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Kovalchuk, Datsyuk top list of KHL base salaries

Ice Hockey - Winter Olympics Day 8 - United States v Russia

SOCHI, RUSSIA - FEBRUARY 15: Pavel Datsyuk #13 of Russia celebrates with teammate Ilya Kovalchuk #71 after scoring a second-period goal against the United States during the Men’s Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group A game on day eight of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Bolshoy Ice Dome on February 15, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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We may not have Cap Geek any longer, but money-minded NHL fans are well-served by sites like General Fanager and Cap Friendly. What about the KHL’s big dollar guys, though?

Well, that information is a little harder to find/sometimes shrouded in mystery, so it’s fun whenever we get a peek behind that curtain.

Russian site Sportfakt.ru published a list of the top 30 base salaries in that league something that reporter Aivis Kalniņš also shared (while wondering if this will prompt the KHL to be more open about sharing salary information).

It’s no surprise that Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk rank highly even without bonuses being taken into account:

1. Ilya Kovalchuk SKA 5 500 000 dollars / 330 million. Rubles

2. Pavel Datsyuk SKA 4 500 000 dollars / 270 million. Rubles

3. Vyacheslav Voinov SKA 4 500 000 dollars / 270 million. Rubles

4. Vladimir Sobotka Vanguard 3 000 000 dollars / 180 million. Rubles

5. Vasily Koshechkin Metallurg Mg 2.419 million dollars / 145 million. Rubles

6. Sergey Mozyakin Metallurg Mg 2.177 million dollars / 130 million. Rubles

7. Vadim Shipachev SKA 2000 0000 dollars / 120 million. Rubles

8. Mikhail Varnakov Ak Bars 1 700 000 dollars / 102 million. Rubles

9. Anton Belov SKA 1 500 000 dollars / 90 million. Rubles

10. Danis Zaripov Metallurg Mg 1 500 000 dollars / 90 million. Rubles

11. Andrei Zubarev SKA 1 500 000/90 mln. Rubles

12. Alexander Salak Siberia 1.5 million dollars / 90 million. Rubles

13. Alexander Svitov Ak Bars 1 500 000 dollars / 90 million. Rubles

14. Maxim Chudinov SKA 1 500 000 dollars / 90 million. Rubles

15. Egor Yakovlev SKA 1 500 000 dollars / 90 million. Rubles

16. Evgeny Dadonov SKA 1 400 000 dollars / 84 million. Rubles

17. Alexander Perezhogin Vanguard 1 400 000 dollars / 84 million. Rubles

18. Mikko Koskinen SKA 1 300 000 dollars / 78 million. Rubles

19. Stéphane Da Costa CSKA 1 300 000 dollars / 78 million. Rubles

20. Niklas Svedberg Salavat Yulaev 1 300 000 dollars / 78 million. Rubles

21. Ivan Telegin CSKA 1 300 000 dollars / 78 million. Rubles

22. Viktor Tikhonov SKA 1 300 000 dollars / 78 million. Rubles

23. Ilya Zubov Vanguard 1 250 000 dollars / 75 million. Rubles

24. Valery Nichushkin CSKA 1.21 million dollars / 73 million. Rubles

25. Torpedo Vladimir Galuzin 1 200 000 dollars / 72 million. Rubles

26. Sergey Plotnikov SKA 1 200 000 dollars / 72 million. Rubles

27. Andrei Popov Ak Bars 1 200 000 dollars / 72 million. Rubles

28. Alexander Khokhlachov SKA 1 200 000 dollars / 72mln. rubles

29. Igor Grigorenko Salavat Yulaev 1 100 000 dollars / 66mln. rubles

30. Nikolai Prokhorkin SKA 1 050 000 dollars / 63 million. Rubles

Well, that’s fun.

That same article asserts that Alex Radulov would have been the top-earner of that group if he didn’t leave for the Montreal Canadiens.

It’s wise to take this list with a grain of salt, even beyond the fact that it’s a report (thus meaning it isn’t official). Puck Daddy points out some possible snags:

There are several discrepancies between this list and some of the contract information we’ve previously had on these players. Pavel Datsyuk is listed at 270 million rubles here; it was 250 million rubles when the Free Press reported on his signing with the KHL. Kovalchuck’s salary was previously reported at $10.3 million and Mozyakin at $4.2 million; but that might have been with the bonuses included. Sobotka’s numbers also don’t sync up. But hey, it’s the KHL – solid info isn’t easy to come by.

Still, it’s interesting to consider, even as a reminder of some of the players who are now overseas.

The biggest chuckle, personally, comes from seeing the name Alexander Svitov. Remember that fellow? (Lightning fans probably do, as Tampa Bay selected him with the third pick back in 2001.)

These names also serve as a reminder regarding guys who might be back in the NHL in the future. It sounds like Valeri Nichushkin is settling in nicely, for one.

(H/T to Sportsnet.)