Two Russian players at once entered the top 3 highest paid hockey players of the season in the NHL. One and a half billion rubles for two is not a joke to you. But do they play with this money?

At the top is the disappointment of the season

When discussing earnings in the NHL, one usually talks about the cap-hit, the average annual contract salary. It consists of the size of the signature bonus and the base salary, and is unchanged throughout the entire contract. Although from season to season hockey players often receive amounts that can vary almost twice. For example, Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov, whose eight-year, $76 million deal went into effect in 2019-20, made $12 million in his first year at an average annual salary of $9.5 million. But for the last season under this contract, he is owed only 7 million.

So who will make the most money this coming NHL season? It is extremely difficult to guess, because in this case the price does not equal the quality … $ 13 million – the maximum money among all players in the overseas league – will earn Dallas forward Tyler Seguin. As soon as he extended his contract with the Stars for another eight years in 2018, after several bumper seasons, his statistics began to decline. Last season, Seguin scored 49 (24 + 25) points – not the most impressive result for a hockey player with an average salary of 9.85 million. Not surprisingly, his contract was named the worst of the upcoming season by The Athletic.

Tyler Seguin / Photo: © REUTERS / Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

But this is not the only overrated hockey player in Dallas – Jamie Benn also earns 9.5 million per season there, who scored three points less than Seguin last season. However, he is not included in the top of the highest paid players of this year.

Panarin will become richer than McDavid

Following Segin in the ranking of the highest salaries of the season is not Connor McDavid with his 100 million contract, but Artemy Panarin. The Russian striker “Rangers” will be enriched by 12.5 million dollars with an average annual salary of 11.6.

For him, the upcoming game year will be his fourth in New York: adaptation behind, ahead – high hopes that Rangers fans associate with the Russian merry fellow. Although the team reached the conference finals last season, making a serious bid for the Stanley Cup, Panarin’s game left a double impression: he played confidently in the regular season, setting a personal best in points (96), but was often invisible in the playoffs . So is a Russian worth his money if he does not show himself at the right time?

Artemy Panarin / Photo: © REUTERS/Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Hockey players with high salaries are no stranger to receiving criticism for not the most successful game in matches right through. Even Ovechkin got it, who took the Stanley Cup only from the tenth time. Therefore, along with a big contract, Panarin should ideally have acquired immunity to the dissatisfaction of the fans. However, you should not blame him alone: ​​many associate his pale game in the playoffs with a coaching mistake – they say, they could not find ideal performers for such a cool passer. Panarin himself is not going to concentrate on failures and enters the upcoming season with a clear head. So from him it is quite possible to expect a game for all 12.5 million.

Bobrovsky is among the best. But there are questions…

Can the same be said for Florida Flames goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who will receive $12 million this coming season? He is tied for third in salary with McDavid, teammate Alexander Barkov, Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse and San Jose’s Erik Karlsson.

The Russian moved to Florida in 2018 at the peak of his career. Prior to that, he spent several seasons in Columbus, where he literally shone and won two Vezinas. He didn’t start very well with the Panthers (90% saves), and although he improved in the next two seasons (90.6% and 91.3%), he left a mixed impression, given his high cost. Last season, the Panthers played a brilliant game in the regular season, but in the playoffs they lacked experience, good defense and that reinforced concrete confidence that is usually expected from an eminent goalkeeper on a big contract.

Sergey Bobrovsky / Photo: © Brett Carlsen / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The question “Is Bob worth the money” seems to have been answered in Florida itself back in the summer. According to North American insiders, the club was trying to find the perfect deal and get rid of Bobrovsky. Florida was willing to trade him and continue to pay some of his salary. But obviously it didn’t work out. However, the main motive for such a step is not at all disappointment in the game of the Russian, but the lack of space under the salary cap.

Where are the rest of us?

Right behind the hockey players with 12 million per season, in eighth place, is Tampa’s goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky. He will earn 11 million. 15th – Kirill Kaprizov, for whose safety the whole of Minnesota was worried in the summer (10 million). Russian NHL superstar Alexander Ovechkin, who nominally ranks 21st on the list, will be enriched by the same amount over the coming year. This is the second year of his new contract with a cap hit of 9.5 million.

Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © REUTERS/Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Also in the top 50 are Nikita Kucherov (9 million) and Evgeni Malkin (8 million).