Fansided

Sidney Crosby will get last laugh in decades-old rivalry with Alex Ovechkin

Sid the Kid can hit Alex Ovechkin right where it hurts most when the two finally hang up their skates.
ByAusten Bundy|
Oct 13, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skate in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Oct 13, 2023; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skate in the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

NHL fans have long enjoyed the rivalry Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have fostered for the past 20 seasons. Their respective teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, have only benefitted from the attention and star power on and off the ice. It's also fattened each player's wallet along the way.

According to Spotrac (h/t DraftKings Sportsbook), Ovechkin has racked up the most career earnings of any player in NHL history ($161.7 million). Not far behind him is Crosby with $155.8 million. Crosby’s teammate and Ovechkin’s fellow Russian, Evgeni Malkin, rounds out the top three with $146.87 million, followed by long-time Los Angeles Kings centerman Anze Kopitar ($136.25 million), and the Hockey Hall of Fame-bound Jaromir Jagr ($135.38 million).

Ovechkin still has one more season left on his five-year, $47.5 million extension he signed in 2020. If he chooses to retire from the NHL at the end of this upcoming campaign, he'll have earned a cumulative $171.22 million in career earnings and extended his reign as the historic top earner.

Sidney Crosby is on pace to pass Alex Ovechkin in career earnings

Despite Ovechkin's massive total earnings over 21 seasons, his arch-nemesis in Crosby is projected to snag the rich title away from him in two years.

The Penguins signed Crosby to a two-year, $17.4 million extension last September which will see him accrue $173.29 million in career earnings at the end of that deal. Of course, he'll have played one more season than Ovechkin so there will be an asterisk attached in the eyes of Capitals fans.

Due to the 2004-05 player lockout, Ovechkin was not able to make his rookie debut until the following year. So, really, he should already have 21 service years under his belt and likely a few more million dollars than Crosby if the pair actually played an equal tenure.

Besides being potentially the first NHL player ever to score 1,000 goals (Ovechkin is three away from 900 after passing Wayne Gretzky for most all-time), it could be an extra motivator for the Russian star to sign a single-year extension just to ensure Crosby doesn't get the last laugh.

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