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    Ken Campbell
    Ken Campbell
    Feb 10, 2014, 22:46

    Not surprisingly, Canada leads the way in cap hit at the the Olympics, but when it comes to average cap hit per NHL player, the country that wins the gold medal in that category might surprise you.

    Not surprisingly, Canada leads the way in cap hit at the the Olympics, but when it comes to average cap hit per NHL player, the country that wins the gold medal in that category might surprise you.

    Canadian Olympic roster comes with heavy price tag

    Those of you who remember the television program, The Six Million Dollar Man, knew that Steve Austin would have cleaned up in the Olympics. It remains to be seen whether Canada’s $6 million men can do the same in Sochi.

    The first puck has yet to be dropped, but Canada has already won the gold medal for having the highest salary cap hit in the Games. The Canadians check in at $149.1 million, which is almost $85 million over the NHL’s salary cap of $64.3 million.

    But surprisingly, Canada’s average of $6 million per NHL player is not the highest average in the Olympics. That honor belongs to Slovenia, who has just one NHL player on its roster, Anze Kopitar, who carries a salary cap of $6.8 million with the Los Angeles Kings.

    Here’s where each team checks in with total cap hit and cap hit per NHL player on the roster:

    CANADA

    Total cap hit: $149,093,332

    Average cap hit (25 NHL players): $5,963,733

    USA

    Total cap hit: $119,775,258

    Average cap hit (25 NHL players): $4,791,010

    SWEDEN

    Total cap hit: $86,434,166

    Average cap hit (24 NHL players): $3,601,423

    RUSSIA

    Total cap hit: $67,796,792

    Average cap hit (16 NHL players): $4,237,300

    CZECH REPUBLIC

    Total cap hit: $59,437,500

    Average cap hit (17 NHL players): $3,496,324

    FINLAND

    Total cap hit: $45,804,167

    Average cap hit (14 NHL players): $3,271,762

    SLOVAKIA

    Total cap hit: $26,170,834

    Average cap hit (10 NHL players): $2,617,083

    SWITZERLAND

    Total cap hit: $20,415,000

    Average cap hit (9 NHL players): $2,268,333

    AUSTRIA

    Total cap hit: $9,542,500

    Average cap hit (3 NHL players): $3,180,833

    SLOVENIA

    Total cap hit: $6,800,000

    Average cap hit (1 NHL player): $6,800,000

    NORWAY

    Total cap hit:
    $1,150,000

    Average cap hit (1 NHL player): $1,150,000

    LATVIA

    Total cap hit:
    $894,167

    Average cap hit (1 NHL player): $894,167

    TOTAL NHL CAP HIT: $593,313,716

    AVERAGE CAP HIT (146 NHL PLAYERS): $4,063,793

    The highest cap hit of the Olympics belongs to Alexander Ovechkin of Russia/Washington Capitals at $9.5 million and the lowest goes to Simon Moser of Switzerland/Nashville Predators at $570,000.