The National Hockey League is getting richer. Player contracts are soaring, with stars like Mikko Rantanen and Mitch Marner boasting an average annual value of $12 million. Leon Draisaitl’s new eight-year, $112 million deal carries a $14 million cap hit, and players like Kirill Kaprizov and Connor McDavid are expected to shatter those numbers soon.
The league’s wealthy team owners, including one of the richest in American sports, are fueling this financial boom.
How Does the Colorado Avalanche Owner’s Wealth Stack Up Against Other NHL Owners?
Stanley Kroenke, the owner of the Colorado Avalanche, was recently featured on Forbes’ list of “America’s Richest Sports Team Owners 2025.” This financial backing has supported a team that consistently contends for the championship.
In the 2024-25 season, the Avalanche finished third in the Central Division of the Western Conference with 49 wins, 29 losses, and 102 points. The team has consistently made the playoffs in recent history and won a Stanley Cup as recently as 2022, thanks to a roster filled with top-tier talent like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
MacKinnon is currently featured second on the NHL’s list of the top 20 centers in the league, just behind the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid. Meanwhile, Makar finished first in a similar NHL list of the top 20 defensemen, cementing his status as an elite blueliner.
This level of talent requires significant investment. Makar’s six-year contract with the Avalanche has an average annual value of $9 million, while MacKinnon’s eight-year, $100.8 million contract comes with a cap hit of $12.6 million.
Handing out these hefty contracts is easier for the Avalanche management because the team is backed by one of the wealthiest sports team owners in the country.
Through his company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, he owns the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the MLS’s Colorado Rapids, and the EPL’s Arsenal FC and Arsenal Women’s FC, in addition to the Avalanche. Kroenke built his fortune through both sports and real estate. His net worth has surged by 26% in just one year, now at $21.3 billion.
“The 78-year-old Kroenke has amassed more than 60 million square feet of real estate and 1.6 million acres of land, but his sports empire is just as sprawling, with teams in six major pro leagues, as well as the National Lacrosse League’s Colorado Mammoth,” stated the Forbes report.
Among all the teams Kroenke owns, his NFL franchise, the Los Angeles Rams, is the most valuable.
“The Rams are his crown jewel, ranking second among NFL teams with a valuation of $10.5 billion, and the team this year announced plans for a new headquarters and training facility in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on a site Kroenke acquired in 2022.”
Within the NHL, Kroenke ranks as the second-richest owner. The top spot belongs to Henry Samueli of the Anaheim Ducks, who was featured fourth on the overall Forbes list with a net worth of $27.7 billion.
According to Forbes, the Los Angeles Kings’ owner, Phillip Anschutz, is 11th on the list with a net worth of $19.4 billion, and the New Jersey Devils’ owner, Josh Harris, is the 17th richest sports team owner with a net worth of $11 billion.
