Cale Makar is in the last year of the six-year, $9 million-a-year deal he signed back when he was still a rising star instead of the best defenseman on the planet. That contract runs out after this season, and for months the Avalanche have insisted they're 'confident' a new one gets done before puck drop. On Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman gave everyone reason to believe him.
About to go off-line for a bit, but the much-anticipated extension for Cale Makar and Colorado is closing in Going to be a biggie…but a critical piece of business for the Avalanche
Friedman didn't just float a rumor and disappear — he called it 'a biggie' and 'a critical piece of business' before signing off, which is Friedman-speak for this is basically done. Sportsnet followed up minutes later confirming the same, framing it as Colorado and Makar 'closing in' on terms.
There's a real reason this is happening now and not in October. Makar is eligible to sign an eight-year extension through Sept. 15 — but the NHL's new CBA kicks in Sept. 16, and it chops the max contract length any team can offer its own player down to 7 years league-wide. Miss that window and Colorado loses a full year of control over its franchise defenseman. Training camp opens right around the same date, so the Avalanche have every incentive to get a signature on paper before then.
The number attached to this deal is the real headline once it drops. Makar has been floated as a candidate to become the first NHL player at a $20 million cap hit, which would blow past the going rate for elite blueliners and reset the market overnight. Spittin' Chiclets posed the question everyone in the hockey world is asking right now.
What will Makar’s next contract be?
Whatever the final number is, it locks in the identity of a team that's been to the Stanley Cup Final and won it within the last few years, largely because Makar can single-handedly tilt a game from the back end. Keeping him isn't optional for Colorado's Cup window — it's the whole plan. Once the paperwork is actually filed, expect the term and cap hit to come out fast, and expect the rest of the league's top defensemen to be watching closely, because whatever Makar gets becomes the new floor for the next guy up.