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. Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman and Wayne Gretzky were the only NHLers making over a million a year in base salary.
| Rank | Player | NHL Salary ($US) | In today's $ | |
| 1 | Mario Lemieux | $2,500,000 | $6,108,333 | |
| 2 | Steve Yzerman | $1,800,000 | $4,398,000 | |
| 3 | Wayne Gretzky | $1,720,000 | $4,202,533 | |
| 4 | Chris Chelios | $929,500 | $2,271,078 | |
| 5 | Mark Messier | $837,142 | $2,045,416 | |
| 6 | Bryan Trottier | $800,000 | $1,954,666 | |
| 7 | Marcel Dionne | $600,000 | $1,466,000 | |
| 7 | Viacheslav Fetisov | $600,000 | $1,466,000 | |
| 9 | Larry Robinson | $550,000 | $1,343,833 | |
| 10 | Denis Savard | $525,000 | $1,282,750 | |
| 11 | Dale Hawerchuk | $507,000 | $1,238,770 | |
| 11 | Michel Goulet | $507,000 | $1,238,770 | |
| 13 | Dave Taylor | $500,000 | $1,221,667 | |
| 13 | Doug Wilson | $500,000 | $1,221,667 | |
| 13 | Raymond Bourque | $500,000 | $1,221,667 | |
| 13 | Ron Hextall | $500,000 | $1,221,667 | |
| 13 | Tim Kerr | $500,000 | $1,221,667 | |
| 18 | Paul Coffey | $450,000 | $1,099,500 | |
| 19 | Mike Liut | $445,000 | $1,087,283 | |
| 20 | Al MacInnis | $443,625 | $1,083,924 | |
| 21 | Borje Salming | $435,000 | $1,062,850 | |
| 22 | Mark Howe | $425,000 | $1,038,417 | |
| 23 | Jari Kurri | $422,500 | $1,032,308 | |
| 24 | Tomas Sandstrom | $410,000 | $1,001,767 | |
| 25 | Peter Stastny | $405,600 | $991,016 |
Photo credit: Upper Deck 1990-91