Putting Blackhawks Frank Nazar’s Contract Into Perspective – The Hockey Writers – Chicago Blackhawks

Frank Nazar signed a seven-year, $6.59 million average annual value (AAV) contract extension earlier this month. Immediately, fans rejoiced at general manager (GM) Kyle Davidson’s handiwork, securing such a talented young player at a bargain.

At 21, Nazar earned himself security and a well-deserved pay raise. And when this contract expires, he’ll be set up for another payday at 29.

Related: Blackhawks 2025-26 Player Previews: Frank Nazar

It’s a win for the player, the organization, and the fanbase.

Quickly, though, people began noting that Nazar’s contract surpasses that of some notable players like Kirill Kaprizov or Wayne Gretzky. But without context, those comparisons can be misleading. So let’s take a closer look at how much money he’ll make and when he’ll make it.

Nazar’s Contract Breakdown

Nazar won’t be receiving a flat $6.59 million every season when this contract begins. That number is what will go against the Blackhawks’ salary cap. Instead, the money he will be paid varies nearly every year, according to PuckPedia.

Now, I don’t share these numbers because I’m nosy and want to expose Nazar. For better or for worse, we live in a world where players’ salaries are easily accessible. That exposure, naturally, leads to comparisons and analyses.

Regardless of how much Nazar takes home each season, by the end of this contract, he will have earned $46,199,937. And that total dollar amount is what launched the comparisons.

Nazar vs. Kirill Kaprizov

Nazar’s contract demanded attention because it’s the largest ticket signed for a player with his experience of 56 games. Previously, Kaprizov held that honor after he signed a five-year, $45 million in 2021 after playing 55 games.

Of course, people began comparing Nazar and Kaprizov, with some saying that Nazar doesn’t deserve to make more money than Kaprizov with practically the same number of games played.

While that stat sounds flashy, an apples-to-apples comparison between Nazar and Kaprizov doesn’t hold. Kaprizov’s $9 million AAV is significantly higher than Nazar’s. Furthermore, during the 2021-22 season, when Kaprizov’s contract kicked in, the salary cap plateaued at $81.5 million. Meaning, his $9 million cap hit accounted for slightly more than 11% of the Minnesota Wild’s cap space.

Meanwhile, the salary cap will be $104 million when Nazar’s new contract begins. Thus, his $6.59 million AAV will only account for 6.35% of the Blackhawks’ cap space. Clearly, the “burden” his contract places on the team’s cap space isn’t really close to Kaprizov’s.

Numbers can be deceiving, and, in this case, the numbers insinuate that Nazar is “worth more” than Kaprizov. But a closer look reveals that not to be the case. Rather, Nazar’s contract simply reflects the rising salary cap and inflation.

Comparisons to Gretzky’s Career Earnings

And inflation is important for the next comparison floating around on social media—that of Nazar’s earnings through this contract to Gretzky’s total career earnings.

Again, this is a fun comparison of numbers, but come on people, it doesn’t take an economist to know how inflation works.

$46.00m — Wayne Gretzky’s career earnings
$46.13m — Frank Nazar’s contract after 56 career games

Times have changed, hey? pic.twitter.com/Obts0UhZ7Z

— Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) August 21, 2025

Gretzky made $46 million more than 20 years ago, so that money went much, much further back then. It’s difficult to calculate exactly how much that money would be worth today because of varying inflation rates across two decades (again, I’m not an economist). But we can do some estimations.

Gretzky signed a ten-year, $3 million (CAD) contract with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979. Today, that would be worth roughly $8.72 million (CAD). Convert that to USD because that’s the NHL’s currency, and we arrive at $6.3 million. Alright, keep that number in mind.

Then, we look at Gretzky’s next major contract with the Los Angeles Kings: eight years, $20 million. That contract covered 1988 to 1996. Today, that contract would be worth $47.43 million. That’s the second number to keep in mind.

Finally, Gretzky finished his career with a two-year, $13 million contract with the New York Rangers between 1997 and 1998. Today, that would be worth $26.07 million.

If we add $6.3 million, $47.43 million, and $26.07 million we end up with $79.8 million.

Now those calculations aren’t precise, as contract data from that era is more difficult to track down. But we have the numbers we need, and we can be done with the difficult math. Thank goodness.

Yes, I think it’s safe to say that Nazar isn’t making more money than Gretzky did in his entire career. Now, when Nazar’s career is over, he might surpass the Great One in career earnings, but he has plenty of work to do before that.

This Is the NHL

With the heavy lifting done, we can return to Nazar, the subject of this article. While it’s fun to compare numbers and players, we must be careful when we do so lest we over- or under-evaluate a player’s worth. Factors like what era a player played in, contract length, and the salary cap affect calculations.

Nazar will be a pillar upon which this rebuild will rest for at least the next seven years. To sign him with a low cap hit—while the cap rises—will leave Davidson room to sign other crucial pieces like Connor Bedard and add anyone else down the line.

But no one is saying that Nazar is better than Kaprizov. And anyone with a calculator can determine Nazar won’t be paid more than Gretzky. For now, let the kid enjoy his hard-earned money and see what he delivers next season.