Every NHL Team Payroll in 2026: Who Spends the Most?
The National Hockey League is one of the few North American sports where the teams near the bottom of the payroll are often just as good as the teams at the top.
Consider this year's NHL postseason, for instance. Of the final eight teams in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, four teams rank in the top 10 when it comes to league payroll, but three teams rank in the bottom 10 in payroll.
Certainly, the more money a team spends, the better its chances for a deep run. But correlation isn't causation. Just look at MLB.
What helps teams rebuild quickly even when they struggle is that the NHL is a salary-cap league. In fact, the league announced its 2026-27 salary cap in the first week of May, setting it at $104 million. That's an $8.5 million increase over the 2025-26 season.
That doesn't mean teams can't go over the cap, however. A combination of the long-term injured reserve list (LTIR) and player-performance bonuses can cause teams to exceed the number. The league allows for a 7.5% cushion for such adjustments.
With the playoffs getting interesting, we thought it worth consideration to look at where each of the 32 teams in the league stood this year.
1. Vegas Golden Knights - $107.5 Million
- Highest paid player: Jack Eichel, $13.5M
The Golden Knights went from expansion team to Stanley Cup Finals in one year, and expansion to Stanley Cup winners in six years. It should be no surprise they rank first: Vegas is willing to spend and has the success to show for it.
2. Florida Panthers - $103.5 Million
- Highest paid player: Aleksander Barkov, $10M
Sure, the 2025-26 season was a disappointment for the Florida Panthers, who didn't even qualify for the postseason. But back-to-back Cup titles? In a city that doesn't always embrace its local NHL franchise? If you spend it, they will come.
3. New York Islanders - $98.9 Million
- Highest paid player: Matthew Barzal, $9.15M
The Islanders have seven players on the roster who make more than $6 million per season, pushing the team higher than you might expect. One of them, Ondrej Palat, is due to be an unrestricted free agent this summer, but defenseman Matthew Schaefer will be due a hefty raise before the 2027-28 season begins.
4. Dallas Stars - $98 Million
- Highest paid player: Mikko Rantanen, $12M
The good news for the Dallas Stars is that almost their whole core is locked up for the next few years. The bad news is the club might be on the wrong side of their Cup window, age-wise.
5. New Jersey Devils - $97.8 Million
- Highest paid player: Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes, $9M
Another rough season in New Jersey despite the payroll. A backward step from Timo Meier, who has four years left at $8.8 million per year, and a lack of a step forward for Hughes, who makes $9 million through 2031-32 hurt the return on investment a lot.
6. Edmonton Oilers - $97.7 Million
- Highest paid player: Leon Draisaitl, $14M
No, it isn't Connor McDavid at the top. He'll be due a raise in 2028-29, which would likely lift him back over Draisaitl, the NHL's highest-paid player by AAV. The biggest albatross for the Oilers is defenseman Darnell Nurse, whose $9.25 million over the next three seasons stings compared to his production.
7. Tampa Bay Lightning - $96.6 Million
- Highest paid player: Brayden Point, $9.5M
Like the Stars, the Tampa Bay Lightning were out in the first round of the 2026 postseason. And like the Stars, they appear to be in the back half of their Cup window. Of course, they won back-to-back titles in 2020 and 2021 to ease this year's disappointment.
8. Colorado Avalanche - $94.8 Million
- Highest paid player: Nathan MacKinnon, $12.6M
The most talented team in the NHL this year has an expectedly high payroll. But it's the bang-for-buck that impresses most. For a majority of the season, the Avs looked like they'd have the most successful regular season of all-time. They came modestly close, anyway.
9. Boston Bruins - $94.6 Million
- Highest paid player: David Pastrnak, $11.25M
Boston keeps being counted out. They're too old. Not deep enough. The money is spread in the wrong places. And, no, the Bruins haven't been to the Finals since 2019. But they've also only missed the playoffs once since 2017.
10. Buffalo Sabres - $94.6 Million
- Highest paid player: Rasmus Dahlin, $11M
Well, well, well. The longest playoff drought in NHL history came to an end this season as the Buffalo Sabres snapped a 14-year skid. They're now in the second round of the playoffs. Money well spent. Finally.
11. Montreal Canadiens - $93.7 Million
- Highest paid player: Noah Dobson, $9.5M
Montreal's rebuild is in high gear now. The Canadiens traded for Dobson, one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL, ahead of the 2025-26 season and immediately inked him to his high-priced deal. Safe to say things are working out just fine.
12. New York Rangers - $93.7 Million
- Highest paid player: Igor Shesterkin, $11.5M
On the other hand, things aren't working out well in Manhattan. The New York Rangers finished with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference this year, and their eight highest-paid players are all signed through 2029. Yikes.
13. Vancouver Canucks - $93.5 Million
- Highest paid player: Elias Pettersson, $11.6M
Things are perhaps worse out West, where Vancouver finished with the fewest points in the entire NHL, 19 points worse than the Rangers. The rebuild should be on, but dysfunction in Vancouver is a few years going now, and the Canucks could be bad for a while.
14. Toronto Maple Leafs - $93.3 Million
- Highest paid player: Auston Matthews, $13.25M
Talking heads who follow the Maple Leafs intensely warned that the loss of Mitch Marner to Vegas would hurt. It was devastating. Toronto's streak of nine straight playoff appearances snapped this year as it finished with just one more point than the Rangers. Hey, at least they won the 2026 draft lottery and the No. 1 pick.
15. Minnesota Wild - $93.2 Million
- Highest paid player: Kirill Kaprizov, $17M
The highest-paid player in the NHL leads a roster of mostly unheralded players. What Minnesota accomplished in 2025-26 is mighty impressive and the Wild are still alive as of May 7.
16. Ottawa Senators - $93.2 Million
- Highest paid player: Tim Stutzle, $8.35M
Years of disappointment have now seen the Senators make the playoffs in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2012 and 2013. The next step may require putting some money in the coffers.
17. Winnipeg Jets - $92.2 Million
- Highest paid player: Kyle Connor, $12M
A miserable start doomed the Winnipeg Jets, who entered with Cup visions. They may have to re-adjust if they don't bounce back next year. Current roster construction may be a concern, along with the middling ranking here.
18. St. Louis Blues - $91.8 Million
- Highest paid player: Robert Thomas, $8.125M
The Blues didn't quite execute a fire sale at the trade deadline and even hung around in the Wild Card mix until the final week or so of the season. But St. Louis isn't getting a lot of punch from their five highest-paid players.
19. Los Angeles Kings - $91.6 Million
- Highest paid player: Artemi Panarin and Drew Doughty, $11M
Los Angeles brought Panarin in from the Rangers near the trade deadline and made the postseason in captain Anze Koptar's final year. But the Kings never looked like a real threat and with neither Panarin or Doughty in their peak, it's unclear where the teams goes next.
20. Seattle Kraken - $91.2 Million
- Highest paid player: Vince Dunn, $7.35M
The Kraken finished the season about on par with where they rank in salary. They're OK. Not great. Good sometimes. Below average more often. Makes sense given the money spent.
21. Washington Capitals - $91.1 Million
- Highest paid player: Jakob Chychrun, $9M
There aren't any ridiculously overpaid players on the roster, save maybe Pierre-Luc Dubois. The problem is that a lot of the above-average cost players disappointed this year. And in a potentially post-Alex Ovechkin era, the Caps will need a new identity soon.
22. San Jose Sharks - $90.7 Million
- Highest paid player: Dmitry Orlov, $6.5M*
San Jose is trending in the right direction despite not having made the postseason since 2019. Macklin Celebrini is due a raise now, which will lift the Sharks up these rankings. But that isn't a bad thing.
*Logan Couture is San Jose's highest-paid player, technically, at $8M this season. Couture has not played since six games during the 2023-24 season and announced he would retire at the conclusion of this season when his contract runs out.
23. Utah Mammoth - $90 Million
- Highest paid player: Logan Cooley, $10M
You have to feel for fans in Arizona who had to watch their team limp through most of the last decade-plus only to see the new-look Mammoth make the playoffs in just their second season in Utah. They still languish near the bottom of the salary rankings, but the step forward in 2025-26 should infuse more spending.
24. Philadelphia Flyers - $88.4 Million
- Highest paid player: Travis Konecny, $8.75M
Given their roster construction, it's hard to pick a team that overachieved more than the Philadelphia Flyers this past season. Now, most of the deals outside of Konecny and aging center Sean Couturier (age 33 at $7.75 million through 2030) look team friendly.
25. Nashville Predators - $88.3 Million
- Highest paid player: Roman Josi, $9.059M
Who are the Predators, anyway? The big-spending offseason of 2024 has yielded two disappointing seasons and saddled Nashville with old players who make tons of money. Some of them remain capable. Some do not.
26. Pittsburgh Penguins - $87.1 Million
- Highest paid player: Erik Karlsson, $11.5M
Speaking of old, the Penguins are downright ancient. Sidney Crosby is 39 and set to be an unrestricted free agent. Karlsson, age 36, is, too. The franchise has staved off a rebuild and a playoff appearance this season was nice. But is it time to turn the page?
27. Carolina Hurricanes - $87.1 Million
- Highest paid player: Sebastian Aho, $9.75M
No team in the NHL does more with less than the Carolina Hurricanes as the club has made the playoffs in eight straight years. Fans would like to make a Stanley Cup Final, though. Maybe this is the team that does it, as superstar-less as it may be.
28. Columbus Blue Jackets - $86.6 Million
- Highest paid player: Zach Werenski, $9.583M
The Columbus Blue Jackets haven't made the postseason since 2020 and now they have a lot of middling players on multi-years that are too expensive for the return. Still, the Jackets have pieces they could move and money they could spend to snap the streak.
29. Calgary Flames - $86 Million
- Highest paid player: Jonathan Huberdeau, $10.5M
The burn-it-down phase of the Flames' rebuild it almost complete. But they're stuck with Huberdeau through 2031 and few players have fallen off as much as the winger. It's hard to tell what Calgary can even do in either direction while he remains.
30. Anaheim Ducks - $83.8 Million
- Highest paid player: Jackson Lacombe, $9M
31. Detroit Red Wings - $83.1 Million
- Highest paid player: Dylan Larkin, $8.7M
32. Chicago Blackhawks - $80.4 Million
- Highest paid player: Frank Nazar, $6.6M
Related: NHL's Highest-Paid Players: Top 25 Salaries in 2025-26 by Average Annual Value
Related: Full 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Schedule, Updated Bracket and Results
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 3:24 PM.