In 1989-1990, the Edmonton Oilers won their 5th Stanley Cup in 7 years -- their first one without Wayne Gretzky who was now with the Los Angeles Kings, leading the NHL with 142 points. While Mario Lemieux officially had the highest NHL base salary, Wayne Gretzky was by far making more money with numerous very lucrative endorsement deals. They were the only 2 NHLers making over a million a year in base salary.
| Rank | Player | NHL Salary ($US) | In today's $ |
| 1 | Mario Lemieux | $2,000,000 | $4,360,732 |
| 2 | Wayne Gretzky | $1,720,000 | $3,750,230 |
| 3 | Chris Chelios | $929,500 | $2,026,650 |
| 4 | Mark Messier | $837,142 | $1,825,275 |
| 5 | Bryan Trottier | $800,000 | $1,744,293 |
| 6 | Steve Yzerman | $700,000 | $1,526,256 |
| 7 | Larry Robinson | $550,000 | $1,199,201 |
| 8 | Denis Savard | $525,000 | $1,144,692 |
| 9 | Michel Goulet | $507,000 | $1,105,446 |
| 10 | Doug Wilson | $500,000 | $1,090,183 |
| 10 | Dave Taylor | $500,000 | $1,090,183 |
| 10 | Raymond Bourque | $500,000 | $1,090,183 |
| 10 | Ron Hextall | $500,000 | $1,090,183 |
| 10 | Tim Kerr | $500,000 | $1,090,183 |
| 15 | Paul Coffey | $450,000 | $981,165 |
| 16 | Mike Liut | $445,000 | $970,263 |
| 17 | Borje Salming | $435,000 | $948,459 |
| 18 | Mark Howe | $425,000 | $926,656 |
| 19 | Jari Kurri | $422,500 | $921,205 |
| 20 | Tomas Sandstrom | $410,000 | $893,950 |
| 21 | Peter Stastny | $405,600 | $884,357 |
| 22 | Al MacInnis | $401,375 | $875,144 |
| 23 | Jimmy Carson | $400,000 | $872,146 |
| 23 | Mike Gartner | $400,000 | $872,146 |
| 23 | Pat LaFontaine | $400,000 | $872,146 |
| 23 | Bernie Nicholls | $400,000 | $872,146 |
Photo credit: Upper Deck 1990-91