You have to remember, that was not only an RFA offer sheet the avs matched, but that 16M includes his signing bonus. IIRC his base salary was only 2 million per year for 3 years, but also included a 15M signing bonus.
Oh I know. But it still stands as the highest annual payday for any NHL player ever.
That same page has a list with him sitting at 3rd all time for total NHL salary...but it stops in 2009, so that total has to have been passed up by now. It also only counts salaries from 1990 forward, as they were not disclosed prior to that.
(update, another list from Jan 2014 has him 4th, behind Jagr, Lidstrom and Pronger...and I think at least Vinny passed him since). Crosby for sure has passed him, and Weber just did thanks to his $8m signing bonus for this year. Thornton as well. Marleau will after next year. Lou will in a couple years as well. And Ovi, of course.
Crosby is the only one already contracted to pass Jagr for #1 career earnings.
Still amazes me that someone that negotiated the way he (his agent) did back then would have any kind of issues with slight overpayment of kids. Or hold grudges for stuff like signing an offer sheet. I don't think he does, but that is the perception.