Indicating the increasing strength of the league, before the start of the 2023/24 campaign, it was heavily rumoured that the NHL would increase its salary cap to $90 million next season.
That would mark a $4.5 million bump, and yet, it’ll only be applied to each team’s roster of players. In the modern game, the front office is paid as ownership sees fit without restriction from the league.
It’s because of this that teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs can flex their increased revenues over smaller-market teams like the Arizona Coyotes.
Of course, even the highest-paid NHL head coaches can’t guarantee success, but there’s certainly been an upward trend in how much NHL head coaches make in recent years.
What’s the Average Salary for NHL Head Coaches?
The average salary for an NHL head coach was estimated to be around $2.6 million as of the start of the 2022/23 campaign.
NHL teams aren’t required to reveal the payroll of their staff other than the players themselves, but there is a fair amount of public information out there to draw from.
At the lower end of the pay scale, Luke Richardson of the Chicago Blackhawks is reportedly pulling in $1.5 million for each of the three years remaining on his contract.
Joining him is said to be Sheldon Keefee of the Toronto Maple Leafs at $1.95 million this season, as well as Don Granato, who’ll be getting $1.9 million in 2024/25 and 2025/26.
Up top, you’ve got Peter DeBoer (Dallas Stars), Peter Laviolette (New York Rangers), Bruce Cassidy (Vegas Golden Knights), and Todd McLellan (Los Angeles Kings), who’re all earning over $4 million per season.
In the mix at the top of the NHL betting are the Golden Knights, Rangers, and Stars at +750, +950, and +1200 to win the Stanley Cup, and each of those teams boasts one of the highest-paid head coaches in the league.
Who is the Highest Paid NHL Head Coach?
The highest-paid NHL head coach this season is Todd McLellan. The bench boss of the Los Angeles Kings is one of around half of the head coaches in the league with reported salary figures, clocking in at $5 million per season.
Among those reported, there isn’t another head coach earning $5 million per season or more, but Peter Laviolette of the New York Rangers comes the closest at $4.9 million.
With this season and next season left on his contract, McLellan’s primary task has been to rebuild the Kings, but he has been able to make them playoff contenders rather swiftly.
In the Western Conference sport betting odds, the Kings stand sixth overall at +700, only trailing the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Even at the top end, McLellan does represent the bit of belt-tightening shown by NHL teams since the pandemic. In June, Mike Babcock’s eight-year deal with the Maple Leafs finally ended: it was paying him $5.875 million per season.
How Do NHL Head Coach Salaries Compare to Other Major League Sports?
In the NFL and the NBA, the highest-earning coaches of this season stand to make at least triple that of Todd McLellan’s $5 million per year.
Gregg Popovich, as the head coach and president of basketball operations for the San Antonio Spurs, will net $16 million each season, while Bill Belichick is being paid $20 million per year by the New England Patriots.
As for averages, the NHL is said to have an average NHL head coach salary of $2.6 million. In the NFL, a rough estimation for the average sits at around $6.6 million, while it’s at approximately $4 million in the NBA.
There’s quite the gap between NHL head coach earnings and those of the NBA and NFL, but given that the NHL ranks fourth among all major league sports in North America for total revenue with a figure that’s less than a third of the NFL and just over half of the NBA, the head coach salaries do appear to correlate.
In the NHL, head coaches can hope to make an average of $2.6 million each season, but at the top end right now is the $5 million per season paid to Todd McLellan by the LA Kings.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
