The 2009–10 NHL season saw the Chicago Blackhawks end a 49-year championship drought. Behind stars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, Chicago defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games, ending on Kane’s famous "phantom" overtime goal. The season featured Vancouver Canucks’ Henrik Sedin winning the scoring title and the MVP award. It was also an Olympic year, where Sidney Crosby scored the "Golden Goal" for Canada in Vancouver, boosting hockey’s popularity. In the NHL, the "Cinderella" Flyers made history by coming back from a 3–0 series deficit against Boston.
| vs previous season | ||||||
| Rank | Player | NHL Salary ($US) | In today's $ | +/- ($) | +/- (%) | |
| 1 | Vincent Lecavalier | $10,000,000 | $15,022,840 | $2,833,334 | 40% | |
| 2 | Daniel Alfredsson | $9,100,000 | $13,670,784 | $3,634,603 | 67% | |
| 3 | Sidney Crosby | $9,000,000 | $13,520,556 | |||
| 3 | Alex Ovechkin | $9,000,000 | $13,520,556 | |||
| 3 | Evgeni Malkin | $9,000,000 | $13,520,556 | $8,015,800 | 814% | |
| 6 | Chris Drury | $8,050,000 | $12,093,386 | $950,000 | 13% | |
| 7 | Glen Sather | $8,000,000 | $12,018,272 | |||
| 7 | Jason Spezza | $8,000,000 | $12,018,272 | |||
| 7 | Wade Redden | $8,000,000 | $12,018,272 | |||
| 7 | Daniel Briere | $8,000,000 | $12,018,272 | |||
| 7 | Dany Heatley | $8,000,000 | $12,018,272 | -$2,000,000 | -20% | |
| 7 | Scott Gomez | $8,000,000 | $12,018,272 | |||
| 13 | Marian Hossa | $7,900,000 | $11,868,043 | $450,000 | 6% | |
| 14 | Brad Richards | $7,800,000 | $11,717,815 | |||
| 15 | Ilya Kovalchuk | $7,500,000 | $11,267,130 | |||
| 15 | Zdeno Chara | $7,500,000 | $11,267,130 | |||
| 15 | Marian Gaborik | $7,500,000 | $11,267,130 | |||
| 15 | Roberto Luongo | $7,500,000 | $11,267,130 | $500,000 | 7% | |
| 19 | Nicklas Lidstrom | $7,450,000 | $11,192,015 | |||
| 20 | Henrik Zetterberg | $7,400,000 | $11,116,901 | $4,500,000 | 155% | |
| 21 | Joe Thornton | $7,200,000 | $10,816,444 | |||
| 22 | Brian Campbell | $7,142,857 | $10,730,599 | |||
| 23 | Gary Bettman | $7,100,000 | $10,666,216 | -$130,000 | -2% | |
| 24 | Jaromir Jagr | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | |||
| 24 | Rick Nash | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | $500,000 | 8% | |
| 24 | Jarome Iginla | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | |||
| 24 | Jay Bouwmeester | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | $2,125,000 | 44% | |
| 24 | Kimmo Timonen | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | -$1,000,000 | -13% | |
| 24 | Shawn Horcoff | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | $3,400,000 | 94% | |
| 24 | Lubomir Visnovsky | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | |||
| 24 | Miikka Kiprusoff | $7,000,000 | $10,515,988 | -$1,500,000 | -18% | |