Leo Carlsson set to top NHL salary list in 2026-27, while Macklin Celebrini looks poised to take over next year

The NHL’s highest-paid landscape is shifting again for the 2026-27 season, and the projection coming out of the league salary churn points to a new leader at the top. According to a top-50 list published by Yahoo Sports, Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson is projected to be the highest-paid player in the NHL for 2026-27, marking a major milestone for a franchise player in an era when new contracts quickly move stars up and down the salary ladder.

The same list frames the next change at the top as a near-term handoff. Yahoo Sports projects that San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini will pass Carlsson as the league’s top-paid player the following season, 2027-28. In other words, the top of the pay scale is not only moving, it is moving quickly enough that the “who makes the most” conversation may last only a season at a time.

The broader takeaway is how quickly movement at the top can happen as cap growth and contract structure continue to raise ceilings. Yahoo Sports specifically notes that Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby has dropped out of the top 50 for 2026-27, an indication that even the most established high-end earners can fall behind when newer deals spike average salary figures.

Another warning sign for the concept of “top-paid” as a static label comes from the Minnesota Wild. Yahoo Sports reports that Wild standout Kirill Kaprizov did not get a chance to earn a paycheck while holding the title of top-paid player, underscoring that timing matters as much as star power when contract years line up with the season being evaluated.

Beyond those named players, a top-50 ranking has practical meaning for roster-building and expectations because it reflects how the salary cap era is concentrating money among a growing group of elite producers. While the NHL has long treated star contracts as a centerpiece of team identity, the rapid reordering described by Yahoo’s list suggests teams may be planning more deliberately for the “next payday” wave rather than assuming today’s top salaries remain stable.

What to watch next is whether the projected order holds once all official salary details are fully reflected for each season. If Carlsson’s 2026-27 projection is accurate, it would report that the Ducks’ most important offensive piece is now positioned at the very top of the league’s financial hierarchy. If Celebrini’s expected leap to the top in 2027-28 materializes, it would also reinforce that the Sharks’ recent roster direction is matching the kind of long-term investment that typically comes with a true franchise centerpiece.

There is an important caveat in how this kind of list should be read. Because these rankings are built from projected or scheduled earnings for a given season, the “highest-paid” designation can change with the exact treatment of contract terms, timing of payments, and the scope of what qualifies for inclusion in a top-50 framework. Still, the named departures and arrivals described by Yahoo Sports show a clear direction: the NHL’s richest tier is getting richer, faster.