Back in June when the rosters first came out, we posted a look at all eight teams by their total salary cap hit. Now that the tournament is upon us, I want to update things for how life has changed in the last three months for both the teams who had to replace players and the players who got new contracts. We even have a change in rank from the last time!

Before we get into the details, I want to get to the disclaimers:

• As of this writing, there are eight unsigned RFAs playing and five UFAs. Until we get new contract information, we’re working off their last deals. That’s going to make a big difference for Team NA (Gaudreau, Trouba), Team Sweden (Rakell, Lindholm), and Team Russia (Kucherov, Orlov, Nesterov). It will make a smaller difference for the Czechs with Michal Jordan and Jakub Nakladal. The Finns won’t have much with Lauri Korpikoski, but Rasmus Ristolainen could be a good chunk. Team Europe has Ehrhoff and Seidenberg. I think the biggest effect on the rankings could be that Team North America could jump up in the rankings. Unsigned players will be highlighted in blue below.
• There are 11 KHL-only players in this tourney. They belong to Team Finland, the Czech Republic, and Russia. Where I have found salary information, I have put it in, but can’t speak for the accuracy of these dollars. Where I have found no information, I have put the player’s salary as $925K (representing the maximum Paragraph 1 salary of an NHL ELC). I have doubts about several of these, but an inaccurate placeholder is better than putting in $0. KHL players will be highlighted in Red.
• Players on ELCs have their bonuses factored into their salary as though they are earned.
• If a player already has an extension for next year that’s way bigger (looking at you, Ekblad and Hedman), only his current salary will be counted.
• Buyouts aren’t factored into a player’s cap hit (Hi Vanek!)

With that in mind, let’s get to the rankings!

#8 - Team Czech Republic

Current AAV: $65,109,166

Players Missing: Radko Gudas, Tomas Hertl, David Krejci

Replacements: Tomas Kundratek, Michal Birner, Roman Cervenka

New Contracts: Petr Mrazek, Dmitrij Jaskin, Tomas Plekanec

Salary Difference: -$4,167

The Czechs were already looking to be the worst team in the tournament and only got worse with the injury losses. Still without Jaromir Jagr, the Czech squad will rely on KHL replacements and hope that they can win this thing on the back of whichever goaltender best channels Dominik Hasek. This is the only team in the entire tournament which would fit under the NHL’s salary cap.

Czech Republic
Radek Faksa	$1,338,333
Martin Hanzal	$3,100,000
Ales Hemsky	$4,000,000
Michal Birner	$925,000
Dmitri Jaskin	$1,000,000
Roman Cervenka	$3,900,000
Milan Michalek	$4,000,000
Ondrej Palat	$3,333,333
David Pastrnak	$925,000
Tomas Plekanec	$6,000,000
Vladimir Sobotka	$4,000,000
Jakub Voracek	$8,250,000
Michael Frolik	$4,300,000
Tomas Kundratek	$925,000
Michal Jordan	$625,000
Michal Kempny	$1,137,500
Zbynek Michalek	$3,200,000
Jakub Nakladal	$925,000
Roman Polak	$2,250,000
Andrej Sustr	$1,450,000
Petr Mrazek	$4,000,000
Michal Neuvirth	$1,625,000
Ondrej Pavelec	$3,900,000
Total	$65,109,166
Average	$2,830,833
Goalie Total	$9,525,000
Forwards Total	$45,071,666
Defense Total	$10,512,500

#7 - Team Finland

Current AAV: $73,081,666

Players Missing: None

New Contracts: Sami Vatanen, Patrik Laine,

Salary Difference: $3,412,500

The notoriously healthy Finns didn’t lose a single player to offseason injury/apathy, making them the only team in the tournament to avoid such a bug. Sami Vatanen’s new deal pushed them just over the NHL cap, but honestly with the three KHL players on there, I wouldn’t be surprised if that roster would fit. I think the Finns are going to rely on their goaltending and on slowing the pace down. They’re a pretty talented squad, but not among the elite here.

Finland
Sebastian Aho	$925,000
Aleksander Barkov	$5,900,000
Joonas Donskoi	$1,137,500
Valtteri Filppula	$5,000,000
Mikael Granlund	$3,000,000
Erik Haula	$1,000,000
Jussi Jokinen	$4,000,000
Mikko Koivu	$6,750,000
Leo Komarov	$2,950,000
Lauri Korpikoski	$2,500,000
Patrik Laine	$3,575,000
Jori Lehtera	$4,700,000
Teuvo Teravainen	$1,460,833
Jyrki Jokipakka	$900,000
Sami Lepisto	$925,000
Esa Lindell	$925,000
Olli Maatta	$4,083,333
Ville Pokka	$1,775,000
Rasmus Ristolainen	$1,775,000
Sami Vatanen	$4,875,000
Mikko Koskinen	$925,000
Tuukka Rask	$7,000,000
Pekka Rinne	$7,000,000
Total	$73,081,666
Average	$3,177,464
Goalie Total	$14,925,000
Forwards Total	$42,898,333
Defense Total	$15,258,333

#6 - Team North America

Current AAV: $79,353,333

Players Missing: Sean Monahan

Replacements: Vincent Trocheck

New Contracts: Nathan MacKinnon, JT Miller, Mark Scheifele, Auston Matthews, Seth Jones, Sean Monahan

Salary Difference: $13,742,500

Congratulations to Team Windfall for jumping over the Finnish team thanks to a whole bunch of ELC deals expiring and being replaced. In fairness, I think this team is still kind of underpaid for the talent they have, but we’re also not counting eventual new deals for Gaudreau and Trouba, nor are we counting the near-doubling of Aaron Ekblad’s salary already set for next season. This team is going to be competitive and will be the poster example of how the NHL salary structure for young superstars helps set the blueprint for success in the cap era.

North America
Sean Couturier	$4,333,333
Jonathan Drouin	$3,194,167
Jack Eichel	$3,775,000
Johnny Guadreau	$1,850,000
Dylan Larkin	$1,425,000
Nathan MacKinnon	$6,300,000
Auston Matthews	$3,775,000
Connor McDavid	$3,775,000
JT Miller	$2,750,000
Vincent Trocheck	$4,750,000
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	$6,000,000
Brandon Saad	$6,000,000
Mark Scheifele	$6,125,000
Aaron Ekblad	$3,775,000
Shayne Gostisbehere	$1,420,833
Seth Jones	$5,400,000
Ryan Murray	$2,825,000
Colton Parayko	$925,000
Morgan Rielly	$5,000,000
Jacob Trouba	$1,827,500
John Gibson	$2,300,000
Connor Hellebuyck	$925,000
Matt Murray	$902,500
Total	$79,353,333
Average	$3,450,145
Goalie Total	$4,127,500
Forwards Total	$54,052,500
Defense Total	$21,173,333

#5 - Team Europe

Current AAV: $86,554,167

Players Missing: Frederik Andersen

Replacements: Philipp Grubauer

New Contracts: Mikkel Boedker, Frans Nielsen, Thomas Vanek

Salary Difference: -$1,550,000

Not a lot changed for Europe since June other than how much I care about them as a Red Wings fan now that Nielsen and Vanek are joining Tatar. They lost their third-string goalie and two of their defensemen can’t find work in the NHL right now, but there’s talent on this squad. Probably not enough talent, but hey, I don’t see you out there representing your countr...uhh... amalgamated team.

Europe
P.E. Bellemare	$712,500
Mikkel Boedker	$4,000,000
Leon Draisaitl	$3,400,000
Marian Gaborik	$4,875,000
Jannik Hansen	$2,500,000
Marian Hossa	$5,275,000
Anze Kopitar	$10,000,000
Nino Niederreiter	$2,666,667
Frans Nielsen	$5,250,000
Tobias Rieder	$925,000
Tomas Tatar	$2,750,000
Thomas Vanek	$2,600,000
Mats Zuccarello	$4,500,000
Zdeno Chara	$6,500,000
Christian Ehrhoff	$1,500,000
Roman Josi	$4,000,000
Dennis Seidenberg	$4,000,000
Andrej Sekera	$5,500,000
Luca Sbisa	$3,600,000
Mark Streit	$5,250,000
Philipp Grubauer	$750,000
Thomas Greiss	$1,500,000
Jaroslav Halak	$4,500,000
Total	$86,554,167
Average	$3,763,225
Goalie Total	$6,750,000
Forwards Total	$49,454,167
Defense Total	$30,350,000

#4 - Team Russia

Current AAV: $89,065,962

Players Missing: Slava Voynov (Good riddance)

Replacements: Nikita Nesterov

New Contracts: Pavel Datsyuk, Vladislav Namestnikov, Alexei Marchenko

Salary Difference: -$4,053,292

The second-biggest salary drop in the tourney leaves Team Russia right where they were in fourth place. This was achieved mostly because of Voynov being unwelcome and Datsyuk’s half-off KHL deal. The lost generation of Russian defensemen is going to continue to haunt this team, but they got where they are salary-wise on forwards and goalies and those positions are going to get them as far as they’re going to go in this tourney.

Russia
Artem Anisimov	$4,550,000
Evgeny Dadonov	$1,600,000
Pavel Datsyuk	$3,800,000
Nikita Kucherov	$894,167
Nikolay Kulemin	$4,187,500
Evgeny Kuznetsov	$3,000,000
Evgeni Malkin	$9,500,000
Vladislav Namestnikov	$1,937,500
Alex Ovechkin	$9,538,462
Artemi Panarin	$3,500,000
Vadim Shipachyov	$3,000,000
Ivan Telegin	$925,000
Vladimir Tarasenko	$7,500,000
Alexei Emelin	$4,100,000
Dmitry Kulikov	$4,333,333
Alexey Marchenko	$1,450,000
Andrei Markov	$5,750,000
Dmitry Orlov	$2,000,000
Nikita Nesterov	$925,000
Nikita Zaitsev	$1,775,000
Sergei Bobrovsky	$7,425,000
Semyon Varlamov	$5,900,000
Andrei Vasilevskiy	$1,475,000
Total	$89,065,962
Average	$3,872,433
Goalie Total	$14,800,000
Forwards Total	$53,932,629
Defense Total	$20,333,333

#3 - Team Sweden

Current AAV: $103,498,928

Players Missing: Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg, Alex Steen, Robin Lehner

Replacements: Hampus Lindholm, Mikael Backlund, Rickard Rakell, Jhonas Enroth

New Contracts: Filip Forsberg, Loui Eriksson

Salary Difference: -5,575,000

The big movers & shakers in terms of lost salary, Team Sweden had a busy summer of filling out their ranks and then refilling them due to nagging injuries. New contracts helped offset almost $12M in injury-replaced salary (although in fairness, the Rakell and Lindholm hits are too low for the still-unsigned RFAs). The thing with all the replacements for Sweden is that a lot of people think they got better due to the Lindholm/Kronwall replacement. Personally I don’t know how much it offsets the forward replacements, but Sweden is going to be a powerhouse.

Sweden
Nicklas Backstrom	$6,700,000
Loui Eriksson	$6,000,000
Filip Forsberg	$6,000,000
Patric Hornqvist	$4,250,000
Carl Hagelin	$4,000,000
Marcus Kruger	$3,083,333
Gabriel Landeskog	$5,571,429
Daniel Sedin	$7,000,000
Henrik Sedin	$7,000,000
Jakob Silfverberg	$3,750,000
Carl Soderberg	$4,750,000
Rickard Rakell	$925,000
Mikael Backlund	$3,575,000
Mattias Ekholm	$3,750,000
Oliver Ekman-Larsson	$5,500,000
Victor Hedman	$4,000,000
Niklas Hjalmarsson	$4,100,000
Erik Karlsson	$6,500,000
Hampus Lindholm	$1,744,166
Anton Stralman	$4,500,000
Jhonas Enroth	$750,000
Henrik Lundqvist	$8,500,000
Jacob Markstrom	$1,550,000
Total	$103,498,928
Average	$4,499,953
Goalie Total	$10,800,000
Forwards Total	$62,604,762
Defense Total	$30,094,166

#2 - Team USA

Current AAV: $134,350,730

Players Missing: Ryan Callahan

Replacements: Kyle Palmieri

New Contracts: David Backes

Salary Difference: $350,000

A team dedicated to "not giving up an inch," Team USA is the first of the mega-spenders at this tournament. For all the AAV they’re throwing head-first into John Tortorella’s lap, Team USA has some self-imposed depth problems. They’re definitely good enough to place in this tournament and winning wouldn’t be out of the question, but they’re worse than Canada at every position, most-importantly coaching.

USA
Justin Abdelkader	$4,250,000
David Backes	$6,000,000
Kyle Palmieri	$4,650,000
Brandon Dubinsky	$5,850,000
Patrick Kane	$10,500,000
Ryan Kesler	$6,875,000
TJ Oshie	$4,175,000
Max Pacioretty	$4,500,000
Zach Parise	$7,538,461
Joe Pavelski	$6,000,000
Derek Stepan	$6,500,000
James van Riemsdyk	$4,250,000
Blake Wheeler	$5,600,000
Dustin Byfuglien	$7,600,000
John Carlson	$3,966,666
Erik Johnson	$6,000,000
Jack Johnson	$4,357,142
Ryan McDonagh	$4,700,000
Matt Niskanen	$5,750,000
Ryan Suter	$7,538,461
Ben Bishop	$5,950,000
Jonathan Quick	$5,800,000
Cory Schneider	$6,000,000
Total	$134,350,730
Average	$5,891,336
Goalie Total	$17,750,000
Forwards Total	$76,688,461
Defense Total	$39,912,269

#1 - Team Canada

Current AAV: $153,592,142

Players Missing: Jamie Benn, Duncan Keith, Jeff Carter

Replacements: Logan Couture, Jay Bouwmeester, Corey Perry

New Contracts: Steven Stamkos

Salary Difference: $4,963,812

It’s a testament to Team Canada that Stamkos got a $1M AAV raise and the team still ended up almost $5M more expensive thanks to injury replacements. Canada more than doubles up the current Salary cap and holds nearly a $20M edge over the US in terms of what guys get paid. The thing here is the same as with Team USA though: neither team was even allowed to pick from the relatively cheap talent pool of the young guns squad. This is Canada’s tournament to lose and them doing so should force the Hall of Fame to relocate to some shitty town in Ohio or something.

Canada
Logan Couture	$6,000,000
Patrice Bergeron	$6,875,000
Corey Perry	$8,625,000
Sidney Crosby	$8,700,000
Matt Duchene	$6,000,000
Ryan Getzlaf	$8,250,000
Claude Giroux	$8,275,000
Brad Marchand	$4,500,000
Tyler Seguin	$5,750,000
Steven Stamkos	$8,500,000
John Tavares	$5,500,000
Jonathan Toews	$10,500,000
Joe Thornton	$6,750,000
Brent Burns	$5,760,000
Drew Doughty	$7,000,000
Jay Bouwmeester	$5,400,000
Jake Muzzin	$4,000,000
Alex Pietrangelo	$6,500,000
Marc-Eduoard Vlasic	$4,250,000
Shea Weber	$7,857,142
Corey Crawford	$6,000,000
Braden Holtby	$6,100,000
Carey Price	$6,500,000
Total	$153,592,142
Average	$6,677,919
Goalie Total	$18,600,000
Forwards Total	$94,225,000
Defense Total	$40,767,142