Blackhawks Frank Nazar’s contract in perspective – The Hockey Writers Chicago Blackhawks latest news, analysis and more

Earlier this month, Frank Nazar signed a seven -year -old, $ 6.59 million average annual value (AAV) contract extension. Immediately fans were looking forward to the handicraft of General Manager (GM) Kyle Davidson and secured such a talented young player at a bargain.

At the age of 21, Nazar earned itself security and a well-deserved wage increase. And when this contract goes, he is set up for a new payment day at 29.

Related: Blackhawks 2025-26 Player Previews: Frank Nazar

It is a victory for the player, the organization and the fan base.

But people quickly began to note that the Nazar contract surpasses that of some remarkable players such as 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 will earn and when he will make it.

Nazar’s contract breakdown

Nazar does not receive a flat $ 6.59 million every season when this contract starts. That number is what will go against the salary limit of the Blackhawks. Instead, the money he is paid varies almost every year, According to Puckpedia.

Now I do not share these figures because I am curious and want to uncover Nazar. For better or worse we live in a world where the salaries of players are easily accessible. That exposure naturally leads to comparisons and analyzes.

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

Nazar vs. Kirill Kaprizov

The Nazar contract demanded attention because this is the biggest ticket that has been signed for a player with his experience with 56 games. Previously Kaprizov kept that honor after he signed a five -year -old, $ 45 million In 2021 after playing 55 games.

Of course, people started comparing Nazar and Kaprizov, where some said that Nazar does not deserve to earn more money than Kaprizov with almost the same number of games played.

Although that Stat sounds flashy, a comparison of Appels-to-Apples between Nazar and Kaprizov does not hold. Kaprizov’s $ 9 million AAV is considerably higher than Nazar’s. In addition, during the 2021-22 season, when Kaprizov’s contract began, the salary limit was planned at $ 81.5 million. This means that his cap of $ 9 million was good for just over 11% of the cap space of the Minnesota Wild.

In the meantime, the salary limit will be $ 104 million when Nazar’s new contract starts. His AAV of $ 6.59 million will therefore be only 6.35% of the cap space of the Blackhawks. It is clear that the ‘burden’ of his contract on the team’s cap space is not really close to Kaprizov.

Songs can cheat and in this case the figures insinuate that Nazar is “worth more” than Kaprizov. But a further look reveals that that is not the case. On the contrary, Nazar’s contract simply reflects the rising salary limit and inflation.

Comparisons with Gretzky’s career -revenues

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

Again, this is a nice comparison of numbers, but come on people, no economist is needed to know how inflation works.

$ 46.00 million – Wayne Gretzky’s career – Income
$ 46.13 million – Frank Nazar’s contract after 56 career competitions

The times have changed, hey? pic.twitter.com/OBTS0UHZ7Z

– Big Chead Hockey (@Broomy) August 21, 2025

Gretzky earned $ 46 million more than 20 years ago, so that the money went much further. It is difficult to calculate exactly how much that money would be worth today due to different inflation rates for two decades (again, I am not an economist). But we can do some estimates.

Gretzky signed a ten -year contract, $ 3 million (CAD) with the Edmonton Oilers in 1979. Today that would be worth around $ 8.72 million (CAD). Convert that to USD because that is the currency of the NHL and we get to $ 6.3 million. Okay, 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 related to 1988 to 1996. Today, that contract would be worth $ 47.43 million. That is the second song to keep in mind.

Finally, Gretzky ended his career with a two -year contract of $ 13 million 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 with $ 79.8 million.

Now those calculations are not accurate, because contract data from that era are more difficult to find. But we have the figures we need, and we can have finished the difficult math. Thank God.

Yes, I think it is safe to say that Nazar does not earn more money than Gretzky did throughout his career. Now, when the career of Nazar is over, he can surpass the large in the career in the career, but he has enough work to do for that.

This is the NHL

With the heavy work that has been done, we can return to Nazar, the subject of this article. Although it is nice to compare numbers and players, we must be careful if we do, otherwise we will evaluate the value of a player. Factors such as what time a player played, contract length and the salary limit influence calculations.

Nazar will be a pillar on which this rebuild will rest for at least the next seven years. To sign it with a hit with a low cap – while the cap rises – the Davidson room will leave to sign other crucial pieces such as Connor Bedard and add someone else along the line.

But nobody says that Nazar is better than Kaprizov. And anyone with a calculator can determine that Nazar is not paid more than Gretzky. Let the child enjoy his hard -earned money for now and see what he will deliver next season.