There was a thread before the site moved where somebody did a seemingly intelligent calculation of what the Oilers' 1987 playoff team's salary would be in today's terms. I can't remember the result, but it was something like twice today's cap.
This specific roster (which only lasted about four months) included:
-- Gretzky (8th straight Hart, 7th straight Art Ross)
-- Messier (5th All Star season, ex-Conn Smythe)
-- Kurri (2nd in scoring, #1 RW in hockey)
-- Coffey (two recent Norrises, broke Orr's goals in a season record)
-- Nilsson (ex-131 point scorer, recently ranked by TSN as one of the ten most skilled players in history)
-- Anderson (five x 40+ goal scorer, perennial All Star)
-- Fuhr (popularly considered best goaltender in the game then)
-- Ruotsalainen (offensive Dman, one of the best skaters in the game)