NHL's All-Time Richest Players: Top 25 Rankings by Career Earnings

The NHL has been going strong for over a century, since 1917 to be specific, and player salaries have grown exponentially since.

Today’s elite NHL players are commonly paid low eight figures annually, with the top earner, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, becoming the first player to take home over $20 million each season, on average. And that’s without any off-ice endorsements or business ventures.

Looking at the league in totality, here are the top 25 NHL players ranked by career earnings, according to Spotrac.

NHL Career Earnings Leaderboard

1. Alex Ovechkin (LW)

• Career Earnings:$170.7 million
• Teams: Capitals

2. Sidney Crosby (C)

• Career Earnings:$165.6 million
• Teams: Penguins

3. Evgeni Malkin (C)

• Career Earnings:$151.6 million
• Teams: Penguins

4. Anze Kopitar (C)

• Career Earnings:$143.2 million
• Teams: Kings

5. Jaromir Jagr (RW)

• Career Earnings:$135.3 million
• Teams: Penguins, Rangers, Capitals, Panthers, Devils, Bruins, Flyers, Flames

6. Steven Stamkos (C)

• Career Earnings:$134.9 million
• Teams: Lightning, Predators

7. Drew Doughty (D)

• Career Earnings:$132.9 million
• Teams: Kings

8. Shea Weber (D)

• Career Earnings:$132.8 million
• Teams: Predators, Canadiens, Coyotes, Golden Knights, Blackhawks

9. Vincent Lecavalier (RW)

• Career Earnings:$131.6 million
• Teams: Lightning, Flyers, Kings

10. Erik Karlsson (D)

• Career Earnings:$131.4 million
• Teams: Sharks, Senators, Penguins

11. Carey Price (G)

• Career Earnings:$131 million
• Teams: Canadiens, Sharks

12. Patrick Kane (RW)

• Career Earnings:$125.3 million
• Teams: Blackhawks, Red Wings, Rangers, Coyotes

13. Ryan Suter (D)

• Career Earnings:$122.9 million
• Teams: Wild, Predators, Stars, Blues

14. John Tavares (C)

• Career Earnings:$116.5 million
• Teams: Maple Leafs, Islanders

15. Nicklas Backstrom (C)

• Career Earnings:$115.5 million
• Teams: Capitals

16. Chris Pronger (D)

• Career Earnings:$113.9 million
• Teams: Flyers, Blues, Ducks, Oilers, Whalers, Coyotes

17. Sergei Bobrovsky (G)

• Career Earnings:$113.3 million
• Teams: Panthers, Blue Jackets, Flyers

18. Zach Parise (LW)

• Career Earnings:$113 million
• Teams: Wild, Devils, Islanders, Avalanche

19. Joe Thornton (C)

• Career Earnings:$111.5 million
• Teams: Sharks, Bruins, Panthers, Maple Leafs

20. Jonathan Toews (C)

• Career Earnings:$111 million
• Teams: Blackhawks, Jets

21. Tyler Seguin (C)

• Career Earnings:$109.2 million
• Teams: Stars, Bruins

22. Brad Richards (C)

• Career Earnings:$107.4 million
• Teams: Rangers, Stars, Lightning, Red Wings, Blackhawks

23. Roberto Luongo (G)

• Career Earnings:$106.4 million
• Teams: Canucks, Panthers, Islanders

24. Brent Burns (D)

• Career Earnings:$105.7 million
• Teams: Sharks, Hurricanes, Wild, Avalanche

25. Connor McDavid (C)

• Career Earnings:$105.6 million
• Teams: Oilers

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