6 NHL Players Who Could Join the $100M Contract Club

It's rare for an NHL player to sign a $100 million contract.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was the first, signing a 13-year, $124 million deal in January 2008. Ilya Kovalchuk was next, signing a 15-year, $100 contract with the New Jersey Devils in September 2010.

Two years later, Shea Weber signed a 14-year, $110 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers that the Nashville Predators matched. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby is still on the 12-year, $104.4 million contract he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012.

Those deals occurred in an era when there was no limit on contract length. Since 2013, however, contracts have been limited to a maximum of eight years for players who re-sign with their own teams and seven years for those who become unrestricted free agents.

Under the current limitations, only two players—the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid and the Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon—have since reached the $100 million mark.

A flattened salary cap due to the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020-21 has also affected how much players could get from their teams or on the open market. However, the cap could start rising significantly again by as early as 2023-24.

That could lead to more NHL superstars landing more lucrative, long-term deals that take them up to or over the $100 million plateau.

The Boston Bruins' David Pastrňák and the Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews are among the players who could join the $100 million club by the end of their current contracts. They aren't the only ones, though.

Here, we've assembled a group of players who could join the likes of Crosby on $100 million deals in the future. Past and present performance as well as age were among the factors that we considered.

We narrowed our focus to those whose contracts will expire within the next five seasons. We've also excluded players currently on entry-level deals from our list due to their limited body of work.

Do you agree or disagree with our choices? Is there someone else who should be here? Let us know in the comments section.

The oldest player on our list, Leon Draisaitl has formed a potent one-two scoring punch with Connor McDavid for the Edmonton Oilers. The 27-year-old German forward is a superstar in his own right and is currently in the sixth season of an eight-year, $68-million contract.

Draisaitl's $8.5 million cap hit has become quite the bargain for the Oilers. Since his 105-point breakout performance in 2018-19, he's second in total goals to Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews with 198 and second to McDavid with 455 total points.

In 2019-20, Draisaitl emerged from McDavid's shadow with a 110-point performance to win the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. He followed up with 84 points in 56 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign and 110 points last season. He's second to McDavid in his season's points race with 46 in 28 games.

Draisaitl will be 29 when his current contract expires. A player that close to 30 and entering unrestricted free agency could struggle to land a lucrative seven or eight-year deal. But if he's still putting up 100-point seasons by then, he could land at least a seven-year contract for $100 million.

Chosen by the Minnesota Wild in the 2015 draft, Kirill Kaprizov spent several seasons playing in Russia before making his NHL debut in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. The talented scoring winger quickly adapted to the North American game by winning the Calder Memorial Trophy with 27 goals and 51 points in 56 games.

The Wild understood Kaprizov's value and signed him to a five-year contract in September 2021 with an average annual value of $9 million. He wasted no time justifying that deal, setting single-season franchise records with 47 goals and 61 assists for 108 points last year.

For the first time in franchise history, the Wild have a scoring superstar to build around.

Kaprizov's production remains at an impressive pace this season with 17 goals and 34 points in 27 games. If he maintains that output, the 25-year-old left winger could become the Wild's first-ever 50-goal scorer while reaching 100 points for the second straight year.

Kaprizov's contract expires at the end of 2025-26 when he'll be 29 and still in his playing prime. By remaining in the range of 50 goals and 100 points per season over that period, he could get up to $120 million on a long-term deal with the Wild or elsewhere via free agency.

Cale Makar provided a preview of his ability when he joined the Colorado Avalanche out of college for the 2019 playoffs, tallying six points in 10 games. He's since gone on to become the NHL's top defenseman.

In 2019-20, Makar took home the Calder Memorial Trophy with 50 points in 57 games. In his second NHL season, the skilled puck-moving defenseman was a finalist for the James Norris Memorial Trophy while finishing with 44 points in as many games during the COVID-shortened campaign.

Makar's third season was his best yet. With a career-high 86 points in 77 games, he won the Norris Trophy and the Conn Smythe Trophy, and he helped the Avalanche win their first Stanley Cup in 21 years. Injuries have depleted the Avalanche lineup thus far this season, but Makar is still producing at almost a point-per-game clip.

Signed through 2026-27 with an average annual value of $9 million, Makar's current contract could increasingly become a bargain for the Avalanche if he remains a perennial Norris Trophy candidate. He'll be 28 when this deal expires and should still be very much in his playing prime. It could cost the Avalanche $130 million over eight years to re-sign him.

Nearly three years after choosing Auston Matthews with the first overall pick in 2016, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to a five-year deal with an average annual value of $11.6 million. It was expensive but hardly surprising considering the potential he displayed during his first three NHL seasons.

Matthews was the first rookie ever to score four goals in his first NHL game. He finished that season with 40 goals and took home the Calder Memorial Trophy. Shoulder injuries limited Matthews to 34 goals in his sophomore campaign and 37 the following season, but the Leafs saw enough to reward him with a big raise

Matthews tallied 47 goals in 2019-20 and 41 in 2020-21. He likely would've scored more had those seasons not been shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last season, Matthews by became the first player since 2011-12 to score 60 goals. He won his second straight Maurice Richard Trophy and took home the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award for the first time.

Following a slow start to this season, Matthews has regained his scoring touch with 15 goals and 34 points in 29 games. He could reach 50 goals and 100 points by the season's end. Given his accomplishments, the Leafs could end up paying up to $130 million ($16.25 million annually) on an eight-year deal to ensure he continues his career in Toronto.

Eligible for unrestricted free agency in July, David Pastrňák could become the NHL's next $100 million man.

The 26-year-old Boston Bruins winger is completing a six-year contract with an average annual value of $6.7 million. He could end up more than doubling that amount per season on a new eight-year deal with the Bruins.

Since 2016-17, Pastrňák leads all right wings with 234 goals and is fourth in points with 489. One of the NHL's most consistent scoring threats, he's scored at least 34 goals and 70 points in five of the last six seasons. That includes reaching or exceeding 40 goals twice and 80 points three times.

In 2019-20, Pastrňák enjoyed a career-best performance with 48 goals and 95 points in 70 games. He would've easily broken the 50-goal and 100-point barriers if not for the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down the remainder of the regular season. Nevertheless, he shared the Maurice Richard Trophy that season with the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin.

The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa believes Pastrňák could sign the NHL's next top contract. Having predicted an eight-year, $88-million contract for Pastrňák in October, Shinzawa now believes that figure to be too low.

Since his full-time NHL debut during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign, Jason Robertson wasted little time becoming an important core player for the Dallas Stars. Given how quickly the 23-year-old left winger has developed into a superstar, he could become a candidate for a $100 million contract when his current deal expires at the end of 2025-26.

Robertson was runner-up to the Minnesota Wild's Kirill Kaprizov for the 2020-21 Calder Memorial Trophy, finishing second in rookie scoring with 45 points in 51 games. His sophomore campaign was more impressive, as he led the Stars with 41 goals and finished second in points with 79 in 74 games.

Now in his third full NHL season, Robertson is among the top 10 scorers with 23 goals and 42 points in only 28 games. That puts him on pace to exceed 60 goals and 120 points. While his production figures to cool somewhat as the season progresses, he could still reach 50 goals and 100 points.

If Robertson maintains or exceeds his current level of production over the next three seasons, he should be able to command a significant raise over his current $7.75 million average annual value. It could cost the Stars $120 million over eight years ($15 million annually) to keep him in the fold.

Stats (as of Dec. 11, 2022) via NHL.com. Salary information via Cap Friendly with additional info via Hockey Reference.