What A World It Was...!


Just to give you a little perspective of how the free agent landscape has changed over the past few seasons since the CBA was put in place, here is a list of the top 250 salaries doled out during the 2003-04 season.

Although there were many crazy salaries handed out over the years, casting a glance at this list should give you some perspective on Ilya Kovalchuk's demands(among many of the other UFA's in today's game) and how far the league has come under it's self-implemented cap system.

There is much to gleen from what the NHL once was, what it went through, and what it is today...but that's for another day.

I just thought that it would be fun to cast a look back at the incredible amount of money that was floating around. Enjoy!


Top Salaries from 2003-04


Player Name | Team | Position | Compensation


Forsberg, Peter
COLORADO AVALANCHE
C
$11,000,000.00

Jagr, Jaromir
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
R
$11,000,000.00

Fedorov, Sergei
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
C
$10,000,000.00

Bure, Pavel
NEW YORK RANGERS
R
$10,000,000.00

Lidstrom, Nicklas
DETROIT RED WINGS
D
$10,000,000.00

Tkachuk, Keith
ST. LOUIS BLUES
L
$10,000,000.00

Sakic, Joe
COLORADO AVALANCHE
C
$9,880,939.00

Pronger, Chris
ST. LOUIS BLUES
D
$9,500,000.00

Blake, Robert
COLORADO AVALANCHE
D
$9,326,519.00

LeClair, John
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
L
$9,000,000.00

Modano, Michael
DALLAS STARS
C
$9,000,000.00

Sundin, Mats
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
C
$9,000,000.00

Guerin, Bill
DALLAS STARS
R
$8,866,445.31

Holik, Robert
NEW YORK RANGERS
C
$8,850,000.00

Weight, Doug
ST. LOUIS BLUES
C
$8,500,000.00

Yashin, Alexei
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
C
$8,400,000.00

Joseph, Curtis
DETROIT RED WINGS
G
$8,000,000.00

Allison, Jason
LOS ANGELES KINGS
C
$8,000,000.00

Turgeon, Pierre
DALLAS STARS
C
$7,500,000.00

Iginla, Jarome
CALGARY FLAMES
R
$7,500,000.00

Roenick, Jeremy
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
C
$7,500,000.00

Palffy, Zigmund
LOS ANGELES KINGS
R
$7,000,000.00

Belfour, Ed
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
G
$7,000,000.00

Stevens, Scott
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
D
$6,916,747.25

Brodeur, Martin
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
G
$6,891,103.13

Bertuzzi, Todd
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
R
$6,800,000.00

Kovalev, Alex
NEW YORK RANGERS
R
$6,600,000.00

Leetch, Brian
NEW YORK RANGERS
D
$6,600,000.00

Demitra, Pavol
ST. LOUIS BLUES
L
$6,500,000.00

Prospal, Vaclav
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
C
$6,500,000.00

Nolan, Owen
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
R
$6,500,000.00

Shanahan, Brendan
DETROIT RED WINGS
L
$6,500,000.00

Kolzig, Olaf
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
G
$6,250,000.00

MacInnis, Allan
ST. LOUIS BLUES
D
$6,000,000.00

Hasek, Dominik
DETROIT RED WINGS
G
$6,000,000.00

Zubov, Sergei
DALLAS STARS
D
$6,000,000.00

Chelios, Chris
DETROIT RED WINGS
D
$5,936,286.00

Yzerman, Steve
DETROIT RED WINGS
C
$5,849,823.00

Amonte, Anthony
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
R
$5,846,914.00

Selanne, Teemu
COLORADO AVALANCHE
R
$5,800,000.00

Thornton, Joe
BOSTON BRUINS
C
$5,500,000.00

Theodore, Jose
MONTREAL CANADIENS
G
$5,500,000.00

Ozolinsh, Sandis
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
D
$5,500,000.00

Lapointe, Martin
BOSTON BRUINS
R
$5,500,000.00

Mogilny, Alexander
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
R
$5,500,000.00

Lemieux, Mario
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
C
$5,250,000.00

Naslund, Markus
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
L
$5,225,000.00

Alfredsson, Daniel
OTTAWA SENATORS
R
$5,050,000.00

Lang, Robert
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
C
$5,000,000.00

Hatcher, Derian
DETROIT RED WINGS
D
$5,000,000.00

Hull, Brett
DETROIT RED WINGS
R
$5,000,000.00

Primeau, Keith
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
C
$5,000,000.00

Brind'Amour, Rod
CAROLINA HURRICANES
C
$5,000,000.00

Recchi, Mark
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
R
$5,000,000.00

Nedved, Petr
NEW YORK RANGERS
C
$4,750,000.00

Satan, Miroslav
BUFFALO SABRES
R
$4,750,000.00

Elias, Patrik
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
R
$4,722,249.09

Redden, Wade
OTTAWA SENATORS
D
$4,500,000.00

Norstrom, Mattias
LOS ANGELES KINGS
D
$4,500,000.00

Jovanovski, Ed
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
D
$4,500,000.00

Burke, Sean
PHOENIX COYOTES
G
$4,500,000.00

Bondra, Peter
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
R
$4,500,000.00

Zhamnov, Alexei
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
C
$4,500,000.00

Fleury, Theoren
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
R
$4,500,000.00

Giguere, Jean-Sebastien
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
G
$4,500,000.00

Francis, Ronald
CAROLINA HURRICANES
C
$4,453,738.00

Numminen, Teppo
DALLAS STARS
D
$4,443,047.00

Khabibulin, Nikolai
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
G
$4,434,579.44

Straka, Martin
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
C
$4,350,000.00

Foote, Adam
COLORADO AVALANCHE
D
$4,300,000.00

Peca, Michael
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
C
$4,250,000.00

Koivu, Saku
MONTREAL CANADIENS
C
$4,250,000.00

Roberts, Gary
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
L
$4,250,000.00

Turek, Roman
CALGARY FLAMES
G
$4,250,000.00

Sykora, Petr
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
R
$4,200,000.00

de Vries, Greg
NEW YORK RANGERS
D
$4,200,000.00

Kasparaitis, Darius
NEW YORK RANGERS
D
$4,200,000.00

Richter, Mike
NEW YORK RANGERS
G
$4,000,000.00

Niedermayer, Scott
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
D
$4,000,000.00

Brisebois, Patrice
MONTREAL CANADIENS
D
$4,000,000.00

Desjardins, Eric
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
D
$4,000,000.00

Svehla, Robert
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
D
$4,000,000.00

Damphousse, Vincent
SAN JOSE SHARKS
C
$4,000,000.00

Salo, Tommy
EDMONTON OILERS
G
$3,900,000.00

Murray, Glen
BOSTON BRUINS
R
$3,850,000.00

Arnott, Jason
DALLAS STARS
C
$3,850,000.00

Schneider, Mathieu
DETROIT RED WINGS
D
$3,750,000.00

Zhitnik, Alexei
BUFFALO SABRES
D
$3,750,000.00

O'Neill, Jeff
CAROLINA HURRICANES
C
$3,700,000.00

Gonchar, Sergei
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
D
$3,650,000.00

Samsonov, Sergei
BOSTON BRUINS
L
$3,650,000.00

Turco, Marty
DALLAS STARS
G
$3,648,166.00

Nabokov, Evgeni
SAN JOSE SHARKS
G
$3,625,000.00

Hamrlik, Roman
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
D
$3,600,000.00

Dafoe, Byron
ATLANTA THRASHERS
G
$3,500,000.00

Ragnarsson, Marcus
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
D
$3,500,000.00

Kozlov, Vyacheslav
ATLANTA THRASHERS
L
$3,500,000.00

Miller, Aaron
LOS ANGELES KINGS
D
$3,500,000.00

Malakhov, Vladimir
NEW YORK RANGERS
D
$3,500,000.00

Bonk, Radek
OTTAWA SENATORS
C
$3,500,000.00

Morris, Derek
COLORADO AVALANCHE
D
$3,500,000.00

Sydor, Darryl
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
D
$3,500,000.00

McCabe, Bryan
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
D
$3,500,000.00

Young, Scott
DALLAS STARS
R
$3,462,278.09

Smyth, Ryan
EDMONTON OILERS
L
$3,450,000.00

Drury, Chris
BUFFALO SABRES
C
$3,450,000.00

Messier, Mark Douglas
NEW YORK RANGERS
C
$3,321,215.94

Dunham, Michael
NEW YORK RANGERS
G
$3,300,000.00

Lindros, Eric
NEW YORK RANGERS
C
$3,300,000.00

Aucoin, Adrian
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
D
$3,250,000.00

Reichel, Robert
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
C
$3,250,000.00

Savage, Brian
PHOENIX COYOTES
L
$3,250,000.00

Cassels, Andrew
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
C
$3,225,000.00

Hedican, Bret
CAROLINA HURRICANES
D
$3,200,000.00

Daze, Eric
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
L
$3,200,000.00

Hejduk, Milan
COLORADO AVALANCHE
R
$3,200,000.00

McGillis, Daniel
BOSTON BRUINS
D
$3,200,000.00

Rolston, Brian
BOSTON BRUINS
C
$3,175,000.00

Thibault, Jocelyn
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
G
$3,100,000.00

Bure, Valeri
FLORIDA PANTHERS
R
$3,100,000.00

Karpovtsev, Alexander
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
D
$3,100,000.00

Kapanen, Sami
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
R
$3,000,000.00

Hackett, Jeff
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
G
$3,000,000.00

Ricci, Mike
SAN JOSE SHARKS
C
$3,000,000.00

Friesen, Jeff
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
L
$3,000,000.00

Jonsson, Kenny
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
D
$3,000,000.00

Deadmarsh, Adam
LOS ANGELES KINGS
R
$3,000,000.00

Audette, Donald
MONTREAL CANADIENS
R
$3,000,000.00

Osgood, Chris
ST. LOUIS BLUES
G
$3,000,000.00

Sullivan, Steve
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
R
$3,000,000.00

Weinrich, Eric
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
D
$3,000,000.00

Whitney, Ray
DETROIT RED WINGS
L
$3,000,000.00

Rafalski, Brian
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
D
$3,000,000.00

Sanderson, Geoff
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
L
$3,000,000.00

Cechmanek, Roman
LOS ANGELES KINGS
G
$3,000,000.00

Rucchin, Steve
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
C
$2,975,000.00

Gaborik, Marian
MINNESOTA WILD
R
$2,900,000.00

Marchant, Todd
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
C
$2,900,000.00

Niinimaa, Janne
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
D
$2,900,000.00

Stumpel, Jozef
LOS ANGELES KINGS
C
$2,850,000.00

Tugnutt, Ron
DALLAS STARS
G
$2,800,000.00

Poti, Tom
NEW YORK RANGERS
D
$2,800,000.00

Doan, Shane
PHOENIX COYOTES
R
$2,800,000.00

Carter, Anson
NEW YORK RANGERS
C
$2,800,000.00

Perreault, Yanic
MONTREAL CANADIENS
C
$2,800,000.00

Barnes, Stu
DALLAS STARS
C
$2,800,000.00

Ohlund, Mattias
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
D
$2,750,000.00

Richardson, Luke
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
D
$2,750,000.00

Kaberle, Tomas
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
D
$2,750,000.00

Wesley, Glen
CAROLINA HURRICANES
D
$2,750,000.00

Hossa, Marian
OTTAWA SENATORS
R
$2,750,000.00

Stillman, Cory
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
C
$2,750,000.00

O'Donnell, Sean
BOSTON BRUINS
D
$2,700,000.00

Langkow, Daymond
PHOENIX COYOTES
C
$2,700,000.00

Markov, Daniil
CAROLINA HURRICANES
D
$2,700,000.00

Nylander, Michael
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
C
$2,675,000.00

Smolinski, Bryan
OTTAWA SENATORS
C
$2,650,000.00

Lecavalier, Vincent
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
C
$2,625,000.00

Gagne, Simon
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
L
$2,600,000.00

Therien, Chris
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
D
$2,600,000.00

Boucher, Philippe
DALLAS STARS
D
$2,600,000.00

Carney, Keith E.
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
D
$2,600,000.00

Lehtinen, Jere
DALLAS STARS
L
$2,600,000.00

Lalime, Patrick
OTTAWA SENATORS
G
$2,575,000.00

Cloutier, Dan
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
G
$2,500,000.00

McLaren, Kyle
SAN JOSE SHARKS
D
$2,500,000.00

Brewer, Eric
EDMONTON OILERS
D
$2,500,000.00

Rivet, Craig
MONTREAL CANADIENS
D
$2,500,000.00

Kubina, Pavel
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
D
$2,500,000.00

Klemm, Jon
DALLAS STARS
D
$2,500,000.00

Morrison, Brendan
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
C
$2,450,000.00

Gelinas, Martin
CALGARY FLAMES
L
$2,400,000.00

Chara, Zdeno
OTTAWA SENATORS
D
$2,400,000.00

Richards, Brad
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
C
$2,400,000.00

Marleau, Patrick
SAN JOSE SHARKS
C
$2,350,000.00

Parrish, Mark
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
R
$2,350,000.00

Weekes, Kevin
CAROLINA HURRICANES
G
$2,350,000.00

Smith, Jason
EDMONTON OILERS
D
$2,300,000.00

Johnson, Mike
PHOENIX COYOTES
R
$2,300,000.00

Boyle, Dan
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
D
$2,300,000.00

Boughner, Bob
CAROLINA HURRICANES
D
$2,300,000.00

Kozlov, Viktor
FLORIDA PANTHERS
C
$2,300,000.00

McCarty, Darren
DETROIT RED WINGS
R
$2,250,000.00

Brashear, Donald
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
L
$2,250,000.00

White, John Colin
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
D
$2,250,000.00

Roloson, Dwayne
MINNESOTA WILD
G
$2,200,000.00

Gratton, Chris
PHOENIX COYOTES
C
$2,200,000.00

Renberg, Mikael
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
R
$2,200,000.00

Matvichuk, Richard
DALLAS STARS
D
$2,200,000.00

Fernandez, Emmanuel
MINNESOTA WILD
G
$2,200,000.00

Biron, Martin
BUFFALO SABRES
G
$2,200,000.00

Conroy, Craig
CALGARY FLAMES
C
$2,200,000.00

Hrdina, Jan
PHOENIX COYOTES
C
$2,200,000.00

McKay, Randy
MONTREAL CANADIENS
R
$2,125,000.00

Niedermayer, Rob
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
C
$2,100,000.00

Langenbrunner, Jamie
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
R
$2,077,799.27

Hill, Sean
CAROLINA HURRICANES
D
$2,050,000.00

Juneau, Joe
MONTREAL CANADIENS
C
$2,025,000.00

Rathje, Mike
SAN JOSE SHARKS
D
$2,025,000.00

Berard, Bryan
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
D
$2,010,000.00

Domi, Tie
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
R
$2,000,000.00

Gill, Hal
BOSTON BRUINS
D
$2,000,000.00

Savard, Marc
ATLANTA THRASHERS
C
$2,000,000.00

Nieuwendyk, Joe
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
C
$2,000,000.00

Drake, Dallas
ST. LOUIS BLUES
R
$2,000,000.00

Lachance, Scott
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
D
$2,000,000.00

Leschyshyn, Curtis
OTTAWA SENATORS
D
$2,000,000.00

Linden, Trevor
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
C
$2,000,000.00

Mellanby, Scott
ST. LOUIS BLUES
R
$2,000,000.00

Maltby, Kirk
DETROIT RED WINGS
L
$2,000,000.00

McEachern, Shawn
ATLANTA THRASHERS
L
$2,000,000.00

Boucher, Brian
PHOENIX COYOTES
G
$2,000,000.00

Marchment, Bryan
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
D
$2,000,000.00

Dvorak, Radek
EDMONTON OILERS
R
$2,000,000.00

Ward, Aaron
CAROLINA HURRICANES
D
$2,000,000.00

Timonen, Kimmo
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
D
$2,000,000.00

Zamuner, Robert
BOSTON BRUINS
L
$2,000,000.00

York, Jason
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
D
$2,000,000.00

Sturm, Marco
SAN JOSE SHARKS
L
$2,000,000.00

Madden, John
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
C
$2,000,000.00

York, Michael
EDMONTON OILERS
C
$2,000,000.00

Jokinen, Olli
FLORIDA PANTHERS
C
$2,000,000.00

Walker, Scott
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
R
$1,950,000.00

Sundstrom, Niklas
MONTREAL CANADIENS
R
$1,950,000.00

Mironov, Boris
NEW YORK RANGERS
D
$1,925,000.00

Isbister, Brad
EDMONTON OILERS
L
$1,925,000.00

Staios, Steve
EDMONTON OILERS
D
$1,900,000.00

Luongo, Roberto
FLORIDA PANTHERS
G
$1,900,000.00

Spacek, Jaroslav
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
D
$1,900,000.00

Modin, Fredrik
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
L
$1,870,000.00

Zednik, Richard
MONTREAL CANADIENS
L
$1,850,000.00

Sillinger, Michael
PHOENIX COYOTES
C
$1,800,000.00

Warrener, Rhett
CALGARY FLAMES
D
$1,800,000.00

Witt, Brendan
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
D
$1,750,000.00

Salei, Ruslan
MIGHTY DUCKS OF ANAHEIM
D
$1,750,000.00

Cullen, Matt
FLORIDA PANTHERS
C
$1,750,000.00

Stuart, Brad
SAN JOSE SHARKS
D
$1,750,000.00

McInnis, Marty
BOSTON BRUINS
L
$1,750,000.00

Nikolishin, Andrei
COLORADO AVALANCHE
C
$1,750,000.00

McKee, Jay
BUFFALO SABRES
D
$1,700,000.00

Kuba, Filip
MINNESOTA WILD
D
$1,700,000.00

Lydman, Toni
CALGARY FLAMES
D
$1,700,000.00

Phillips, Chris
OTTAWA SENATORS
D
$1,675,000.00

Salo, Sami
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
D
$1,675,000.00

Malik, Marek
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
D
$1,650,000.00

Cullimore, Jassen
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
D
$1,650,000.00

Rucinsky, Martin
NEW YORK RANGERS
L
$1,650,000.00

Grier, Michael
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
R
$1,632,000.00

Wiemer, Jason
MINNESOTA WILD
C
$1,622,500.00

Varada, Vaclav
OTTAWA SENATORS
L
$1,600,000.00

Tucker, Darcy
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
C
$1,600,000.00

Souray, Sheldon
MONTREAL CANADIENS
D
$1,600,000.00

Yelle, Stephane
CALGARY FLAMES
C
$1,600,000.00

Devereaux, Boyd
DETROIT RED WINGS
L
$1,600,000.00

Briere, Daniel
BUFFALO SABRES
C
$1,600,000.00

Johnson, Greg
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
C
$1,600,000.00

Green, Travis
BOSTON BRUINS
C
$1,600,000.00

Marshall, Grant
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
R
$1,600,000.00

Korolev, Igor
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
C








www.twitter.com/StevenHindle
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Go Habs!!!!!

$1,600,000.00

Brown, Curtis
BUFFALO SABRES
C
$1,600,000.00

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