Hock-enomic Part One: The Salaries

From the salaries of the players to the overpriced Slurpees you buy every game, hockey is certainly a money making business here in the U.S. and Canada. Forbes reports that although the average NHL player makes less than the average NBA or MLB player, he still makes a hefty salary of about 2.4 million a year. If you starting out as just a small fry who was either just drafted into the NHL or came up from the minors, you still have basically a guaranteed starting salary of about 450 thousand, and many start out at significantly higher amounts. Take Dallas'  own Valeri Nichushkin, for example. At age 18, he was drafted by the Stars and was immediately signed on for a 3 year contract of 2.125 million per year.

Nichushkin, a rookie at the time, scores a goal against the Colorado Avalanche.

However, not everything lies in the hands of the management and contract-makers though. Once drafted, the players usually sign some sort of agreement in regards to when exactly they plan on playing. After the signed "intent to play" agreement ends, the player could arguably considered a free agent. This instance is not as rare as it would appear, and happened recently to Chicago Blackhawks draftee Kevin Hayes. Hayes,  a 6'5 225 pound center, was all set to play for the Blackhawks. He, like many players, opted to get 4 years of college hockey experience before heading into the crazy arena that encompasses NHL hockey. Over those four years, the Hawks one two Stanley Cups and were on their way to another. Although the opportunity for Hayes to play for the Hawks was tempting, he backed out of the deal. Although he didn't explicitly state it, Hayes used his own purchasing power of being a free agent to some degree when selecting a team to play for. Instead of getting paid less to be a part of a GREAT team, he opted for a better salary with a struggling (at least at that time) team, the New York Rangers.

The face of satisfaction.