygrade are determined, they can then distribute that money to players in different degrees.

Many players’ contracts state that they’re owed a specific percentage of a team’s salary per season. Alternatively, contracts can have fixed yearly payouts. A player could sign a two-year contract for 10 million dollars, getting 5 million dollars each year, for example.

The state that a player lives in also determines their pay after taxes. In fact, every state has different specifications when it comes to taxes.

Further, the player’s performance also plays a huge part in pay. It’s obvious that a team will pay a player more if they perform at a high level. Players can earn more or less, however, during the season if their play exceeds or falls below a standard stated in the contract.

After all, is said and done, the average professional hockey player's salary lands somewhere around 4 million dollars per year. There’s a lot of variances, though, and outliers may skew the average a good deal.

At the end of the day, a minimum pay of 700,000 dollars is not too shabby.

NWHL doubles salary cap for 2021-22 season

The National Women's Hockey League (NWHL) will double its salary cap from $150,000 to $300,000 per team starting from the 2021-2022 season, said commissioner Tyler Tumminia on Wednesday.

Based on 20-player rosters, the average salary would rise to $15,000 per player.

"The NWHL is committed to its vision of providing opportunities for elite women’s hockey players to earn a living playing the game they love,” said Tumminia in a statement on the league website.

"This increased investment by ownership, especially following a challenging and shortened season, is a significant step forward and exemplifies the strength of our league and our developing business model as we continue to advance professional women’s hockey and inspire the next generation of female athletes.”

Despite the impact of COVID-19, the six-team, U.S.-based league has seen an increase in sponsors and viewers.

The Isobel Cup playoffs were televised across the United States for the first time on NBCSN with an average audience of over 100,000 per game, while online audiences on the league’s streaming platform, Twitch, produced over 2 million views and generated a 260% increase in year-over-year following.

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