So That's Where All My Money Went...

HockeyZonePlus is an interesting little site with (mostly accurate, I assume) salary information on players dating back to the 1989-90 season. Want to know what Dale Hunter made in 1992-93, a 20-goal/59-assist/198-PIM season? It's there ($400,000).

Naturally, the next question is, "Who has gotten the most of Abe Pollin's and Ted Leonsis's money over the years? " Given how much salaries have escalated since the '88-'89 season (the Caps' team payroll in 1992-93 was just a few bucks more than Alex Ovechkin's average salary over the next thirteen years), it's pretty safe to say that the guys who will top this list are in the database (but only the last four years of Rod Langway's career are included, so it's hard to say where he or a guy like Mike Gartner would be on this list).

Anyway, let's take a look at who has amassed the top 20 greatest fortunes in salary paid out by the Caps*:

1. Olie Kolzig, $42,310,000
2. Jaromir Jagr, $37,896,666
3. Peter Bondra , $30,880,062
4. Sergei Gonchar, $18,782,000
5. Calle Johansson, $14,387,500
6. Brendan Witt, $14,372,000
7. Adam Oates, $13,379,000
8. Alexander Ovechkin, $11,502,000
9. Robert Lang, $10,000,000
10. Michael Nylander, $9,975,000
    
11. Joé Juneau, $9,644,000
    
12. Sylvain Cote, $9,597,000
13. Chris Simon, $8,770,000
14. Steve Konowalchuk, $8,234,500
15. Dainius Zubrus, $7,600,000
16. Kelly Miller, $7,534,366
17. Joe Reekie, $7,354,300
18. Michal Pivonka, $6,896,025
19. Dale Hunter, $6,593,000
20. Ken Klee, $6,541,000

And if you're keeping score at home, Alex Ovechkin - who will make more next year than Steve Konowalchuk or Kelly Miller made in their entire Cap careers - will sit atop that list around New Year's, 2012.

* Note: These numbers are very approximate. If a player had pre-1990 seasons with the Caps, I guessed on his salary for those years. If a player got traded at or around the deadline, I counted his entire salary for that season and if a player was acquired at the deadline, I didn't count his salary for that campaign. Other approximations were made as well, and I've probably missed a guy or two... hey, you get what you pay for, folks (unless, of course, we're talking about Number 68).