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    Ken Campbell
    Ken Campbell
    Jan 23, 2020, 05:02

    Despite a number of all-stars bowing out or falling injured ahead of the break, the All-Star Game in St. Louis will still feature a group of NHL talent valued at an eye-popping amount. Here's a look at the payrolls for each divisional all-star club.

    Despite a number of all-stars bowing out or falling injured ahead of the break, the All-Star Game in St. Louis will still feature a group of NHL talent valued at an eye-popping amount. Here's a look at the payrolls for each divisional all-star club.

    The goal totals won’t be the only numbers that are inflated at the 2020 NHL All-Star Game. Since nobody really cares about any of this, including the players themselves, and we’ll all forget about the event five minutes after it ends, let’s have our annual fun with salaries.

    You’ll be thrilled to know that all four teams have been able to get under the league’s $81.5 million salary cap, but you have to remember that’s only for 11 players. Before accounting for injuries and absences, the Atlantic Division comes in as the biggest spenders, with three players on its roster carrying a cap hit of more than $10 million this season. The Metropolitan comes in with the cheapest roster, but once their stars come off long-term injury reserve and end their holdouts, that team is going to be entering some serious salary cap hell.

    Nobody in the game has a higher cap hit than the $12.5 million Connor McDavid is pulling down, and nobody should. He is the best player in the world and the Oilers are getting an enormous bargain. Largest salary this season? That would belong to Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who will make $15.3 million.

    This is a really, really expensive bunch of players. All told, the four rosters combine for a cap hit of $246,280,142, with another $72,465,326 on the sidelines for a total of $318,745,468. Remember that when you’re watching – if you’re watching – this weekend. The skills competition will almost certainly find a way to be confusing and tedious as it always does and the actual games will be hot death to watch.

    ATLANTIC DIVISION
    Mitch Marner – $10,893,000
    Jack Eichel - $10,000,000
    Victor Hedman - $7,875,000
    Shea Weber – $7,857,143
    David Pastrnak - $6,666,666
    Jonathan Huberdeau - $5,900,000
    Frederik Andersen - $5,000,000
    Andrei Vasilevskiy – $3,500,000
    Anthony Duclair - $1,650,000
    Tyler Bertuzzi - $1,400,000
    Brady Tkachuk - $925,000

    TOTAL - $61,666,809

    NOTES: Tuukka Rask and his $7 million chose to sit out the game and Auston Matthews was a late withdrawal, replaced by entry-level guy Brady Tkachuk…No entry-level contracts on this team…Payroll for goaltenders will balloon next season when Vasilevskiy’s extension kicks in next season at $9.5 million a year.

    METROPOLITAN DIVISION

    John Carlson - $8,000,000
    Kris Letang - $7,250,000
    Braden Holtby - $6,100,000
    T.J. Oshie - $5,750,000
    Travis Konecny - $5,500,000
    Seth Jones - $5,400,000
    Jaccob Slavin - $5,300,000
    Chris Kreider - $4,625,000
    Nico Hischier - $925,000
    Mathew Barzal - $863,333
    Tristan Jarry - $675,000

    TOTAL - $50,388,333

    NOTES: Don’t let the low total fool you. With Jake Guentzel, Kyle Palmieri, Dougie Hamilton, Joonas Korpisalo, Artemi Panarin and Alex Ovechkin either hurt or sitting out, the Metro team has $38,731,319 on the sidelines…The total reflects only Barzal’s base salary. He’ll almost certainly earn another $400,000 in bonuses. And he’ll command an enormous salary next season…The key to a good organization is being able to replace high-priced players with cheaper talent and the Metro has done a good job of that, replacing Palmieri with Hischier and Korpisalo with Jarry…With the season he’s having, what on earth is Braden Holtby doing in this game? The Metro could have had Ilya Samsonov for $925,000.

    CENTRAL DIVISION
    Patrick Kane – $10,500,000
    Tyler Seguin – $9,850,000
    Ryan O’Reilly - $7,500,000
    Alex Pietrangelo - $6,500,000
    Nathan MacKinnon - $6,300,000
    Connor Hellebuyck - $6,166,666
    Mark Scheifele - $6,125,000
    Jordan Binnington - $4,400,000
    Roman Josi - $4,000,000
    David Perron - $4,000,000
    Eric Staal - $3,250,000

    TOTAL - $68,591,666

    NOTES: Everybody who was invited came, so the Central has nothing on injured reserve…MacKinnon remains the biggest steal in the NHL at $6.3 million…Josi’s salary goes up to more than $9 million when his extension kicks in next season…This team will have a tough time replacing Pietrangelo, who stands to become the most coveted unrestricted free agent in the NHL this summer.

    PACIFIC DIVISION
    Connor McDavid - $12,500,000
    Anze Kopitar - $10,000,000
    Leon Draisaitl – $8,500,000
    Max Pacioretty - $7,000,000
    Matthew Tkachuk - $7,000,000
    Mark Giordano - $6,750,000
    Tomas Hertl - $5,625,000
    Jacob Markstrom - $3,666,667
    David Rittich - $2,750,000
    Elias Pettersson - $925,000
    Quinn Hughes - $916,667

    TOTAL - $65,633,334

    NOTES: With Logan Couture, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jacob Silfverberg and Darcy Kuemper out, the Pacific has $22,100,000 on the sidelines…Total includes only the base salaries for Pettersson and Hughes. Pettersson stands to make $3.775 million if he hits all his entry-level bonuses and Hughes is due to make $1.6 million if he hits is. Both almost certainly will.

    Update: An earlier version of this story indicated the Canadian and American women's players participating in the Elite Women's 3-on-3 event would not be paid. The Hockey News has learned the women's players will receive compensation.

    (All salary cap information via CapFriendly)

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