NHL realignment and recent revisions to the tie-breaker system, discounting the value of a shootout win in determining regular season standings, have altered tiebreaker rules and playoff seeding.
First off, the top three teams in each division automatically qualify for the postseason with two wildcard spots being awarded to the next highest ranked teams in each conference. And yes, it is possible for both wildcard berths in a conference to come from the same division, meaning one division sends five teams to the playoffs while the other sends only three.
Total regular season points rules the day in ordering the top three teams in each division as well as wildcard winners. The division winner with the most points is then matched against the wildcard team with the fewest points in the conference, leaving the other division winner to play the remaining wildcard team, while the second and third place finishers in each division battle in the opening round of the playoffs.
If teams collect the same number of points, the one with more regulation and overtime wins (statistically abbreviated as ROW) jumps ahead in the standings. Shootout wins DO NOT COUNT for tiebreaker purposes.
If teams share the same number of points and wins (i.e., regulation + overtime wins, excluding shootout wins), then the club with more points in their head-to-head season series prevails. If an odd number of games occurred between the teams, points collected in the first game in the city hosting an extra match will be discounted in the math.
If teams remain tied after calculating points, wins (i.e., regulation + overtime wins, excluding shootout wins), and their head-to-head season series, then the team with the greatest positive difference between goals scored (GF) and goals allowed (GA) gets the nod.
In the unlikely event two teams remain tied in all of these categories at the end of the regular season, a tiebreaker game will be played. Home ice will be determined by a draw and playoff overtime rules will be in effect (i.e., 5-on-5, sudden death, 20 minute periods). Never before has such a game been played, though Montreal and Buffalo came close in 2000.
Points, ROW, head-to-head season series, GF minus GA, tiebreaker game. Now you know.
* See also NHL Playoff Seeding and Re-seeding Rules.
Tuesday, April 7, 2020
NHL Tiebreaker Rules and Playoff Seeding
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
NHL Minimum Wage & Maximum Wage By Year
In July of 2005, the NHL and NHLPA finalized the 2005 CBA ending a 310 day lockout that resulted in the loss of a season. The core feature of the accord was the introduction a salary cap, setting team spending limits based on league revenue and tying player salaries to such limits.
The maximum player salary was capped at 20% of the team salary cap. Meanwhile, the minimum player salary jumped 257% from $180,000 to $450,000 with fixed bumps in future years. The chart below shows NHL minimum and maximum player salaries by year since 2005.
| Year | Salary Cap | NHL Minimum | NHL Maximum |
| 2005-2006 |
$39.0m
|
$450,000
|
$7.8m
|
| 2006-2007 |
$44.0m
|
$450,000
|
$8.8m
|
| 2007-2008 |
$50.3m
|
$475,000
|
$10.06m
|
| 2008-2009 |
$56.7m
|
$475,000
|
$11.34m
|
| 2009-2010 |
$56.8m
|
$500,000
|
$11.36m
|
| 2010-2011 |
$59.4m
|
$500,000
|
$11.88m
|
| 2011-2012 |
$64.3m
|
$525,000
|
$12.86m
|
| 2012-2013 |
$70.2m
|
$525,000
|
$14.04m
|
| 2013-2014 |
$64.3m
|
$550,000
|
$12.86m
|
| 2014-2015 |
$69.0m
|
$550,000
|
$13.8m
|
| 2015-2016 |
$71.4m
|
$575,000
|
$14.3m
|
| 2016-2017 |
$73.0m
|
$575,000
|
$14.6m
|
| 2017-2018 |
$75.0m
|
$650,000
|
$15.0m
|
| 2018-2019 |
$79.5m
|
$650,000
|
$15.9m
|
| 2019-2020 |
$81.5m
|
$700,000
|
$16.3m
|
| Year | NHL Minimum | % of Cap | 1.15% of Cap |
| 2005-2006 |
$450,000
|
1.15%
|
$450,000
|
| 2006-2007 |
$450,000
|
1.02%
|
$506,000
|
| 2007-2008 |
$475,000
|
.944%
|
$578,000
|
| 2008-2009 |
$475,000
|
.837%
|
$652,000
|
| 2009-2010 |
$500,000
|
.880%
|
$653,000
|
| 2010-2011 |
$500,000
|
.841%
|
$683,000
|
| 2011-2012 |
$525,000
|
.816%
|
$739,000
|
| 2012-2013 |
$525,000
|
.747%
|
$807,000
|
| 2013-2014 |
$550,000
|
.816%
|
$739,000
|
| 2014-2015 |
$550,000
|
.797%
|
$793,000
|
| 2015-2016 |
$575,000
|
.805%
|
$821,100
|
| 2016-2017 |
$575,000
|
.787%
|
$829,500
|
| 2017-2018 |
$650,000
|
.867%
|
$862,500
|
| 2018-2019 |
$650,000
|
.818%
|
$914,250
|
| 2019-2020 |
$700,000
|
.859%
|
$937,250
|
If minimum wage had been tied to 1.15% of the team salary cap instead of anchoring it to a fixed dollar rate schedule, NHL minimum earners would have received an extra $100,000 in 2007-2008, $200,000 more in 2011-2012, and almost $300,000 more in 2012-2013. In fact, in the fourteen years since the 2005 wage hike, tying it to such a percentage would have yielded an extra $2.6m for such skaters during that span, equaling an additional $187,000 each year on average.
The NHL's minimum wage is scheduled to increase in the coming years reaching $650,000 in 2017-2018, $700,000 in 2019-2020, and $750,000 in 2021-2022. The maximum player salary shall remain at 20% of team salary cap during this span.
When the current CBA expires after the 2021-2022 season, perhaps the NHLPA should vie to tie minimum wage to a percentage of the team salary cap (with a floor of a 5% bump on prior year pay) so players at both ends of the hockey spectrum can share in increased NHL revenues. Equity for all skaters, regardless of role and talent.
* See also NHL Highest Paid Players By Year.
* See also NHL Highest Player Salary & Cap Hit By Position.
* See also Rethinking NHL Player Salary Structure.
Friday, October 4, 2019
NHL Highest Player Salary & Cap Hit By Position
Since the NHL salary cap was introduced in 2005, clubs have kept a close eye on two key player payroll markers - cap hit and salary. Cap hit corresponds to the dollar amount applied towards team salary cap whereas salary connotes a player's actual take home pay.
The chart below presents 2019-2020 NHL player cap hit and salary figures for the top ten players in each position per Cap Friendly.
2019-2020 NHL Player Cap Hit By Position
Forward
$m
Defense
$m
Goalie
$m
McDavid
12.5
Karlsson
11.5
Price
10.5
Panarin
11.6
Doughty
11
Bobrovsky
10
Matthews
11.6
Subban
9
Lundqvist
8.5
Tavares
11
Ekman-Larsson
8.2
Fleury
7
Marner
10.8
Burns
8
Rask
7
Toews
10.5
Carlson
8
Gibson
6.4
Kane
10.5
Trouba
8
Hellebuyck
6.1
Kopitar
10
Hedman
7.8
Holtby
6.1
Eichel
10
Weber
7.8
Crawford
6
Seguin
9.8
Byfuglien
7.6
Schneider
6
2019-2020 NHL Player Salary By Position
Forward
$m
Defense
$m
Goalie
$m
Marner
16
Karlsson
14.5
Price
15
Tavares
15.9
Doughty
12
Bobrovsky
11.5
Matthews
15.9
Carlson
12
Fleury
8.5
McDavid
15
Trouba
12
Quick
7
Panarin
14
Burns
10
Lundqvist
7
Seguin
13.5
Subban
10
Jones
6.7
Benn
13
Suter
9
Rask
6.5
Aho
12
Ekblad
9
Gibson
6.4
Kucherov
12
Schmidt
8.8
Rinne
6
Rantanen
12
McDonagh
8.4
Varlamov
6
Stone
12
Hellebuyck
6
Schneider
6
The 2005 CBA permitted a player's cap hit and salary figure to diverge dramatically in the same season and over the course of a multi-year contract. Thus, despite Marner ($16m) being paid the most this season, it's actually McDavid ($12.5m), who costs the most consuming more of his team's $81.5m cap limit than any other player. The 2013 CBA limits this cap-circumvention loophole providing that no multi-year contract can fluctuate more than 35% year-to-year on salary amounts and 50% from the lowest salary year to the highest salary year.
Another interesting facet of modern player contracts are signing bonus payments (as opposed to performance bonus payments). The genius of structuring player compensation as a bonus is that the earnings are not subject to escrow withholdings and are payable during lockouts.
When a player retires their cap hit does not typically count against the team's cap limit. Two notable exceptions to this rule include: (1) all remaining years of any contract signed by players 35 years of age or older continue to count against a team's cap after retirement; and (2) if a player retires and the salary on any remaining years is less than the cap hit of those remaining years, the difference is recouped and charged to the team's cap for those remaining years. A list of all current 35+ contracts may be found here.
As for injuries, teams must still pay a player's salary while injured but the cap hit does not count against the club (LTIR & SOIR).
A listing of the highest paid players in the NHL since 1989-1990, along with the teams responsible for cutting their checks, can be found here.
* See also NHL Highest Paid Players By Year.
* See also Rethinking NHL Player Salary Structure.
* See also NHL Minimum Wage & Maximum Wage By Year.
Monday, September 16, 2019
NHL Highest Paid Players By Year
NHL player salaries have seen fantastic fluctuations over the past two decades owing to aggressive player negotiations, reckless owner spending, and the introduction of the NHL salary cap in 2005.
The chart below shows the highest paid players in the NHL in terms of annual salary since 1989-1990 and the team responsible for payment.
| Year | Salary | Player |
| 1989-1990 | $2,000,000 | Lemieux (PIT) |
| 1990-1991 | $3,000,000 | Gretzky (LAK) |
| 1991-1992 | $3,000,000 | Gretzky (LAK) |
| 1992-1993 | $3,500,000 | Lindros (PHI) |
| 1993-1994 | $3,350,000 | Lindros (PHI) |
| 1994-1995 | $3,660,000 | Gretzky (LAK) |
| 1995-1996 | $6,540,000 | Gretzky (LAK, STL) |
| 1996-1997 | $11,350,000 | Lemieux (PIT) |
| 1997-1998 | $16,450,000 | Sakic (COL) |
| 1998-1999 | $14,500,000 | Fedorov (DET) |
| 1999-2000 | $17,400,000 | Jagr (PIT) |
| 2000-2001 | $10,000,000 | Forsberg (COL), Kariya (ANA) |
| 2001-2002 | $11,000,000 | Jagr (WAS) |
| 2002-2003 | $11,480,000 | Jagr (WAS) |
| 2003-2004 | $11,000,000 | Forsberg (COL), Jagr (WAS) |
| 2005-2006 | $8,360,000 | Jagr (NYR) |
| 2006-2007 | $8,360,000 | Jagr (NYR) |
| 2007-2008 | $10,000,000 | Briere (PHI), Gomez (NYR), Vanek (BUF) |
| 2008-2009 | $10,000,000 | Heatley (OTT) |
| 2009-2010 | $10,000,000 | Lecavalier (TBL) |
| 2010-2011 | $10,000,000 | Lecavalier (TBL), Luongo (VAN) |
| 2011-2012 | $12,000,000 | B. Richards (NYR) |
| 2012-2013 | $14,000,000 | Weber (NAS) |
| 2013-2014 | $14,000,000 | Weber (NAS) |
| 2014-2015 | $14,000,000 | Weber (NAS) |
| 2015-2016 | $14,000,000 | Weber (NAS) |
| 2016-2017 | $14,000,000 | Kopitar (LAK) |
| 2017-2018 | $13,800,000 | Kane (CHI), Toews (CHI) |
| 2018-2019 | $15,900,000 | Tavares (TOR) |
| 2019-2020 | $16,000,000 | Marner (TOR) |
Six times during this span Jagr led all players in pay (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) with Gretzky (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996) and Weber tied for second place with four such salary titles (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016). Only five times since 1990 has a goaltender (Luongo 2011) or a defenseman (Weber 2013-2016) led the league in pay.
In terms of accomplishments, three times during this span the NHL salary king has captured the Art Ross finishing with the most regular season points (Gretzky 1991, Lemieux 1997, Jagr 2000) yet only once has one hoisted the Stanley Cup (Forsberg 2001) in his highest paid year.
As for MVP honors, hockey writers and GMs have never recognized a top earner for regular season (Hart, Norris, Vezina) or playoff (Conn Smythe) performance during this period, though the players twice picked Jagr (2000, 2006) as such (Lindsay) during his six season pay day heyday.
Of course, since the salary cap was introduced in 2005, the key figure in terms of a player's cost to a team is his cap hit figure as opposed to his annual salary. A list of the top player salary and cap hit figures by position for the 2019-20 NHL season can be found here.
* See also NHL Highest Player Salary & Cap Hit By Position.
* See also NHL Minimum Wage & Maximum Wage By Year.
* See also Rethinking NHL Player Salary Structure.