Jordan Staal Net Worth In 2026: Why The Best Defensive Forward In The NHL Is Also One Of The Biggest Bargains
Jordan Staal earns $2.9 million a year and GMs around the league think Carolina is getting away with something. His net worth sits at $20 million. The bargain has lasted two decades.
Jordan Staal's net worth in 2026 is estimated at around $20 million, accumulated across 20 NHL seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. He earns $2.9 million per year on his current deal, a cap hit so low that it borders on absurd for a player of his standing. General managers around the league quietly envy what Carolina gets from their captain every night for that number.
The Career That Built His Wealth
Born on September 18, 1988, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Staal was selected second overall by Pittsburgh in the 2006 NHL Draft, one pick after Erik Johnson. He made an immediate impact, scoring 29 goals and 42 points in his rookie season and becoming the youngest player in NHL history to score a hat trick, at 18 years and 153 days. He won the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2009 alongside his brother Marc, contributing two goals and an assist in the finals against Detroit.
In June 2012, Pittsburgh traded him to Carolina in exchange for a first-round pick, Brandon Sutter and Brian Dumoulin, in a deal designed to accommodate Evgeni Malkin's contract extension. He signed a 10-year, $60 million extension with the Hurricanes on the same day, a deal worth $6 million annually that ran through the 2022-23 season.
When that contract expired in 2023, at an age when most players either retire or command premium salaries elsewhere, Staal signed a four-year, $11.6 million extension to stay in Carolina through 2026-27. The deal carries a cap hit of just $2.9 million annually, making him one of the most underpaid players in the league by any metric that matters.
The Bargain the Hurricanes Are Getting
At 37, Staal is still a Selke Trophy-calibre centre in the opinion of many around the league. He kills penalties, wins faceoffs, blocks shots and mentors younger players in a dressing room that has been among the best-run organisations in hockey for several years.
His career earnings from NHL contracts alone exceed $90 million across three separate deals. His final season in Carolina begins in the autumn of 2026. The Hurricanes are still getting him at a rate no other team could have offered.