Kirill Kaprizov’s new contract is an NHL history-maker, and Connor McDavid chose not to break it one week later. The 28-year-old Kaprizov signed an eight-year, $136-million contract extension on Sept. 30 [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/minnesota-wild-sign-superstar-kirill-kaprizov-to-nhl-record-setting-contract-extension] with the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild], which selected him 135th overall in the 2015 NHL draft. The left winger’s contract carries the highest total value in NHL history, and it carries the highest cap hit in the league for next season. Three-time Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid re-signed for two years at $12.5 million annually [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/oilers-connor-mcdavid-announces-monumental-contract-extension] with the Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers] on Oct. 6, which means Kaprizov leads this list of the richest contracts in NHL history in terms of total value. KIRILL KAPRIZOV, MINNESOTA: $136 MILLION, 8 YEARS, $17-MILLION CAP HIT Kaprizov agreed to this historic contract just weeks after reportedly turning down a $128-million offer, which would have set the record anyway. Although he was selected in the same draft as McDavid, Kaprizov’s appeared in fewer than half of McDavid’s games, since he played five seasons in the KHL [https://thehockeynews.com/international] before moving to North America. But he’s still put up 386 points in 319 games, with a career-high 108 points in 2021-22. He’s won the Calder Trophy and has been in the Hart Trophy conversation nearly every year. While he leads the NHL in total contract value, Kaprizov is still $39 million short of the top 100 list for largest sports contracts in team sports. Alex Ovechkin (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/27b8433e-2d8a-404c-b422-14ad5990427d.jpeg] Alex Ovechkin (Geoff Burke-Imagn Images) ALEX OVECHKIN, WASHINGTON: $124 MILLION, 13 YEARS, $9,538,462 CAP HIT Ovechkin’s record stood for more than 17 years. He signed his mega-deal with the Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals] in January 2008, just weeks after 2026 NHL draft prospect Gavin McKenna was born. In 2013, the NHL and NHLPA’s new collective bargaining agreement decreased the maximum contract term to eight years for players re-signing with their team. In September 2026, that maximum term will become seven years. Ovechkin ended up winning his first of three Hart Trophies in 2007-08. He also won the Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy for the first of nine times and the Art Ross Trophy. LEON DRAISAITL, EDMONTON: $112 MILLION, 8 YEARS, $14-MILLION CAP HIT Draisaitl’s new contract kicks in for the 2025-26 season. The maximum term limited his total value, but his cap hit was the highest in the NHL for just over a year until Kaprizov’s announcement. The Oilers center had already won the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award before signing his contract extension in September 2024. Last season, he won the Rocket Richard Trophy after putting up 52 goals. That’s not even his career high – he scored 55 times in 2021-22. His career-high 128 points are 20 more than Kaprizov’s best, although the latter has only played more than 75 games in a season once – Draisaitl’s done so six times. SHEA WEBER, NASHVILLE: $110 MILLION, 14 YEARS, $7,857,143 CAP HIT The Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators] were faced with a massive decision in the summer of 2012 when their captain was at risk of leaving as an RFA. The Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] signed Weber to an offer sheet, giving the smaller-market Predators one week to either match it or let him walk. "Our ownership has provided us with the necessary resources to build a Stanley Cup-winning team," then-GM David Poile said at the time [https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/report-shea-weber-philadelphia-flyers-agree-to-offer-sheet/] of the offer sheet. Nashville decided to match it, but after five years, they traded him to the Montreal Canadiens [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/montreal-canadiens] in exchange for fellow defenseman P.K. Subban. Weber last played in 2020-21, when the Habs lost in the Stanley Cup final. Since then, his contract has been moved to the Vegas Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights], Arizona Coyotes, Utah Mammoth [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/utah] and Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks]. The 2025-26 campaign is the final year of the contract. JACK EICHEL, VEGAS: $108 MILLION, EIGHT YEARS, $13.5-MILLION CAP HIT It was impressive enough that Eichel already had an eight-year, $80-million contract that expires after 2025-26. After potting 113 points in 142 points across his first two seasons, the Buffalo Sabres [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/buffalo-sabres] didn't need to wait to see what happened in the third year of Eichel's entry-level contract when they signed him to the deal. But Eichel only last three seasons in Buffalo once that eight-year deal kicked in. The Sabres granted his trade request in November 2021. Since then, Eichel has won the Stanley Cup, and he recorded a career-high 94 points in 2024-25. He signed this new mega-deal on the day of Vegas [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights]' season opener in 2025. SIDNEY CROSBY, PITTSBURGH: $104.4 MILLION, 12 YEARS, $8.7-MILLION CAP HIT Crosby had won the Stanley Cup, Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award, Art Ross Trophy, Rocket Richard Trophy and Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award before he signed this 12-year deal in June 2012. Although Ovechkin agreed to a larger cap hit and total value four years earlier, Crosby arguably took a discount to help the Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] build the best team possible. They eventually won the Stanley Cup twice more before Ovechkin got his first NHL championship ring. Even when Crosby’s deal expired after the 2024-25 season, he signed a two-year contract extension for the same $8.7-million cap hit. Talk about loyalty. Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby (Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/b36fe34d-6663-408e-b066-edd404c10861.jpeg] Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby (Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images) NATHAN MACKINNON, COLORADO: $100.80 MILLION, 8 YEARS, $12.6-MILLION CAP HIT MacKinnon briefly had the highest cap hit in the NHL when he signed the deal on Sept. 20, 2022. Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews surpassed it in August 2023 with a $13.25-million cap hit on a four-year deal. The Colorado Avalanche [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/colorado-avalanche] center had already won the Calder Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy before agreeing to the contract extension. He ended up winning the Stanley Cup later that season and added a Hart Trophy victory in 2023-24. CONNOR MCDAVID, EDMONTON: $100 MILLION, 8 YEARS, $12.5-MILLION CAP HIT McDavid is already in the top 10 for largest NHL contracts, but his new extension does not make this list. At $12.5 million for two years, McDavid keeps the cap hit he's had since 2018-19, and the total value comes to $25 million. He’s accomplished more than Kaprizov, which would justify a larger contract than the Wild winger, but he wants to win the Stanley Cup multiple times, which meant taking less to ensure there’s enough talent and depth to be competitive. When he signed his current contract in July 2017, he had just won his first of five Art Trophies, first of three Hart Trophies and first of four Ted Lindsay Awards in 2016-17. McDavid’s 1.52 points per game are the fourth-most in NHL history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky (1.92), Mario Lemieux (1.88) and Newsy Lalonde (1.69 in 99 career games). ILYA KOVALCHUK, NEW JERSEY: $100 MILLION, 15 YEARS, $6,666,666 CAP HIT Kovalchuk’s enormous deal with the New Jersey Devils [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils] in 2010 came after a larger contract was disallowed. The NHL rejected a 17-year, $102-million deal that would have paid Kovalchuk $95 million in Years 1 to 10 [https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/looking-ilya-kovalchuks-complicated-contract-history/] and $7 million in the final seven years. Keep in mind that Kovalchuk was 27 at the time and would have been 44 when the contract expired. The NHL argued the front-loaded deal violated the collective bargaining agreement, and an arbitrator ruled in favor of the league. The NHL even fined New Jersey $3 million and forced the team to forfeit a first-round pick and third-round pick. After all that, Kovalchuk retired from the NHL three years into the adjusted 15-year, $100-million contract, so his contract was terminated. He played in the KHL for seven seasons before returning to the NHL to play for the Los Angeles Kings [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/los-angeles-kings], Canadiens and Capitals. He played his last NHL season in 2019-20 and last KHL season in 2023-24. If the 17-year contract was allowed, it still would have had two seasons left. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter (Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/f884121a-f386-4ae5-a7c8-c30e5f5f81b9.jpeg] Zach Parise and Ryan Suter (Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images) RYAN SUTER AND ZACH PARISE, MINNESOTA: $98 MILLION, 13 YEARS, $7,538,462 CAP HIT Parise and Suter round out the top 10 with identical contracts they signed with the Wild on July 4, 2012. Parise recorded at least 60 points in five seasons by that point, including a career-high 94 points in 2008-09. He was part of the Devils’ run to the Stanley Cup final in 2011-12, recording 15 points in 24 games. Suter, meanwhile, was a very reliable defender for the Predators over seven seasons, averaging 22:37 of ice time during that span. He had five 30-point campaigns, including 46 in 2011-12. The defenseman ended up setting a career-high 51 points in 2015-16 and 2017-18 in Minnesota. His average ice time of 29:25 in 2013-14 is the highest in NHL history since 1997-98, when tracking for that stat began. Parise, meanwhile, only notched a high of 62 points during his time with them. And from 2012-13 to 2020-21, the Wild only won two playoff rounds. Minnesota bought out the contracts of both players before the 2021-22 season. The team will pay buyout cap hits through 2028-29. Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3a125ecb-6852-4f5e-a2f6-e203d4b0edb2.jpeg] MIKKO RANTANEN, DALLAS: $96 MILLION, 8 YEARS, $12-MILLION CAP HIT Rantanen and Mitch Marner were briefly tied for 10th place before Kaprizov re-signed. Rantanen signed his eight-year contract extension with the Dallas Stars [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/dallas-stars] amid a surprising campaign. After playing parts of 10 seasons with the Avalanche and winning the Stanley Cup in 2022, Colorado decided not to continue contract negotiations with Rantanen and traded the star to the Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes] in January 2025. The 28-year-old right winger played only 13 games with Carolina, recording six points. With the Hurricanes failing to sign Rantanen to a new deal, they moved him at the NHL trade deadline to the Stars, which immediately announced an extension. Rantanen faced his former longtime team in the first round of the playoffs, eliminating the Avalanche in Game 7 with a hat trick. MITCH MARNER, TORONTO/VEGAS: $96 MILLION, 8 YEARS, $12-MILLION CAP HIT Marner, 28, was about to be the top UFA of the free-agent market this past summer. The day before he actually became one, reports surfaced that the Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] moved him to the Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade. The teams announced the deal on the morning of July 1. Marner put up 741 points in 657 games with the Maple Leafs, as well as 63 points in 70 playoff games. He was named to the NHL’s first all-star team in 2021 and 2022. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
