The Colorado Avalanche have gotten their most important piece of work done for the entire NHL off-season, signing two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar to an eight-year extension.
The Colorado Avalanche have locked up one of their cornerstone players on a record-breaking deal.
Superstar defenseman Cale Makar has agreed to an eight-year, $163.2-million extension ($20.4 million average annual value) to stay with the Avalanche, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Makar was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of 2026-27 as he enters the final season of a six-year, $54-million deal ($9 million AAV) signed on July 24, 2021.
The 27-year-old will now become the highest-paid player in the league when this deal begins in the 2027-28 season. He surpasses Macklin Celebrini, who signed for $18.8-million per season on a five-year extension signed earlier this summer.
This news comes just four days after Avalanche president of hockey operations Joe Sakic expressed he was "pretty confident" that the blueliner would be signed before the upcoming season began.
"I couldn't more excited to continue my journey here with the Avalanche," Makar said in a social media video posted on the team's X account. "Here's to another, hopefully amazing, nine years."
Makar is one of the most decorated defenders in the NHL, winning the Calder Trophy Award, two Norris Trophies, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as part of the Avalanche's 2022 Stanley Cup championship.
Since suiting up for his first full regular season with the Avalanche in 2019-20, Makar leads all defenseman in regular-season goals (136) and points (507). He also has the most playoff goals (25) in that span and is second in post-season points (84) in that same period.
He also became the ninth defenseman in NHL history to record 30 goals in a season during his career-best 2024-25 campaign, while also becoming the fifth defenseman to post back-to-back 90-point seasons at the conclusion of that same season.
The Calgary native was a fourth-overall pick by the Avalanche in 2017 after spending three years in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Brooks Bandits. Makar then spent two seasons in the NCAA at the University of Massachusetts before making his NHL debut in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Avalanche are coming off a remarkable year that saw the franchise capture its second President's Trophy in the last six seasons, winning 55 games for the best regular-season record in the NHL before being eliminated in the Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights.
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