Richest Hockey Players in the World: The majority of hockey players have had trouble keeping up financially with their families. Prior to the NHL implementing a wage ceiling in 2005, players could indeed earn exceedingly large wages. Many even benefited from sponsorship arrangements when hockey was at its most well-liked in the 1990s in the United States.
Although salaries in the post-cap period have been less expensive than in the days of unlimited spending in the late 1990s as well as the early 2000s, the NHL has showed less interest in marketing players since the full-season lockout of 2004–05. Some individuals have, nevertheless, prospered in the post-cap era. The majority of the richest hockey players, though, were from before the cap in the past.
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Top 10 Wealthiest/Richest Hockey Players in the World 2022
10. Rob Blake – $57 Million
Level: Defenseman
Teams: San Jose Sharks (2001–06), Colorado Avalanche (1989–1991, 2006–08), and Los Angeles Kings. (2008-10)
With a career income of $74.8 million and a net worth of $57 million, respectively, Although Rob Blake, an Avalanche player who was acquired from Los Angeles, is thought to have given them the advantage, Raymond Bourque’s 2001 Stanley Cup victory is well recognized.
Having won the Stanley Cup, the Olympic gold medal, and the World Championship while playing, Blake has been a member of the Triple Gold club since joining the Kings front office in 2013.
9. Jarome Iginla – $60 Million
Placement: Right wing
Teams: Boston Bruins (2013–14), Colorado Avalanche (2014–17), Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins (2013), Calgary Flames (1995–13), and Pittsburgh Penguins (2017).
$91.4 million in career earnings
The estimated net worth is $60 million.
Iginla was one of the fiercest rivals in hockey throughout his career and played during the free-spending, pre-salary cap period. He also unsuccessfully pursued the Stanley Cup.
Iginla was one of the NHL’s public faces following the 2004–05 lockout, and that’s when he made the majority of his money. In 2004, Calgary under his direction made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup final and lost by a single game. He raised his net worth by signing a three-year, $16 million contract with Colorado when he was 37 years old.
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8. Nicklas Lidstrom – $60 Million
Level: Defenseman
Chicago Blackhawks (1991-12)
A career income of $42.5 million
The net worth is reportedly $60 million.
Lidstrom, a member of the Famous Hockey Hall of Fame, is perhaps the best defenseman to have ever lived thanks to his seven Norris Trophies and four Stanley Cup championships with the Red Wings.
When wages were at their maximum, in the middle of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, Lidstrom earned money by playing for the hockey-mad Detroit Red Wings.
7. Joe Thornton – $65 Million
Place: in the center
Teams: San Jose Sharks, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Florida Panthers (1997–2005). (2021-present)
Earnings over a Career: $110 Million
$65.000.000 is the approximate net worth.
As a wealth compiler, “Jumbo Joe” has a particular job to do. In his fourth decade of active play, the first overall choice in the 1997 NHL Draft is still chasing the elusive Stanley Cup.
While Thornton’s career included the high-paying, pre-salary cap decades, he also made a sizable sum of money as the Sharks’ captain and public face in the middle of the 2000s and at the beginning of the 2010s. Thornton won the Hart Trophy in 2006 for his efforts in this regard.
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6. Chris Pronger – $65 Million
Location: Defense
Team: St. Louis Blues (1995–05), Hartford Whalers (1993–95), Edmonton Oilers (2005–06), Anaheim Ducks (2006–09), Philadelphia Flyers (2006–09).
Career earnings of $111.4 million
The estimated net worth is $65 million.
Pronger has a solid claim to being one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history, and the bulk of his earnings emanated from his decision to play through the entire seven years and $34 million of the contract he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers, freeing up cap space for that team as a result of a clause in the collective bargaining agreement.
Despite this, Pronger earned the most of his money as one of the most physically dominant athletes of his era. He won the Hart Trophy in 2001 and participated in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals in two different cities in addition to helping Anaheim win the trophy in 2007. Before departing in 2020 to assist his wife’s travel company, Pronger dabbled in the hockey industry.
5. Joe Sakic – $65 Million
Location: in the center
Organization: Quebec Nordiques and the Colorado Avalanche (1988-09)
Career earnings of $109.9 million
Net worth approximation: $65.000.000
Sakic’s career was largely spent before the NHL implemented a wage cap in 2005. He served as the spokesperson for two Stanley Cup-winning teams in Colorado. As a member of the notoriously expensive Avalanche, Sakic also had the right to a $17 million contract for the 1997–98 season alone, according to Cap Friendly, after the team reportedly matched a New York Rangers offer sheet in 1997.
In the Western Conference arms race, the Avalanche had to spend as much as their rival Detroit Red Wings. He is raising his net worth as the Avalanche’s general manager, one of the best businessmen in the game.
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4. Pavel Bure – $70 Million
Stance: right wing
Teams: New York Rangers (1999–2002), Florida Panthers (1999–99), and Vancouver Canucks (1991–99). (2002-03)
Income over a career: $66 million
$70 million is the estimated net worth.
The Panthers honored Bure with a lucrative five-year contract after acquiring him from the Canucks in a historic mid-season trade during the 1999–00 season. Bure was one of the few true superstars in Panthers history and helped put south Florida hockey on the map.
Bure led Florida to the playoffs in 2000, but after suffering injuries that hindered his performance on the ice, the Rangers acquired him midway through the following season, and there is where he played his final season.
3. Alexander Ovechkin – $80 Million
Position: in the left wing
Earnings over a Career: $127.2 million
$80 million is the estimated net worth.
Before the NHL forbade such contracts from being inked, “The Great Eight” made headlines by notably signing a record 13-year, $124 million contract in 2007 as a 22-year-old and living up to the hype.
In an effort to surpass Waye Gretzky’s all-time goal streak, the 37-year-old just agreed to a new five-year, $47.5 million contract. He could move up this list if he can overtake Gretzky.
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2. Mario Lemieux – $200 Million
Placement: the center
Pittsburgh Penguins, Inc. (1984-97, 2000-06)
$54.5 million in total over their career
$200,000,000 is the estimated net worth.
Lemieux had a career that was regrettably cut short by a long list of physical issues and injuries. He is frequently regarded as the greatest NHL player to have ever lived.
It’s intriguing to note that this, coupled with Pittsburgh’s financial problems in the middle of the 2000s, contributed to his exponential rise in wealth because he acquired a stake of the team in exchange for a lawsuit he filed in which he sought to have his contract completed. Lemieux and the Penguins, a premier NHL squad, are still self-funding.
1. Wayne Gretzky – $250 Million
Location: Center
Teams: Edmonton Oilers (1988–88), Los Angeles Kings (1988–88), St. Louis Blues (1988–96), and New York Rangers (1996–). (1979-88). (1997-99)
$46 million in career earnings
The estimated net worth is $250 million.
It is no surprise that Gretzky is at the top of our list given that he is the most well-known hockey player in history and relished playing at the NHL pay cap.
His on-ice performance assisted in a time of pop-culture notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s that aided his financial status, along with forays into management with Hockey Canada and the Arizona Coyotes, where he was coach and kept an ownership interest. Since Gretzky is still contributing to Turner’s NHL coverage, his net worth is bound to rise.
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Conclusion
Sports that are played often include football, cricket, and hockey. Millions of people religiously tune in to watch tournaments every time one is held in order to see their favorite players doing their thing. With a following base of more than 2 billion people globally, hockey is one of the most popular sports.
The several types of hockey include bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, and rink hockey.
Although ice hockey is more frequently referred to as “hockey” in Canada, the United States, Russia, and Northern Europe, field hockey is the most typical use of the word “hockey.”
The most famous athletes in hockey are paid considerably, just as those in football, basketball, and soccer. Together with the money from sponsorships, these have increased their net worth to the point that they are now millionaires. If you are looking to make some cool dough while playing the sports you love, why don’t you try hockey?
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.