What is the average salary for an NHL player?

Being an ice hockey lover, you must be wondering what is the average salary of your favorite player. Or how much does an NHL player earn annually? Moreover, having an assessment of the average salary can help you decide whether NHL is worth joining or not!

So, What is the average salary for an NHL player? Over the years, the average compensation of a National Hockey League player has steadily risen to approximately $3.5 million per year from $82.5 million per year as of the 2022/2023 season. The National Hockey League offers salaries ranging from $750,000 to $13,000,000 per year.

In this post, you’ll get your answers regarding the NHL average salary of players. Additionally, I’ll give details about the highest, median, and lowest salaries in NHL. So, hook till the end of this post to get your answer.

Which type of NHL player is making the average salary?

An NHL Goaltender’s average Yearly Wage

The average NHL goaltender pays for the 2022-23 season is USD 3,324,615. Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky are tied at $12,000,000 in goalie salaries.

An NHL Defenseman’s average Yearly Wage

In 2022-23, the average NHL defenseman’s annual pay will be $3,106,167. This is based on the 252 contracts that defensemen signed this year. The highest-paid player in the NHL is San Jose Sharks forward Erik Karlsson, who has a salary of $12,000,000.

The Average Wage for a Forward Player in NHL

NHL forwards will make an average of $3,226,679 in 2022-23. This season, the NHL has contracts with 447 forwards. The highest-paid NHL player is Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin, who earns $13,000,000 annually.

Related Post: What Is The Average Career Length Of An NHL Player?

What is the highest wage for NHL players?

The top five highest-paid NHL players based on annual average value:

RANKPLAYERTEAMYEARLY SALARY
1Nathan MacKinnonAvalanche$12.6 million
2Connor McDavidOilers$12.5 million
3Artemi PanarinRangers$11.642 million
4Auston MatthewsMaple Leafs$11.64 million
5Erik KarlssonSharks$11.5 million

What is the Lowest salary?

This season, the lowest possible compensation for a player is $750,000. That’s the bare minimum stipulated by the NHL/NHLPA Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Several players are being paid this amount for the entire season. People in this category tend to be newcomers on their first regular contract or veterans on a two-way contract who don’t expect to be full-time NHLers but want to stay in the game.

Below are some of the National Hockey League minimum-earning players:

  1. Sam Gagner
  2. Zach Parise
  3. Zach Bogosian
  4. Marc Staal

Some of the promising young players on the inexpensive deal are:

  1. Zach Whitecloud
  2. Nico Sturm
  3. Morgan Geekie
  4. Vitek Vanecek

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What is meant by the NHL median wage?

The fact that the Median is less than the Mean indicates that a greater share of the money is clustered at the highest and is not distributed as evenly as it might have been. Thus, the stars are compensated while the fourth-liners make less than they need to. The analyses present that the most suitable example of the middle player is Dale Weise of the Montreal Canadians, with $2.35 million earned.

What does the average NHL salary show as compared to the highest, lowest & median ones?

For every $2.3 million higher in wages, there are an average of $9.5 million fewer in wages. Aside from that, the median wage is $0,655,000 higher than the average.

That all leads to the conclusion that the vast bulk of pay money is given to the best and brightest. Consequently, a big percentage of money is concentrated at the top of the income scale.

Related Post: What is the annual revenue of the NHL?

How can the NHL salary be compared to other hockey leagues?

A huge difference is evident when you compare other hockey leagues with National Hockey League. Here is a comparison of the best hockey leagues:

NLA80,000 to 450,000 USD
Czech44,000 to 185,000 USD
SHL55,000 to 255,000 USD
DEL 150,000 to 175,000 USD
KHL125,000 to 3 million USD
Liiga44,000 to 185,000 USD

Frequently Asked Questions

How does the NHL average affect other sports leagues?

Broadcasting rights and ticket sales are the primary sources of income for a professional sports team. Players in the NHL are paid less than those in other sports due to such reasons. The NHL’s TV deal generates far less cash than those of the NFL, MLB, or NBA, thus the league can’t afford to pay as much to its players.

Is there a source of funding for the NHL players’ salaries?

About 5 billion dollars is generated each year by the NHL through television revenue, gate proceeds, concessions, and licensing fees. Owners as well as the players decided on a collective agreement that divided these earnings 50/50.

How much does a national hockey league referee make?

According to FanBuzz, on average, a full-time NHL referee gets paid anywhere from $165,000 – $360,000 annually.

Conclusion: What is the average salary for an NHL player?

We should expect to see the average wage rise as the league’s profits continue to rise. As soon as the new bargaining agreement for 2026-27 and beyond is ratified, players may expect that minimum to be raised even further.

When normalcy returns and fans are allowed back into the stadiums after COVID, I anticipate the cap to continue to rise. A higher average income for NHL players will result as a result of this increase in compensation for great players.

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