Watch bear charge at Seattle Kraken mascot in Alaska
Seattle Kraken mascot Buoy and player John Hayden were startled by a bear during the team’s annual trip to Alaska.
The NHL will enter the 2025-26 season with a new highest-paid player for the third season in a row.
That honor goes to Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, who signed an eight-year, $112 million extension ($14 million cap hit) in 2024.
That deal takes effect this season, pushing him past last year’s leader, Toronto’s Auston Matthews ($13.25 million). Matthews had passed Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million, starting in 2023-24), who had topped Edmonton’s Connor McDavid ($12.5 million since 2018-19).
Draisaitl’s reign will last only a year. The salary cap is going up and McDavid, Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and Vegas’ Jack Eichel are among the high-profile 2026 unrestricted free agents. Kaprizov reportedly turned down a record-setting eight-year offer.
Here’s a look at the highest-paid players for the 2025-26 season (figures from puckpedia.com):
Highest-paid NHL players by cap hit
Top 50 plus ties
C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $14,000,000C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $13,250,000C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $12,600,000C Connor McDavid, Oilers, $12,500,000RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $12,000,000RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $12,000,000LW Artemi Panarin, Rangers, $11,642,857C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $11,600,000D Erik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000C William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $11,500,000G Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,500,000RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $11,250,000D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000C Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, $10,000,000C Jack Eichel, Golden Knights, $10,000,000G Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, $10,000,000C Tyler Seguin, Stars, $9,850,000C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $9,750,000D Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,333LW Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, $9,500,000RW Mark Stone, Golden Knights, $9,500,000RW Nikita Kucherov, Lightning, $9,500,000D Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000C Brayden Point, Lightning, $9,500,000LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $9,500,000D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000D Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000G Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000D Darnell Nurse, Oilers, $9,250,000C Mathew Barzal, Islanders, $9,150,000D Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000LW Jake Guentzel, Lightning, $9,000,000LW Kirill Kaprizov, Wild, $9,000,000D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000D Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000D Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, $8,800,000 (currently injured)RW Timo Meier, Devils, $8,800,000RW Travis Konecny, Flyers, $8,750,000C Sidney Crosby, Penguins, $8,700,000C Dylan Larkin, Red Wings, $8,700,000LW Patrik Laine, Canadiens, $8,700,000C Sam Reinhart, Panthers, $8,625,000D Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000D Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000C Mika Zibanejad, Rangers, $8,500,000C Mark Scheifele, Jets, $8,500,000C Filip Forsberg, Predators, $8,500,000C Bo Horvat, Islanders, $8,500,000LW Nikolaj Ehlers, Hurricanes, $8,500,000D Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals, $8,500,000D Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000G Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000Highest-paid NHL players by salary
Top 30 plus ties
C Leon Draisaitl, Oilers, $16,500,000C Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche, $16,050,000G Igor Shesterkin, Rangers, $15,825,000C Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs, $15,200,000RW Mitch Marner, Golden Knights, $15,000,000RW Mikko Rantanen, Stars, $15,000,000C Elias Pettersson, Canucks, $14,500,000C William Nylander, Maple Leafs, $13,500,000RW David Pastrnak, Bruins, $12,500,000D Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $12,000,000D Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $12,000,000C Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes, $12,000,000C Brayden Point, Lightning, $12,000,000D Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $12,000,000C Aleksander Barkov, Panthers, $11,600,000D Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $11,550,000D Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $11,500,000C Pierre-Luc Dubois, Capitals, $11,350,000LW Matthew Tkachuk, Panthers, $11,250,000D Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $11,050,000D Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000D Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $11,000,000RW Travis Konecny, Flyers, $11,000,000D Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $11,000,000C Seth Jarvis, Hurricanes, $10,950,000RW Timo Meier, Devils, $10,750,000LW Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames, $10,500,000D Seth Jones, Panthers, $10,500,000L Brady Tkachuk, Senators, $10,500,000C Jordan Kyrou, Blues, $10,500,000C Robert Thomas, Blues, $10,500,000Highest-paid NHL defensemen by cap hitErik Karlsson, Penguins, $11,500,000Drew Doughty, Kings, $11,000,000Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres, $11,000,000Evan Bouchard, Oilers, $10,500,000Zach Werenski, Blue Jackets, $9,583,333Seth Jones, Panthers, $9,500,000Charlie McAvoy, Bruins, $9,500,000Adam Fox, Rangers, $9,500,000Noah Dobson, Canadiens, $9,500,000Darnell Nurse, Oilers, $9,250,000Roman Josi, Predators, $9,059,000Dougie Hamilton, Devils, $9,000,000Jakob Chychrun, Capitals, $9,000,000Cale Makar, Avalanche, $9,000,000Alex Pietrangelo, Golden Knights, $8,800,000 (currently injured)Moritz Seider, Red Wings, $8,550,000Ivan Provorov, Blue Jackets, $8,500,000Mikhail Sergachev, Mammoth, $8,500,000Brock Faber, Wild, $8,500,000Miro Heiskanen, Stars, $8,450,000Owen Power, Sabres, $8,350,000Jake Sanderson, Senators, $8,050,000John Carlson, Capitals, $8,000,000Victor Hedman, Lightning, $8,000,000Jacob Trouba, Ducks, $8,000,000Thomas Chabot, Senators, $8,000,000Quinn Hughes, Canucks, $7,850,000Jared Spurgeon, Wild, $7,575,000Morgan Rielly, Maple Leafs, $7,500,000K’Andre Miller, Hurricanes, $7,500,000Highest-paid NHL goaltenders by cap hitIgor Shesterkin, Rangers, $11,500,000Sergei Bobrovsky, Panthers, $10,000,000Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning, $9,500,000Connor Hellebuyck, Jets, $8,500,000Jeremy Swayman, Bruins, $8,250,000Jake Oettinger, Stars, $8,250,000Ilya Sorokin, Islanders, $8,250,000Linus Ullmark, Senators, $8,250,000Juuse Saros, Predators, $7,740,000Lukas Dostal, Ducks, $6,500,000John Gibson, Red Wings, $6,400,000Adin Hill, Golden Knights, $6,250,000Jacob Markstrom, Devils, $6,000,000Jordan Binnington, Blues, $6,000,000Philipp Grubauer, Kraken, $5,900,000Logan Thompson, Capitals, $5,850,000Elvis Merzlikins, Blue Jackets, $5,400,000Tristan Jarry, Penguins, $5,375,000MacKenzie Blackwood, Avalanche, $5,250,000Darcy Kuemper, Kings, $5,250,000Joey Daccord, Kraken, $5,000,000Thatcher Demko, Canucks, $5,000,000Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Sabres, $4,750,000Karel Vejmelka, Mammoth, $4,750,000Kevin Lankinen, Canucks, $4,500,000Spencer Knight, Blackhawks, $4,500,000Petr Mrazek, Ducks, $4,250,000Joonas Korpisalo, Bruins, $4,000,000Filip Gustavsson, Wild, $3,750,000Joseph Woll, Maple Leafs, $3,666,667Who could pass Leon Draisaitl as top-paid player?
The 2026 free-agent class is star-studded, and includes Connor McDavid (current $12.5 million cap hit), Jack Eichel ($10 million) and Kirill Kaprizov ($9 million).
All are eligible to sign extensions before they become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
The reported offer to Kaprizov was eight years with an average annual value of $16 million. That would give him the top cap hit, and the $128 million total would set a record for largest NHL contract, passing the 13-year, $124 million contract that Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin signed in 2008.
In the end, McDavid should re-establish himself as the NHL’s top-paid player. He is a three-time MVP who has taken his team to the Stanley Cup Final the last two seasons.