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The NHL season starts up this week, and 16 former Badgers are scheduled to open the season on NHL rosters. Those 16 players' salaries add up to over $59 million this season. 13 of those former Wisconsin players will earn at least $1 million.
By quick count, there are 46 former Badgers currently playing professional hockey in 11 different leagues across the world. In addition to the 16 in the NHL, there are 14 Badgers in the American Hockey League, two in the ECHL, one in the SPHL, as well as 13 players playing over in Europe. There are also a few former players that will be signed in the coming weeks.
There was significant player movement over the weekend as NHL teams finalized their rosters. Tom Gilbert finally signed a contract, inking a one year deal that will pay him $900k with the Florida Panthers Saturday. That's on top of the $1 million the Minnesota Wild owe Gilbert after buying out his contract over the summer.
Derek Stepan is also back on the ice after he signed a two year extension with the New York Rangers late last week. Stepan missed a significant portion of training camp while contract negotiations played out, but ultimately made the decision missing games wasn't worth haggling over few extra shekels. Stepan's deal is worth $6.15 million over two years, carrying a cap hit just north of $3M per season.
One noteworthy move happened Sunday, when John Mitchell was traded from the Anaheim Ducks to the Washington Capitals. Mitchell will report to Washington's AHL affiliate in Hershey.
Jake Dowell (Minnesota Wild), Ben Street (Calgary Flames), Joe Piskula (Nashville Predators) along with Jack Skille and Cody Goloubef (Columbus Blue Jackets) were reassigned to the AHL over the weekend.
Badgers in the NHL
| Player | Pos | Team | Salary | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Rene Bourque | F | Montreal Canadiens | $4,000,000 | ||||
| Adam Burish | F | San Jose Sharks | $1,850,000 | ||||
| Davis Drewiske | D | Montreal Canadiens | $625,000 | ||||
| Jake Gardiner | D | Toronto Maple Leafs | $875,000 ($65,000 AHL) - $87,500 signing bonus | ||||
| Tom Gilbert | D | Florida Panthers | $900,000 + $1,000,000 buyout (MN Wild) | ||||
| Dany Heatley | F | Minnesota Wild | $5,000,000 | ||||
| Jamie McBain | D | Buffalo Sabres | $1,900,000 | ||||
| Ryan McDonagh | D | New York Rangers | $4,000,000 | ||||
| Joe Pavelski | F | San Jose Sharks | $6,000,000 | ||||
| Justin Schultz | D | Edmonton Oilers | $925,000 ($70,000 AHL) - $92,500 signing bonus | ||||
| Brendan Smith | D | Detroit Red Wings | $1,250,000 | ||||
| Craig Smith | F | Nashville Predators | $2,000,000 | ||||
| Derek Stepan | F | New York Rangers | $2,300,000 | ||||
| Ryan Suter | D | Minnesota Wild | $12,000,000 - $10,000 signing bonus | ||||
| Kyle Turris | F | Ottawa Senators | $2,500,000 |
Badgers in the NHL - Goaltender
| Player | Pos | Team | Salary | Games | Record | Sv % | GAA |
| Brian Elliott | G | St. Louis Blues | $1,900,000 |
Badgers in the AHL
| Player | Pos | Team | NHL Affiliate | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Jason Clark | F | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | New York Islanders | ||||
| Michael Davies | F | Chicago Wolves | |||||
| Sean Dolan | F | Charlotte Checkers | |||||
| Jake Dowell | F | Iowa Wild | Minnesota Wild | ||||
| Matt Ford | F | Oklahoma City Barrons | Edmonton Oilers ** | ||||
| Cody Goloubef | D | Springfield Falcons | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||
| Andrew Joudrey | F | Springfield Falcons | Columbus Blue Jackets ** | ||||
| John Mitchell | F | Hershey Bears | Washington Capitals | ||||
| Joe Piskula | D | Milwaukee Admirals | Nashville Predators | ||||
| John Ramage | D | Abbotsford Heat | Calgary Flames | ||||
| Jack Skille | F | Springfield Falcons | Columbus Blue Jackets | ||||
| Ben Street | F | Abbotsford Heat | Calgary Flames | ||||
| Brad Winchester | F | Chicago Wolves | Chicago Blackhawks | ||||
| Brendan Woods | F | Charlotte Checkers | Carolina Hurricanes |
** Not on NHL 50 man roster
Badgers in the ECHL
| Player | Pos | Team | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Ryan Little | F | Florida Everblades | ||||
| Eric Springer | D | Ontario Reign |
Badgers in the SPHL
| Player | Pos | Team | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Podge Turnbull | F | Pensacola Ice Flyers |
Badgers in Europe
| Player | Pos | Team | League | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Andy Bohmbach | F | SC Riessersee | DEL 2 (Germany) | ||||
| Robbie Earl | F | Rapperswil | NLA (Switzerland) | ||||
| Brian Fahey | D | EC Salzburg | Austria | ||||
| Mark Heatley | F | Bietgheim Steelers | DEL 2 (Germany) | ||||
| Kyle Klubertanz | D | Medvescak Zagreb | KHL (Croatia) | ||||
| Alex Leavitt | F | Oskarshamn | Allsvenskan (Sweden) | ||||
| Derek Lee | F | Tonsberg Vikings | Norway | ||||
| Jeff Likens | D | Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg | DEL (Germany) | ||||
| Ryan MacMurchy | F | Biel | NLA (Switzerland) | ||||
| Jordy Murray | F | Lugano | NLA (Switzerland) | ||||
| Steven Reinprecht | F | Nurnberg Ice Tigers | DEL (Germany) |
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| Andy Wozniewski |
D | EHC Munchen | DEL (Germany) |
Badgers in Europe - Goaltender
| Player | Pos | Team | League | Games | Record | Sv % | GAA |
| Bernd Bruckler | G | EC Salzburg | Austria |