Earlier in the season, we took a look at each team’s salaries on opening night. Just recently, the figures for the end of the season were released. Not surprisingly, none of them are the same. Some have increased, while many have decreased. The Canadiens’ acquisition of Alexei Kovalev put them at a significantly higher payroll than they had at the beginning of the season. There were a couple of records broken, one official, while the other is unofficial, but interesting nonetheless.
Let’s have a look at each team’s beginning and ending salaries, and see just who went up, and who went down.
Team | Beginning Payroll | Ending Payroll | Increase/Decrease | % Difference |
Detroit | $77,834,109 | $82,306,109 | +$4,472,000 | +5.7% |
New York R. | $77,018,715 | $50,157,815 | -$26,860,900 | -34.9% |
Dallas | $67,588,340 | $75,728,885 | +$8,140,545 | +12.0% |
Philadelphia | $65,147,747 | $72,225,247 | +$7,077,500 | +10.9% |
Toronto | $61,758,140 | $77,063,738 | +$15,305,598 | +24.8% |
St. Louis | $61,180,000 | $68,375,000 | +$7,195,000 | +11.8% |
Colorado | $60,877,458 | $68,246,958 | +$7,396,500 | +12.1% |
Anaheim | $54,371,750 | $51,759,750 | -$2,612,000 | -4.8% |
Washington | $51,131,500 | $20,208,750 | -$30,922,750 | -60.5% |
New Jersey | $48,082,898 | $52,856,658 | +$4,773,760 | +9.9% |
Los Angeles | $46,148,800 | $42,298,800* | -$3,850,800 | -8.3% |
Boston | $45,750,000 | $49,300,000 | +$3,500,500 | +7.8% |
New York I. | $43,803,000 | $44,505,500 | +$702,500 | +1.6% |
Montreal | $42,662,000 | $47,032,000 | +$4,370,000 | +10.2% |
Ottawa | $39,625,000 | $48,552,500 | +$8,927,500 | +22.5% |
Vancouver | $38,699,500 | $46,624,400 | +$7,924,900 | +20.5% |
Phoenix | $37,847,500 | $31,289,750 | -$6,557,750 | -17.3% |
Carolina | $37,836,238 | $33,480,000 | -$4,356,238 | -11.5% |
Calgary | $35,247,950 | $37,977,750 | +$2,729,800 | +7.7% |
San Jose | $34,825,000 | $36,405,000 | +$1,580,000 | +4.5% |
Tampa Bay | $33,535,379 | $36,500,379 | +$2,965,000 | +8.8% |
Buffalo | $32,954,250 | $34,421,000 | +$1,466,750 | +4.5% |
Columbus | $32,085,000 | $26,580,000 | -$5,505,000 | -17.2% |
Chicago | $31,580,000 | $22,980,002 | -$8,559,998 | -27.2% |
Edmonton | $30,825,000 | $35,667,500 | +$4,842,500 | +15.7% |
Atlanta | $27,222,500 | $28,057,500 | +$835,000 | +3.1% |
Pittsburgh | $26,605,000 | $20,655,640 | -$5,949,360 | -22.4% |
Florida | $26,429,750 | $22,205,000 | -$4,224,750 | -16.0% |
Minnesota | $24,865,000 | $24,185,500 | -$679,500 | -2.7% |
Nashville | $23,172,500 | $26,682,500 | +$3,510,500 | +15.1% |
*Los Angeles’ final payroll does not include the salaries of injured forwards Jason Allison (8 M) and Adam Deadmarsh (3 M), as their salaries were absorbed by insurance.
For those of you that are wondering, the 2 records broken were as follows. Detroit now has the largest season-ending payroll in NHL history, while the Capitals now hold the unofficial title for shedding the most salary from the beginning of the season to the end, dumping over 60%, and no, that’s not a typo either.
Now, let’s move on to a fan favourite of stats, the amount of money it takes for each team to earn a single point. This is also known as “Bang for the buck,” which is what we’re calling it here. So, which teams really got bang for their buck? It all depends on you, the reader, and your opinion. If you think $400,000 per point is reasonable, then many teams fall out of this category. And where are the Habs? If you only want to see them, head for the bottom. Now, without further ado, here is the 2004 “Bang for the buck index”:
Team | Ending Payroll | Points | Cost Per Point |
Minnesota | $24,185,000 | 83 | $291,392 |
Nashville | $26,682,500 | 91 | $293,214 |
Florida | $22,205,000 | 75 | $296,067 |
Washington | $20,208,750 | 59 | $342,521 |
Tampa Bay | $36,500,379 | 106 | $344,343 |
San Jose | $36,405,000 | 104 | $350,048 |
Pittsburgh | $20,655,640 | 58 | $356,132 |
Atlanta | $28,057,500 | 78 | $359,712 |
Chicago | $22,980,002 | 59 | $389,492 |
Edmonton | $35,667,500 | 89 | $400,758 |
Calgary | $37,977,750 | 94 | $404,019 |
Buffalo | $34,421,000 | 85 | $404,953 |
Columbus | $26,580,000 | 62 | $428,710 |
Carolina | $33,480,000 | 76 | $440,526 |
Phoenix | $31,289,750 | 68 | $460,143 |
Vancouver | $46,624,400 | 101 | $461,628 |
Boston | $49,300,000 | 104 | $474,038 |
Ottawa | $48,552,500 | 102 | $476,005 |
New York I. | $44,505,500 | 91 | $489,071 |
Montreal | $47,032,000 | 93 | $505,720 |
Los Angeles | $42,298,800 | 81 | $522,207 |
New Jersey | $52,856,658 | 100 | $528,567 |
Anaheim | $51,759,750 | 76 | $681,049 |
Colorado | $68,246,958 | 100 | $682,470 |
Philadelphia | $72,225,247 | 101 | $715,101 |
New York R. | $50,157,815 | 69 | $726,926 |
Toronto | $77,063,738 | 103 | $748,192 |
St. Louis | $68,375,000 | 91 | $751,374 |
Detroit | $82,306,109 | 109 | $755,102 |
Dallas | $75,728,885 | 97 | $780,710 |
Here are a couple of little “tidbits” from these numbers:
If the Rangers hadn’t have dumped roughly $30 million in salaries just before the trade deadline, they would have paid around $1,151,719 per point.
Minnesota leads this category for the second straight season.
San Jose was the biggest improver from last season, moving from 29th overall in 2003 to 6th this season.
Ottawa was the biggest “loser” here, dropping 16 spots from 2 to 18, but that’s only because the team actually spent some money and keep the core of the team together.
The Canadiens improved from last season in this statistic, from 22nd last year to 20th this season.
Just because your team is at the top of the list, it doesn’t mean they’ll make the playoffs. Only 3 of the top 10 in terms of paying the least made the playoffs, while 7 of the bottom 10 made the postseason.
Of course this stat does not have a lot of merit, it merely shows year after year how many owners are being ripped off by the current economic status of the National Hockey League. It does show which teams are fiscally wise, teams like Minnesota, Nashville, and Tampa Bay are “smart,” while teams like Toronto, St. Louis, and Dallas are “not-so-smart.” And teams that are in the middle of the league like Montreal, Buffalo, and the Islanders also appear around the middle of this category. Maybe this is a useful stat after all…
So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, a complete review of salaries for the 2003-04 NHL season. The next time something like this is compiled, there will likely be a significant change in some of the numbers, as the post-CBA era will likely have some sort of “cost-certainty,” but not a hard cap. But of course, this whole matter is not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
Questions/comments? E-mail me at b.larose@habsworld.net.