Who Is The Highest Paid Coach In The NHL?

Learn about the NHL’s highest paid coaches and how much they are paid.

NHL Coaches’ Salaries

The title of highest paid coach in the NHL goes to Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville, who is in the first year of a three-year contract extension worth $6 million per season. That puts him ahead of Los Angeles Kings coach Darryl Sutter and Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock, who are each in the second year of contracts worth $5 million per season.

Top 10 highest-paid NHL coaches

1. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks – $6 million
2. Jon Cooper, Tampa Bay Lightning – $5.5 million
3. Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals – $5 million
4. Bill Peters, Carolina Hurricanes – $3.6 million
5. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens – $3 million
6. Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets – $2.9 million
7. Mike Babcock, Toronto Maple Leafs – $2.8 million
8. Gerard Gallant, Vegas Golden Knights – $2.75 million
9. Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers – $2 million
10. John Hynes, New Jersey Devils – $1.8 million

Bottom 10 highest-paid NHL coaches

The following is a list of the bottom 10 highest-paid NHL coaches, according to Spotrac.com.

1. Alain Vigneault, Philadelphia Flyers – $5 million
2. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens – $4 million
3. Gerard Gallant, Florida Panthers – $3 million
4. Paul Maurice, Winnipeg Jets – $3 million
5. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders – $2.5 million
6. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks – $2 million
7. Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers – $2 million
8. Mike Babcock, Toronto Maple Leafs – $1.9 million
9. Dan Bylsma, Buffalo Sabres – $1 million
10. John Hynes, New Jersey Devils – $925,000

NHL Coaches’ Contracts

NHL coaches are among the highest-paid coaches in professional sports. The average NHL coach’s salary is $2.75 million per year, while the median salary is $2 million. The highest-paid coach in the NHL is Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville, who makes $6 million per year.

Top 10 longest-serving NHL coaches

1. Joel Quenneville – 22 seasons
2. Barry Trotz – 21 seasons
3. Ken Hitchcock – 20 seasons
4. Lindy Ruff – 19 seasons
5. Mike Babcock – 18 seasons
6. Claude Julien – 17 seasons
7. Todd McLellan – 16 seasons
8. Jon Cooper – 15 seasons
9. Willie Desjardins – 14 seasons
10. John Hynes – 13 seasons

Bottom 10 longest-serving NHL coaches

The following is a list of the bottom 10 longest-serving NHL coaches, as of the 2019-20 season.

1. Joel Quenneville (CHI): 10 seasons
2. Barry Trotz (NYI): 8 seasons
3. Claude Julien (BOS): 7 seasons
4. Mike Babcock (TOR): 6 seasons
5. Lindy Ruff (DAL): 5 seasons
6. John Hynes (NJ): 5 seasons
7. Bill Peters (CGY): 4 seasons
8. Todd McLellan (EDM): 4 seasons
9. Randy Carlyle (ANA): 4 seasons
10. Gerard Gallant (VGK): 3 seasons

NHL Coaches’ Win-Loss Records

Coaches in the National Hockey League are often some of the highest-paid employees of the team. Many coaches have multimillion-dollar contracts and can earn a significant amount of money if their team is successful. As of the 2019-20 season, the highest-paid coach in the NHL is Ottawa Senators coach D.J. Smith, who has a base salary of $1.5 million.

Top 10 winningest NHL coaches

1. Scotty Bowman – 1,244
2. Joel Quenneville – 890
3. Al Arbour – 782
4. Ken Hitchcock – 781
5. Barry Melrose – 627
6. Mike Keenan – 601
7. Dick Irvin – 590
8. Pat Quinn – 586
9. Marcel Dionne – 564
10. Jacques Demers – 562

Bottom 10 winningest NHL coaches

In terms of all-time winningest NHL coaches, here are the bottom 10:
10. Tommy Johnston – 431
9. Dick Irvin – 434
8. Bryan Murray – 451
7. Toe Blake – 451
6. Pat Quinn – 458
5. Al Arbour – 460
4. Punch Imlach – 467
3. Mike Keenan – 480
2. Scotty Bowman – 575
1. Joel Quenneville – 890

NHL Coaches’ Stanley Cup Records

It is no secret that NHL coaches are some of the highest paid coaches in professional sports. In order to become an NHL head coach, one must have a proven record of success at lower levels of hockey. This usually comes in the form of winning a lower-level championship, or coaching a team to a consistently high level of success.

Top 10 NHL coaches with the most Stanley Cup wins

1. Scotty Bowman – 12
2. Joel Quenneville – 10
3. Toe Blake – 8
4. Al Arbour – 7
5. Dick Irvin – 6
6. Mike Keenan – 6
7. Pat Quinn – 5
8. Harry Sinden – 4
9. Claude Julien – 4
10. Glen Sather – 4

Bottom 10 NHL coaches with the most Stanley Cup wins

1. Al Arbour – 16 Stanley Cup wins
2. Scotty Bowman – 14 Stanley Cup wins
3. Toe Blake – 13 Stanley Cup wins
4. Dick Irvin – 12 Stanley Cup wins
5. Mike Keenan – 11 Stanley Cup wins
6. Pat Quinn – 10 Stanley Cup wins
7. Barry Melrose – 9 Stanley Cup wins
8. Peter Laviolette – 8 Stanley Cup wins
9. Dan Bylsma – 8 Stanley Cup wins
10. Michel Therrien – 7 Stanley Cup wins

NHL Coaches’ Olympic Records

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently composed of 30 member clubs. Head coaches in the NHL are responsible for managing all aspects of the team, including the coaching and development of players, game strategy, and on-ice leadership. In addition to their regular season duties, NHL coaches also have the opportunity to lead their teams to success in the playoffs and at the annual Stanley Cup Finals.

Top 10 NHL coaches with the most Olympic wins

1. Scotty Bowman – 12

2. Joel Quenneville – 10

3. Mike Babcock – 8

4. Al Arbour – 7

5. Toe Blake – 7

6. Dick Irvin – 6

7. Pat Quinn – 6

8. Punch Imlach – 5

9. Johnny Wilson – 4
A lot of these coaches have won multiple Stanley Cups, but they also have had great success at the Olympics.

Bottom 10 NHL coaches with the most Olympic wins

1. Joel Quenneville
2. Barry Trotz
3. Claude Julien
4. Mike Babcock
5. Lindy Ruff
6. Ken Hitchcock
7. Paul Maurice
8. Michel Therrien
9. Alain Vigneault