Who Is The Highest Paid NHL Coach?

The highest paid NHL coach is actually not who you might think it is. In fact, it’s not even close. So, who is the highest paid NHL coach?

NHL Coaches’ Salaries

As of the 2019-2020 season, the highest paid NHL coach is Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks, who has an annual salary of $6 million. Second on the list is Barry Trotz of the New York Islanders, who is in the first year of a five-year contract worth $5 million per year.

Top 10 Highest-Paid NHL Coaches

The NHL season is in full swing and the playoff race is heating up. As we enjoy another exciting year of hockey, let’s take a look at the 10 highest-paid coaches in the NHL.

1. Bruce Boudreau, Minnesota Wild – $6 million
2. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks – $5.5 million
3. Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators – $4 million
4. John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets – $3 million
5. Claude Julien, Boston Bruins – $2.75 million
6. Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers – $2.5 million
7. Michel Therrien, Montreal Canadiens – $2 million
8. Randy Carlyle, Anaheim Ducks – $1.9 million
9. Gerard Gallant, Florida Panthers – $1.85 million
10 Alain Vigneault, New York Rangers – $1 million

Bottom 10 Lowest-Paid NHL Coaches

1. Alain Vigneault, Philadelphia Flyers: $5 million
2. Gerard Gallant, Florida Panthers: $5.25 million
3. Barry Trotz, New York Islanders: $6 million
4. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks: $6 million
5. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens: $6 million
6. Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers: $6 million
7. Mike Yeo, St. Louis Blues: $6 million
8. Dave Tippett, Arizona Coyotes: $2.5 million
9. John Stevens, Los Angeles Kings: $2 million
10. Bill Peters, Calgary Flames: $1.8 million

NHL Coaches’ Contracts

The highest paid NHL coach is Bruce Boudreau of the Anaheim Ducks, who is in the first year of an eight-year, $42 million contract. Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks is second, with an annual salary of $6 million.

Top 10 Highest-Paid NHL Coaches

1. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks: $6 million per year
2. John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets: $2.5 million per year
3. Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals: $2 million per year
4. Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators: $1.8 million per year
5. Mike Babcock, Toronto Maple Leafs: $6 million per year
6. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens: $5 million per year
7. Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers: $4 million per year
8. Willie Desjardins, Vancouver Canucks: $3 million per year
9. Dan Bylsma, Buffalo Sabres: $3 million per year
10. Randy Carlyle, Anaheim Ducks: $2 million per year

Bottom 10 Lowest-Paid NHL Coaches

1. Alain Vigneault, Flyers- $2 million
2. Joel Quenneville, Panthers- $2.75 million
3. Rick Tocchet, Coyotes- $2 million
4. Claude Julien, Devils- $2 million
5. Todd McLellan, Oilers- $2 million
6. Mike Yeo, Blues- $2 million
7. Bruce Boudreau, Wild- $3 million
8. Guy Boucher, Senators- $3 million
9. Jared Bednar, Avalanche- $ 950,000
10. Gerard Gallant, Golden Knights- $3 million

NHL Coaches’ Win-Loss Records

NHL coaches are some of the highest-paid coaches in professional sports. They make an average of $2 million per year, with the highest-paid coaches making over $3 million per year. With such high salaries, you would expect NHL coaches to have winning records. However, this is not always the case. In fact, many NHL coaches have losing records.

Top 10 Highest-Paid NHL Coaches

1. Chicago Blackhawks – Joel Quenneville: $6 million
2. Pittsburgh Penguins – Mike Sullivan: $3 million
3. Tampa Bay Lightning – Jon Cooper: $2.8 million
4. Washington Capitals – Barry Trotz: $2.5 million
5. Winnipeg Jets – Paul Maurice: $2.4 million
6. Edmonton Oilers – Todd McLellan: $2 million
7. Anaheim Ducks – Randy Carlyle: $1.8 million
8. St Louis Blues -Ken Hitchcock: $1.7 million
9. Nashville Predators – Peter Laviolette: $1.6 million
10. Montreal Canadiens – Michel Therrien: $1.5 million

Bottom 10 Lowest-Paid NHL Coaches

The NHL’s lowest-paid coach is Alain Vigneault of the Philadelphia Flyers, who earns an annual salary of $1 million. In contrast, the highest-paid NHL coach is Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks, who earns a whopping $6 million per year.

Here are the bottom 10 lowest-paid coaches in the NHL, according to Spotrac:

10. John Hynes, New Jersey Devils – $825,000
9. Dan Bylsma, Buffalo Sabres – $800,000
8. Michel Therrien, Montreal Canadiens – $750,000
7. Willie Desjardins, Vancouver Canucks – $700,000
6. Dave Tippett, Arizona Coyotes – $698,333
5. Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals – $650,000
4. Mike Yeo, St. Louis Blues – $600,000
3. Jack Capuano, New York Islanders – $575,000
2. Darryl Sutter, Los Angeles Kings – $500,000
1. Alain Vigneault, Philadelphia Flyers – $1 million

NHL Coaches’ Playoff Records

Joel Quenneville is currently the Blackhawks head coach, and has been since 2008. He has the most regular season wins of any head coach in Blackhawks history. He is also the only head coach in Blackhawks history to have won three Stanley Cup titles.

Top 10 Highest-Paid NHL Coaches

1. Barry Melrose – $2.4 million per year
2. Joel Quenneville – $2 million per year
3. Mike Babcock – $1.8 million per year
4. Ken Hitchcock – $1.6 million per year
5. Claude Julien – $1.5 million per year
6. John Tortorella – $1.3 million per year
7. Lindy Ruff – $1 million per year
8. Randy Carlyle – $950,000 per year
9. Michel Therrien – $900,000 per year
10. Bryan Murray – $850,000 per year

Bottom 10 Lowest-Paid NHL Coaches

Of the 31 NHL teams, 19 coaches make $2 million or more in average annual salary, with three coaches — Gerard Gallant of the Vegas Golden Knights, Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jon Cooper of the Tampa Bay Lightning — earning more than $3 million.

At the other end of the spectrum are 10 coaches who make less than $1 million in average annual salary, led by Detroit Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill at $700,000. Nine of the 10 lowest-paid coaches are in charge of teams that failed to qualify for this year’s playoffs.

NHL Coaches’ Stanley Cup Records

The National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 24 in the United States and 7 in Canada. Head coaches in the NHL are responsible for managing all aspects of the team during the season and Stanley Cup playoffs.

Top 10 Highest-Paid NHL Coaches

1. Bruce Boudreau, Minnesota Wild- $6 million
2. Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks- $5.5 million
3. Peter Laviolette, Nashville Predators- $4 million
4. Barry Trotz, Washington Capitals- $3 million
5. Claude Julien, Montreal Canadiens- $3 million
6. John Tortorella, Columbus Blue Jackets- $2.5 million
7. Todd McLellan, Edmonton Oilers- $2 million
8. Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh Penguins- $2 million
9. Dave Tippett, Arizona Coyotes- $2 million
10. Mike Yeo, St. Louis Blues- $1.7 million

Bottom 10 Lowest-Paid NHL Coaches

The Toronto Maple Leafs have the highest-paid coaching staff in the NHL, with an average salary of $2.4 million per season. The Chicago Blackhawks are next, at $2.375 million per season. The Montreal Canadiens are third, at $2.116 million per season.

The following coaches are the lowest-paid in the NHL:

1. John Tortorella (Columbus Blue Jackets): $2 million per season
2. Mike Yeo (Minnesota Wild): $1.85 million per season
3. Claude Julien (Boston Bruins): $1.8 million per season
4. Dan Bylsma (Buffalo Sabres): $1.7 million per season
5. Michel Therrien (Pittsburgh Penguins): $1.6 million per season
6. Alain Vigneault (New York Rangers): $1.5 million per season
7 Lindy Ruff (Dallas Stars): $1 million per season
8 Barry Trotz (Nashville Predators): $850,000 per season
9 Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks): $800,000 per 10 Ken Hitchcock (St Louis Blues):$750,000