A look at the top paid forwards in the PWHL from the 2024-25 season, as well as some top players restructured contracts.
The Hockey News was openly provided the salary data through sources involved in the PWHL. The salary data was verified and validated through numerous league sources, as well as comparing the provided information to past salary disclosures made to The Hockey News on background from 2024 and 2025.
Today, we look at the top 20 highest paid forwards for the last full season, being 2024-25.
The top 20 forwards based on salary in the PWHL last season were Marie-Philip Poulin, Montreal ($121,570), Brianne Jenner, Ottawa ($118,450), Abby Roque, New York ($113,300), Hilary Knight, Boston ($103,000), Emily Clark, Ottawa ($103,000), Alex Carpenter, New York ($97,850), Kendall Coyne-Schofield, Minnesota ($97,850), Sarah Nurse, Toronto ($92,700), Laura Stacey, Montreal ($89,974), Blayre Turnbull, Toronto ($89,610), Taylor Heise, Minnesota ($88,065), Alina Muller, Boston ($84,460), Emma Maltais, Toronto ($82,400), Gabbie Hughes, Ottawa ($82,400), Jessie Eldridge, New York ($82,400), Maureen Murphy, Montreal ($82,400), Kristin O’Neill, Montreal ($82,400), Kelly Pannek, Minnesota ($82,400), Grace Zumwinkle, Minnesota ($82,400), Jamie Lee Rattray, Boston ($82,400).
Arguably the best player in the world, Marie-Philip Poulin was the highest paid player last season. A year in which she won forward of the year, as well as MVP. The two-time first all-star team made $121,570 that year.
That said, Poulin, like her teammates Laura Stacey and Ann-Renee Desbiens, accepted a contract restructuration before the current season and it was reported that this included a pay cut. We now know how much that pay cut was.
Per her initial contract, Poulin was supposed to make $125,216 in 2025-26. Instead, she agreed to $110,216, a hefty $15,000 less. Moreover, she agreed to a two-year, $200,000 extension, meaning she won’t be the highest paid forward next year, and probably the year after that.
This is not the first time that a star athlete decides to take a pay cut to allow the team to sign players who can help win a championship. Connor McDavid is one example. And being an Olympic year, Poulin also gets incomes from Hockey Canada as well as sponsors. It doesn’t mean she should not be paid what she’s worth in the PWHL, but if one player could take that kind of decision, it was her.
Emily Clark’s Complicated Contract
Ottawa is the only team on that list to have two players being paid at least six figures: Charge’s captain Brianne Jenner and Emily Clark.
Both were signed as franchise players by the team back in 2023. Jenner signed a three-year deal worth $355,453. In 2024-25, her salary was $118,450, second highest. As far as Clark goes, her initial deal was worth $309,090 over three years, earning $103,000 last season, good for fifth place.
Clark did restructure her contract as well.
Over the summer, it was reported that her new contract was making her the highest paid player in the PWHL and it is, in fact, true. Clark received a $20,000 raise for this current season, going from $106,090 to $126,090. But like Poulin, the next two years are worth much less. Clark is set to make $82,910 in 2026-27 and $85,000 in 2027-28.
So, if we were to calculate this like in the NHL, with an average annual value, her current contract would be worth $98,000 per year. In comparison, Poulin’s AAV would be $103,405. But in the PWHL, that’s not how average salary is calculated. It is actually based on what the player is making that particular year. Therefore, in Ottawa’s salary cap this season, the team needs to factor in $126,090.
Roque Making More Than Poulin
A total of five forwards were making north of $100,000 last season. Poulin, Jenner, Clark, and Hilary Knight, and a name that some people might be surprised to see this high on the list, Abby Roque.
The Michigan-native signed one of the most lucrative contracts in the short history of the PWHL as one of the three franchise players in New York, a 3-year deal worth $339,999: $110,000 the first year, $113,300 last season, and $116,699 this year.
Roque was traded to Montreal last June for Kristin O’Neill and a fourth-round draft pick. In the deal, New York retained the difference of salary between Roque’s and O’Neill’s, something close to $32,000. But in the end, although she sits at 12th all-time in points, Roque is getting paid more than Poulin this season.
Many Players Making $80,000 The First Year
New York also gave Alex Carpenter $97,850 last season, same as Minnesota with Kendell Coyne-Schofield, who was offered a 3-year deal worth $293,635.50 in 2023. Both are among the top five in career points.
Toronto’s highest paid forward was Sarah Nurse with $92,700, a few thousand more than Blayre Turnbull in 10th place. The latter signed for $268,908 over three years. Laura Stacey comes in 9th position with $89,974 last season, while Taylor Heise signed a three-year deal worth $264, 272. Not bad for the 2024 Playoffs MVP and the fourth-ranked point leader. Boston’s Alina Muller completes the top 12 with $84,460.
The rest of the top 20 are players who signed for $80,000 the first season, 3-year deals worth $247,272. These are Emma Maltais, Gabbie Hughes, Jessie Eldridge, Maureen Murphy, Kristin O’Neill, Kelly Pannek, Grace Zumwinkle, and Jamie Lee Rattray.
According to the CBA, “During the initial League Year only, the League will sign no fewer than six (6) Players on each Team to three-year SPAs of no less than $80,000 per League Year.”
We can now confirm that every team signed exactly six players under that rule, with 14 out of 36 players making the minimum required of $80,000 the very first year.
*All salaries are in US dollars