The NHL’s Most Expensive Healthy Scratches Ever

by Spencer Toth - 1/22/2026

NHL most expensive healthy scratches Taylor Hall Chicago Blackhawks

Every NHLer wants as much ice time as possible, often playing through injuries to keep their spot on the roster. It is one thing to be forced out of the lineup due to a serious injury, but it is another to be listed as a healthy scratch thanks to a coaching decision. It is never easy to tell a healthy player they are not playing, and it gets even harder when they are one of the highest-paid players on the team. For fans, a healthy superstar sitting out is shocking, especially since the checks keep coming whether or not they are on the ice. Some of the NHL's most expensive healthy scratches can be blamed on the salary cap, while others are simply big contracts gone wrong. Here are the seven more expensive healthy scratches in NHL history.

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#1 Rick Nash (New York Rangers, 2013-2017)

Rick Nash scored 40 goals on three separate occasions and signed an 8-year, $62 million contract in 2010. He was a bona fide superstar for much of his career, but by the time he went to New York, inconsistent play and nagging injuries made him an expensive benchwarmer. The Rangers are a historic franchise that demands success, so seeing Nash as a healthy scratch was frustrating for fans and casuals alike. The optics of sitting an expensive veteran like Nash in favor of inexperienced rookies was a tough pill for the Rangers’ fans to swallow, as Nash became one of the first instances of teams strategically sitting their proven scorers. He missed at least 14 games in four of his five years with the Rangers, including several stretches of multiple healthy scratches in the same month. Having more than 10% of the salary cap healthy and not playing is never a good thing, which made Nash an easy target for the harsh New York media.

#2 Patrick Marleau (Toronto Maple Leafs, 2019)

Patrick Marleau played two decades of hockey for the San Jose Sharks, racking up more than 1,700 career games and sitting 25th all-time in career goals. Marleau would never dream of being a healthy scratch during his Ironman streak from 2009 until his retirement in 2021. He suited up for 910 consecutive regular-season games and was the face of consistency for the Sharks franchise. While his regular-season streak continued during his time with the Maple Leafs, Marleau found himself as a healthy scratch when the hockey mattered most: the playoffs. His production never fell off, but Marleau’s lack of speed was seen as a liability in playoff hockey by the upper management in Toronto. He was in the press box for much of the Leafs' back-to-back playoff appearances, despite suting up for every regular season game. Salary cap issues aside, this was one of the most head-scratching healthy scratches of the modern era, and the Leafs were rewarded with another first-round exit with Marleau on the sidelines.

#3 Zach Parise (Minnesota Wild, 2021)

Zach Parise’s 13-year, $98 million contract, signed in 2012, was always going to turn heads. Parise was a proven scorer who had his moments, but he wasn’t on the level that deserved that kind of solidity in Minnesota. Unsurprisingly, Parise’s form dropped off, and he found himself as a healthy scratch in the 2021 season. He played nearly a decade of quality hockey in Minnesota, but was never able to match the 94-point total he had in New Jersey, with a season-high of only 69 points with the Wild. His run of poor form was capped off in the 2021 season, where Parise found himself being healthy scratched often in the second half of the year. His massive contract prevented the Wild from developing their young talent, and his presence in the press box continued into the playoffs. He sat out the first three playoff games against the Golden Knights before coming back for games 4-7, scoring two goals and one assist. Parise’s tale is often cited as a warning sign for front-loaded, decade-long contracts, as he became one of the league’s highest-paid benchwarmers in the tail end of his career.

#4 Rick DiPietro (New York Islanders, 2006-2013)

Rick DiPietro is the perfect example of why goaltenders will never receive a 15-year contract like he did. The Islanders thought they were locking down a prospect full of potential, but in reality, they were setting themselves up for salary-cap hell for the next decade and a half. DiPietro was consistently posting .900+ save percentages before injuries derailed his career. He only played more than 10 games in a year once after 2008, staying on the Islanders' books until he was bought out in 2013. DiPietro was hurt for some stretches of his career, but the reality was that he was often healthy but still condemned to a backup role in Long Island. Despite being healthy, there were stretches where DiPietro wouldn’t play for weeks while picking up millions of dollars to sit on the sidelines. Even when healthy, coaches were hesitant to build a gameplan around him as his durability was a serious concern. DiPietro set the Islanders back an entire decade, and the franchise is only now pulling itself out of the pit created by DiPietro’s healthy scratches.

#5 Brett Hull (St. Louis Blues, 1995-1996)

Brett Hull scored the fourth-most goals in NHL history, but it wasn’t always sunshine and roses for one of the league’s most prolific goal scorers. His 2+ million dollar salary was a huge figure in the 90s, but Hull was scratched multiple times for disciplinary reasons or to simply shake up the lineup. He was called ‘the drunkest man in America’ during his Stanley Cup appearances. He would refuse to serve penalties and was even banned from the Blackhawks dressing room after he snuck in as a kid and used a hacksaw to cause chaos. His poor work ethic was offset by his incredible goalscoring abilities, which made it difficult for coaches to scratch him to send a message. Head coach Mike Keenan was the first coach to show that no player was above his system, scratching Hull several times in the 1995-1996 season, despite the future Hall of Famer being in the prime of his career.

#6 Ilya Kovalchuk (New Jersey Devils 2010-2013)

Ilya Kovalchuk was one of the premier snipers of his generation, but his massive contract in New Jersey coincided with a series of healthy scratches. He scored 50+ goals twice and 40+ goals in six consecutive seasons, making him the first name on the roster on most nights. However, as he began to slow in New Jersey, his lack of defensive effort found him watching games from the press box despite being fully healthy. Kovalchuk’s career is one of the biggest ‘what ifs’ in the NHL, as the lack of a two-way game prevented him from becoming an all-time legend. After returning to the NHL in 2018 after playing five seasons in the KHL, Kovalchuk once again found himself as a healthy scratch often during his time with the Los Angeles Kings. Kovalchuk is a prime example that on-ice ability is just one aspect of what’s needed to be an elite NHL athlete who plays all 82 games.

#7 Taylor Hall (Chicago Blackhawks, 2024)

Taylor Hall was drafted first overall in 2010 by the Edmonton Oilers, he won the Hart Trophy in 2018 but was a healthy scratch in 2024. While Hall isn’t the most expensive healthy scratch ever, his exclusion from the Blackhawks ' lineup may be the most shocking healthy scratch of the modern era. Hall’s spot in the press box was said to be due to ‘wear and tear’ caused by his aggressive playstyle, while others have said it was simply about mixing up a struggling Blackhawks lineup. Hall found a convenient way to leave Chicago after that flare-up with the management and continues to have a productive season in Carolina, sitting out for all 50 games so far in the 2025/26 season.

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Start:	January 22, 2026 @ 10:00 PM
Expert:	Nick Menken
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The NHL’s Most Expensive Healthy Scratches Ever

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