Well, it’s official. In only the third season since the 2004-05 NHL season was cancelled because of the lockout, total salaries for NHL players already have surpassed the total league-wide payroll at the 2004 trade deadline. In March 2004, the 30 NHL clubs combined to pay its players a total of $1.34-billion in salaries.
Even with the 24 per cent salary rollback that the players surrendered during the lockout and the salary cap ($50.3-million this season), the total amount that will paid out to players in 2007-08 will be approximately $1.4-billion, a $60-million increase.
Below is a list of team-by-team payrolls. Although you will notice that some clubs like the Flyers, Bruins, Rangers and Ducks are over the salary cap figure this season, the team payrolls are reflective of what individual teams will pay out this season because of players who were placed on long-term injury lists and players with performance bonuses.
Philadelphia – $56.7 M
Boston – $56.5 M
NY Rangers – $51.3 M
Anaheim – $51.0 M
Chicago – $49.9 M
St. Louis – $49.1 M
Edmonton – $49.7 M
Vancouver – $49.9
Toronto – $49.1 M
Minnesota – $48.9 M
Carolina – $48.5 M
Calgary – $48.4 M
Dallas – $48.1 M
Montreal – $48.1 M
New Jersey -- $47.1 M
Ottawa – $47.1 M
Colorado – $46.7 M
Detroit – $46.6 M
Florida – $46.2 M
Los Angeles – $46.0 M
Buffalo – $44.9 M
Atlanta – $44.4 M
NY Islanders – $43.0 M
Tampa Bay – $43.9 M
Pittsburgh – $42.6 M
Columbus – $41.8 M
San Jose – $40.6 M
Washington – $39.4 M
Phoenix – $37.4 M
Nashville – $35.6 M
