The PWHLPA released full salary information for the 2025–26 season on Tuesday.

With that now public, here’s a look at the top 10 in each category, along with some analysis for each group.

Emily Clark was the highest-paid forward this past season, but her contract is structured in a way that pays a significant portion upfront.

In fact, while those figures were not disclosed by the PWHLPA, Clark is set to earn $82,910 in 2026–27 and $85,000 in 2027–28.

So, if the contract were calculated the way it is in the NHL — using average annual value (AAV) — it would carry a cap hit of roughly $98,000 per season.

However, that’s not how salaries are calculated in the PWHL. Instead, a player’s cap hit is based on the amount earned in that specific season. As a result, Ottawa had to account for Clark’s full $126,090 salary against the cap this year.

There have been plenty of questions surrounding Abby Roque’s contract and the fact she is earning more than teammate Marie-Philip Poulin. Of course, there’s the fact that Poulin accepted a pay cut to help the team sign certain players. But it goes beyond that.

The Michigan native signed one of the league’s most lucrative contracts as one of New York’s three inaugural franchise players: a three-year deal worth $339,999, broken down as follows — $110,000 in Year 1, $113,300 last season, and $116,699 this season.

Why such a high number?

Part of it comes down to timing. New York GM Pascal Daoust was hired later than all of the league’s other inaugural general managers. By the time he took over, many players had already committed elsewhere, forcing New York to spend aggressively to attract talent to one of the league’s most expensive markets.

Unlike teams such as Montreal, Boston, Toronto, or Minnesota, New York did not have the same advantage of local players — or players with college ties to the market — willing to sign for less in order to play there. That’s also part of the reason why both New York and Ottawa ended up paying a premium for certain players early on.

It’s also worth noting that, as part of the trade that sent Roque to Montreal, New York retained the salary difference between her contract and Kristin O’Neill’s — a figure slightly below $30,000.

Looking at the all-time points leaders, players like Taylor Heise — and especially Daryl Watts — appear significantly underpaid relative to their production, ranking second and third all-time behind Marie-Philip Poulin.

In fact, among the top 10 scorers in PWHL history, seven are not among the league’s 10 highest-paid forwards.

There’s not much surprise here. Seeing former Defender of the Year winners Fast and Ambrose in the top 10 is expected, just like Jaques and Keller being among the highest-paid defenders after both are finalists for the award this season.

Stecklein is also widely regarded as one of the league’s premier shutdown defenders.

And with Claire Thompson included, Vancouver now has three of the league’s 11 highest-paid defenders.

It’s somewhat ironic that the league’s strongest position in terms of overall talent is also its weakest financially. Not only are there no six-figure salaries among goaltenders, but it’s also the only position where the top 10 drops below the $80,000 mark — and it falls off quickly.

In particular, this is of interest due to the fact the top goaltenders in the PWHL played almost every game this season led by Philips who appeared in 28 of her team's 30 games, followed by Kayle Osborne (27), Aerin Frankel (26), and Desbiens (25).

With only eight teams in the league, it’s not surprising to see backup goaltenders appear on that list. Still, it’s noteworthy that in Toronto, backup Elaine Chuli is earning more than starter Raygan Kirk, who just completed the second season of a two-year contract.

The Vancouver tandem of Emerance Maschmeyer and Kristen Campbell is currently the highest-paid goalie duo in the league, narrowly ahead of Maddie Rooney and Nicole Hensley in Minnesota.

Only two defenders cracked the top 10, compared to eight forwards, while no goaltender made the list. In fact, the highest-paid goalie ranks 13th overall.

It somewhat mirrors the NHL trend, where only one defender ranks among the league’s 10 highest-paid players, while the first goaltender comes in at number 11.