Cale Makar Signs League-Altering Extension

This offseason has been one for the history books, starting with Leo Carlsson accepting an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers worth $18 million AAV over 5 seasons.

Carlsson became the highest-paid player in the NHL for 26 days until Hart nominee Macklin Celebrini signed an extension with the San Jose Sharks worth 18.8 million AAV over 5 seasons.

Both of these young stars earn more per year than the previous record holder, Kirill Kaprizov; however, Kaprizov's contract has greater total value, having signed an 8-year deal at $17 million AAV, totalling $136 million, dwarfing Celebrini’s $94 million deal. 

Now, Avalanche superstar defenseman Cale Makar has joined the party, signing a new record $20.4 million AAV extension, adding up to $163.2 million over the course of the 8-year deal, $27.2 million more than Kaprizov. This signing also marks the first time a defenseman has held the highest cap hit in the NHL, 

One of the Best in the League

Makar has been widely considered the best defenseman in the league for some time now.

In just 7 seasons, the Alberta native has amassed over 500 points in 470 games, 90 points in 90 playoff games, a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, along with 2 Norris Trophy wins, 4 first All-Star team selections, and 2 second All-Star team selections.

Showing no signs of slowing down, Makar put up 20 goals and 79 points, finishing 3rd in points as well as being nominated for the Norris trophy for the 6th consecutive season.

The Avs Cap Situation

After this deal, the Avalanche are left with $11.65 million in cap space, with 11 forwards and 5 defensemen under contract.

Notable pending free agents include 31-year-old Finnish forward Artturi Lehkonen, who scored both the Western Conference clinching goal, as well as the Stanley Cup clinching goal in the Avalanche's cup run, 30-year-old Canadian forward Nicolas Roy, and 34-year-old goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who finished 5th in Vezina voting this past season.

6 of their top 9 forwards are signed for 3 seasons or less, including their often injured but extremely valuable captain, Gabriel Landeskog.

The lack of long-term forwards, as well as the age of the core, is a major concern; we will likely see significant changes to the Avs forward group in the next few seasons.

On the backend, the team ensures their long time top pair of Devon Toews and Cale Makar will stick together for at least a few more seasons, their second pair of Brett Kulak and Sam Malinski are both on deals with term, Kulak signing a 5 year extension after joining Colorado just before the deadline, and breakout defenseman Sam Malinski getting a 4 year extension after more than doubling his career high point total last season.

While the forward core is a bit of a gong show, the d group is locked up long-term and filled with skilled transitional players, which will mitigate the losses up front.

The Effect on the Market

While the cap hit will force the Avalanche front office to get creative, it should also put significant pressure on the Minnesota Wild to offer Quinn Hughes a similar contract.

Norris-winning defenseman Zach Werenski becomes a free agent after the 27/28 season, and is seemingly unlikely to be signing with Columbus after a very public trade request, despite the very likely possibility of one or both defensemen surpassing Makar in AAV; he will likely hold the record for largest total contract value due to the loss of the 8th season premium starting September 15th of this year. 

Both Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews' contracts will expire after this upcoming season, and they could both very well make more annually than Makar.

The History Maker Does It Again

Cale Makar has been making history throughout his career, whether it was becoming the highest-drafted player out of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, becoming the first UMass player to be named Hockey East Player of the Year, or winning the Hobey Baker Award.

He is consistently challenging Bobby Orr as the fastest defenseman to several point milestones; it makes sense that he would be the first player to surpass the $20 Million AAV and $150 Million contract value thresholds, much like Bobby Orr was the first NHL player to make $1 Million in a single season.