2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey, NHL payrolls for final four teams
The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics is down to four nations and there’s a stark contrast in NHL payrolls on each team. Team USA is joined by Canada, Finland and Slovakia in the final four of the competition with many NHL stars competing in the semifinals. Canada and America are still on a collision course to meet in the gold medal match.
However, there’s been lots of talk about how all four teams reached the semifinals with very different squads.
MORE: Mikaela Shiffrin ends Winter Olympics drought with slalom gold medal Of the four remaining Semi Final teams: 25 / 25 Canadians are current NHLers 25 / 25 United States are current NHLers 24 / 25 Finland players are current NHLers (Mikko Lehtonen isn’t) 6 / 25 Slovakia players are current NHLers Look at those payrolls pic.twitter.com/ccNzHa5Kzm — Adam (@AGBRSports) February 19, 2026 Of the four remaining teams, Canada, Finland and USA have all made the final four with NHL-heavy squads .
Additionally, the NHL payrolls for the three leading nations are massive in comparison to Slovakia. The European nation is ranked eighth at the Winter Olympics with an NHL payroll value of nearly $20 million. That number is nearly $180 million less than the United States and Canada.
Slovakia’s squad only features six NHL players, while their other 19 team members primarily compete in Czech Republic, Sweden or other European countries. MORE: 2026 Winter Olympics medal count, standings entering February 19 Jaccob Slavin and Connor Hellebuyck in action in a men’s ice hockey game during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Mandatory Credit: Marton Monus/Reuters via Imagn Images Finland remains the most intriguing team out of the four still competing after winning the 2022 Olympics. That victory marked the country’s first gold medal in men’s hockey.
NHL payrolls for Winter Olympics men’s hockey semifinalists United States – $199.3 million Canada – $191.5 million Finland – $118.8 million Slovakia – $19.9 million — Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead — OLYMPICS: USA figure skater Isabeau Levito gushes over Olympic Village NFL: Tyreek Hill makes hilarious first move after Dolphins release CBB: 2026 college basketball rankings, updated AP Top 25 after Week 15 MLB: Tigers infielder from Taiwan apologizes to Koreans after trash talk goes viral SPORTS MEDIA: College Hall of Famer, father of Chicago Bulls coach, dies VIRAL: Chloe Kim ‘obsessed’ with $100k gift from NFL star Myles Garrett after Olympics The post 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey, NHL payrolls for final four teams appeared first on The Big Lead .
The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics is down to four nations and there’s a stark contrast in NHL payrolls on each team. Team USA is joined by Canada, Finland and Slovakia in the final four of the… The men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics is down to four nations and there’s a stark contrast in NHL payrolls on each team.
Team USA is joined by Canada, Finland and Slovakia in the final four of the…