Cale Makar is officially the highest-paid player in NHL history after the Colorado Avalanche signed their superstar defenseman to a record eight-year, $163.2 million extension.
Cale Makar is now the highest-paid player in NHL history.
The Colorado Avalanche signed their star defenseman to an eight-year, $163.2 million contract extension Friday, giving Makar a league-record $20.4 million annual average value and keeping him in Colorado through the 2034-35 season. The deal more than doubles his previous $9 million AAV and makes him the first player in NHL history to surpass $20 million per season.
It is a remarkable jump for a league that has seen its salary records climb quickly this summer.
On July 29, Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year, $94 million extension with the San Jose Sharks, giving him an $18.8 million annual average value and making him the highest-paid player in NHL history at the time.
Now, Cale Makar has taken that record even higher.
By another $1.6 million.
Makar's new $20.4 million AAV also completely changes the market for defensemen. Bowen Byram's eight-year, $100 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks had set the record for a defenseman at $12.5 million per season.
Makar's deal is 63.2% higher.
And there is a pretty simple reason Colorado was willing to pay it.
Makar has already built one of the most impressive résumés in NHL history. Since entering the league in 2019, he has won the Calder Trophy, two Norris Trophies, a Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy. He has also been named a First-Team All-Star four times.
The production backs it up.
Makar has 507 points in 470 regular-season games, making him one of only three defensemen in NHL history to average at least a point per game over his career, joining Bobby Orr and Paul Coffey.
He has been just as productive in the playoffs, recording 90 points in 90 games. During Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup run, he had 29 points in 20 games while winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
Makar hasn't slowed down since.
He scored 30 goals and 92 points in 2024-25, becoming the first defenseman since Mike Green in 2008-09 to reach 30 goals in a season. In 2025-26, he followed that with 20 goals and 79 points in 75 games and finished second in Norris Trophy voting.
He also reached 500 career points in his 467th game, faster than every defenseman except Orr, Coffey and Denis Potvin.
So when Colorado faced the possibility of Makar entering the final year of his contract and becoming an unrestricted free agent after the 2026-27 season, the Avalanche weren't going to take any chances.
They locked him up for the next eight years.
"We are beyond thrilled to get this deal done and have Cale in an Avalanche sweater for the next decade," Avalanche President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Joe Sakic said.
Makar called Colorado his "second home" and said he was excited to continue representing the organization and community.
That was important for the Avalanche, particularly after the Mikko Rantanen situation ended with their longtime star leaving Colorado.
They weren't going to let history repeat itself with Makar.
Now, the Avalanche have their franchise defenseman under contract through 2034-35, and the rest of the NHL has a new number to chase -- for now.
