Joel Dorcas | April 5th, 2020

Time to wrap this list up. these guys are my top five but by no means is this the defining list. More than likely this list can be added to just like the other series, so feel free to add your favorites. Let’s get to it and find out who is the league’s best players based on their salaries!￼

5 Seth Jones Columbus Blue Jackets

Age: 25/ Annual Cap Hit: $5.4M (2016-2022)

Jones has been the anchor to this John Tortorella-run group since his contract commenced in 2016. Jones has quickly turned himself into one of the league’s most complete defenseman. A 57 point, +10 rating in 2017-2018 is just a glimpse of what is to come for Jones and the Blue Jackets. A hefty raise is no doubt in his future but for the time being, the Jackets will get two more years of an absolute stud defenseman at a very low cost.

4 Mark Scheifele Winnipeg Jets

Age: 27/ Annual Cap Hit: $6.125M (2016-2024)

Scheifele has been very consistent and ever bit as good or better as advertised since signing this team-friendly deal in 2016. In each of the past four seasons, Scheifele has been a point-a-game player or better. Highlights so far include a 32 goal, 82 point season in 2016-’17 and a 38 goal, 84 point campaign just last year. Schiefele is definitely in the conversation when we look at potential 100 point players for the next four years.

3 Brad Marchand Boston Bruins

Age: 31/ Annual Cap Hit: $6.125M (2017-2025)

Marchand has turned into an absolute scoring machine over the last few years and the Boston Bruins should be ecstatic with the production at this cap hit. Throughout the last three seasons combined (2017-2020), Marchand ranks fourth in the entire league with a points-per-game rate of 1.25.

2 David Pastrnak Boston Bruins

Age: 23/ Annual Cap Hit: $6.67M (2017-2023)

“Pasta” is breaking out this season in a big way. You can easily vouch for him as the league’s best player, and at the very least, best goal scorer. When the league went on pause, his 48 goals are tied with Alex Ovechkin for the most. Pastrnak has scored at least 34 goals in each season since 2016. For the remainder of the contract expect him to be a 40-50 goal scorer.

1 Nathan MacKinnon Colorado Avalanche

Age: 24/ Annual Cap Hit: $6.3M (2016-2023)

The Avalanche have this incredible talent at a very affordable rate of just over $6M. Three consecutive seasons of at least 90 points are just the beginning for the mega-talented center. Combining 2017 through to this season, MacKinnon has amassed 289 points, third-best in the entire league. Expect more of the same and then some throughout the entirety of the contract.

The rest of the best/worst contracts:

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