What the 10 Highest Paid NHL Forwards Are Paid Per Point Scored

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One thing that's harped on in the business world is return on investment. Almost every decision is made with the bottom line clearly in focus. If an investment is going to lose money, it usually never makes it close to the desk of the one who makes the final decision.

In the hockey world the decision makers don't have a complete picture to go on when making investments. The general manager usually makes decisions based on some of the following: past performance, chemistry, potential upside and salaries of comparable players. In short, it's a terribly inexact science.

Sometimes the GM gets lucky and his high dollar gamble pays off; sometimes he's left with an albatross of a contract hanging around his neck.

In the following slides we look at what the top 10 forwards are making per point scored this season. For the salary figures we took their 82-game salary and figured what they would be paid per game. The dollar amounts only reflect the games played.

Salary provided by CapGeek.com

Marian Hossa

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Salary for season: $7,900,000

Games played: 30

Salary to date: $2,890,244

Stats: Goals: 13, Assists: 19, Points: 32

Dollars for each point scored: $90,320

Hossa is in the early years of a 12-year, $63.3 million dollar deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Right now, scoring at a clip of more than a point per game, Hossa's deal is looking pretty good, especially when you consider the fact that he has not averaged more than a point per game since the 2006-07 season.

Steven Stamkos

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Salary for season: $8,000,000

Games played: 30

Salary to date: $2,926,829

Stats: Goals: 18, Assists: 15, Points: 33

Dollars for each point scored: $88,692

The Tampa Bay Lightning are hovering around the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

But with Stamkos doing his part and scoring at more than a point per game pace, he is not the player responsible for the hockey club's struggles.

Joe Thornton

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Salary for season: $8,000,000

Games played: 28

Salary to date: $2,731,707

Stats: Goals: 5, Assists: 19, Points: 24

Dollars for each point scored: $113,821

Jumbo Joe is currently scoring at a rate of less than a point per game, which is probably a bit below the Sharks' expectation after signing him to a three-year contract extension worth $21 million.

Prior to last season Thornton had been on a run of five straight seasons where he scored more than a point per game.

Dany Heatley

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Salary for season: $8,000,000

Games played: 32

Salary to date: $3,121,951

Stats: Goals: 9, Assists: 12, Points: 21

Dollars for each point scored: $148,664

Dany Heatley was shipped from the San Jose Sharks to the Minnesota Wild with three years and $19 million left on his contract.

The good news is that his deal goes from $8 million this year to $6 million next year. The bad news is that he only has 21 points in 32 games.

His scoring total is probably of little concern right now as the Wild sit in first place in both the Northwest and Western Conference, but should they falter, look for Heatley to start hearing some whispers.

Jason Spezza

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Salary for season: $8,000,000

Games played: 32

Salary to date: $3,121,951

Stats: Goals: 10, Assists: 22, Points: 32

Dollars for each point scored: $94,605

Jason Spezza is on a point-per-game pace with the Ottawa Senators—a pace that he has hit since putting up 92 points in 76 games during the 2007-08 season.

After this year, Spezza has three more years remaining on his contract. His contract will fall from $8 million next year to $4 million in its final year.

Alexander Ovechkin

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Salary for season: $9,000,000

Games played: 29

Salary to date: $3,182,927

Stats: Goals: 9, Assists: 12, Points: 21

Dollars for each point scored: $151,568

The Great 8 has been a bit less than great this year. In fact he is on pace to deliver the lowest point total of his NHL career.

Alex Ovechkin's $9 million salary will actually increase to $10 million in 2014-15 and stay at that number until his contract comes to a close at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Sidney Crosby

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Salary for season: $9,000,000

Games played: 8

Salary to date: $878,049

Stats: Goals: 2, Assists: 10, Points: 12

Dollars for each point scored: $73,171

Crosby sports the lowest dollars per point scored of this group. The problem is, he also has played the fewest games of the entire list.

Crosby missed most of the start of the season recovering from the concussion he suffered in January this year. He only played eight games before he withdrew from action due to lingering concussion symptoms.

Crosby is doing things the right way by staying off the ice, and for that he should be commended.

Evgeni Malkin

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Salary for season: $9,000,000

Games played: 24

Salary to date: $2,634,146

Stats: Goals: 11, Assists: 18, Points: 29

Dollars for each point scored: $90,832

Malkin, like his teammate Crosby, has missed some games due to injury. Also like Crosby, when he is on the ice he delivers at more than a point-per-game pace.

It's hard to imagine what a totally healthy Pittsburgh Penguins hockey club could deliver. The question now is, will we ever see a totally healthy Penguins club again this year?

Vincent Lecavalier

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Salary for season: $10,000,000

Games played: 30

Salary to date: $3,658,537

Stats: Goals: 11, Assists: 10, Points: 21

Dollars for each point scored: $174,216

Vincent Lecavalier has a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning that runs until the 2020.

He is set to make $10 million a year until 2016-17, when his salary drops to $8.5 million. After that it falls to $4 million and closes out the final two years at $1 million.

It's hard to fathom paying a player that is averaging less than a point per game as much as Lecavalier is making, but the Lightning are on the hook for a long time and a lot of money with their investment.