Mario Lemieux is the only player in NHL history with more than 500 points to average 2.0 points per game.

Penguins Salaries

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Salaries for the players on the Pittsburgh Penguins' opening day roster: RW Jaromir Jagr $10,359,852 RW Alexei Kovalev $2,100,000 C Martin Straka $2,000,000 D Darius Kasparaitis $1,400,000 D Jiri Slegr $1,100,000 RW Matthew Barnaby $1,000,000 C Robert Lang $925,000 C-LW Robert Dome $850,000 RW Aleksey Morozov $850,000 D Michal Rozsival $700,000 D Brad Werenka $700,000 RW Rob Brown $550,000 C Jan Hrdina $500,000 C Kip Miller $500,000 D Ian Moran $500,000 D Andrew Ference $450,000 LW Tom Chorske $400,000 D Hans Jonsson $400,000 D John Slaney $400,000

Jagr is top-paid player in Pittsburgh sports history

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mario Lemieux says Jaromir Jagr is the best player in hockey. He certainly is being paid like it.

Two years ago after the Pittsburgh Pirates paid their entire team about $10 million, Jagr will make more than that by himself.

Jagr, a three-time NHL scoring champion and the league's top attraction now that Wayne Gretzky is retired, will make $10,359,852 this season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. His salary more than doubled - he made $4.75 million last season - under the terms of the $48 million contract he signed in January 1998 to run through 2004.

Jagr's salary is more than twice that of linebacker Levon Kirkland, the Steelers' highest-paid player with a $4,375,000 base salary this season.

His salary is about three times that of Pirates outfielder Al Martin, who made $2.9 million this season, but will be passed up next season by first baseman Kevin Young. Young will make $6 million in the first year of a $24 million, four-year contract.

Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart is in the first season of a $27 million, five-year contract that replaced a contract that was to expire after the 2000 season. Stewart got a $8.1 million signing bonus, but agreed to cut his salary from $2 million to $400,000 this season to help the Steelers stay under the salary cap.

Stewart would make $6.3 million in 2003, the final year of his nonguaranteed contract.

Jagr's salary is more than team owner Lemieux ever made in a season - Lemieux signed a $42 million, six-year contract in 1992 that was renegotiated several times - and is about four times that of any teammate.

``Jaromir Jagr is the best player in the world,'' said Lemieux, who carried that distinction himself before retiring from the NHL two years ago.

``He's certainly gotten better every year, and I would anticipate that he will continue getting better,'' Lemieux said. ``He's not a typical player, he's a special player, and he's gotten better throughout his whole career.''

Goaltender Tom Barrasso is the Penguins' second-highest-paid player at $2,717,000. Other Penguins making at least $2 million are forwards Alexei Kovalev at $2.1 million and Martin Straka at $2 million.

The Penguins have five other players making at least $1 million: defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, $1,400,000; defenseman Peter Popovic, $1,400,000; center German Titov, $1,200,000; defenseman Jiri Slegr, $1,100,000, and forward Matthew Barnaby, $1,000,000.

The 23 players on the roster for Friday's season opener at Dallas will make $31,552,000 this season, or slightly above the estimated $30 million budgeted by Lemieux.

The payroll was $33.25 million before general manager Craig Patrick traded defenseman Kevin Hatcher and his $3.1 million salary to the New York Rangers for defenseman Peter Popovic, who makes $1.4 million.

Defenseman John Slaney, a training camp free agent who signed the day before the season started, will make $400,000. Kasparaitis ended his holdout last week and agreed to a $3 million, two-year contract.