Cale Makar opened up about his decision to remain with the Colorado Avalanche after signing an eight-year extension that will keep him in Denver through the 2034-35 season.
Cale Makar has spent nearly a decade becoming one of the defining players in Colorado Avalanche history. On Friday, the organization made sure the next chapter would be written in the same place.
The Avalanche signed Makar to an eight-year contract extension through the 2034-35 season, keeping their superstar defenseman in Colorado through his age-35 season. He still had one year remaining on his current deal, but neither side appeared interested in letting the uncertainty linger into the season.
For Makar, there was never much uncertainty about where he wanted to be.
“I just really didn't see myself anywhere else,” Makar told AltitudeTV's Lauren Gardner.
That may have been the most revealing part of a day filled with big numbers and even bigger accomplishments.
Makar is now under contract with the only NHL organization he has ever known, the team that drafted him fourth overall in 2017 and watched him develop into one of the best defensemen in the sport.
At 27 years old, Makar has already won a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy, two Norris Trophies and a Calder Trophy. He has been named to the NHL First All-Star Team four times and has accumulated 507 points in 470 regular-season games.
And despite everything he has accomplished, Makar spoke about the new contract less like the conclusion of something and more like the beginning of another opportunity.
“Hopefully we're not done yet,” he said.
Makar’s Roots In Colorado Run Deep
Makar arrived in Colorado as a 19-year-old fourth-overall pick with enormous expectations. What followed exceeded even those lofty projections.
He made his NHL debut in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs after finishing his sophomore season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Just 72 hours after winning the Hobey Baker Award and two days after playing in the NCAA championship game, Makar joined the Avalanche against the Calgary Flames.
He scored on his first shot.
The rest, in retrospect, feels almost impossible.
Makar won the Calder Trophy as a rookie, captured the Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy while leading Colorado to the Stanley Cup in 2022, and added another Norris in 2025.
He is also just the third player in NHL history to win the Calder, Norris and Conn Smythe during his career, joining Hall of Famers Bobby Orr and Brian Leetch.
But Makar has never treated those accomplishments as individual achievements.
“The way our team plays and the success we have, those team awards come with all that,” Makar said.
That mindset is one of the reasons the Avalanche were so determined to keep him.
General manager Joe Sakic called Makar a “generational defenseman” and emphasized that his value extends beyond what he produces on the ice.
Makar has become a cornerstone of the franchise, but he has also become deeply connected to the community. He and his wife, Tracy, are expecting their first child, and after years in Colorado, the state has become much more than the place where his NHL career began.
“Colorado has truly become a second home to us,” Makar said in the team's announcement.
The Contract Was Never Just About The Money
There was plenty of attention surrounding Makar's contract situation during the offseason, particularly with the possibility of him entering the final year of his deal.
From Makar's perspective, however, the negotiations were not nearly as dramatic as the outside noise suggested.
He described the process as one marked by communication between both sides, with neither party feeling the need to force the issue.
“There was a lot of communication from both sides at all times,” Makar said.
The timing still mattered.
Makar said he believed it was important to get the deal completed before the season began, allowing everyone to move forward without the contract hanging over the team.
Now, he can concentrate entirely on hockey.
Sakic had already made his feelings clear publicly, saying he wanted Makar to finish his career as an Avalanche.
For Makar, hearing that from Sakic carried plenty of weight.
“That's amazing,” he said.
When Gardner suggested Sakic's confidence may have helped during the negotiations, Makar couldn't resist a joke.
“Probably helped with the contract negotiation,” he said.
Behind the humor was something genuine. Makar has immense respect for Sakic, both as the executive overseeing the franchise and as a Hall of Fame player who understands what it means to spend an entire career in one place.
Makar now has the opportunity to do the same.
The Goal Hasn’t Changed
The Avalanche aren't keeping Makar around simply to preserve a remarkable résumé.
They want another championship.
Makar made that clear when discussing his future in Colorado.
“We're in a sport to do one thing,” he said. “And at the end of the day, it's to win, and to win championships.”
The Avalanche have consistently invested in their roster, coaching, training and player development. Makar specifically pointed to everything from trade-deadline acquisitions and free-agent additions to strength and conditioning and the resources available away from the rink.
“I want to obviously be here a long time,” Makar said, “and make sure that window continues to evolve, and stay open for a long time.”
If his first seven seasons are any indication, that could be frighteningly productive.
Makar has already rewritten the franchise record book. He is Colorado's all-time leader among defensemen in goals, assists and points, while also holding franchise marks for game-winning goals, power-play goals, multi-goal games, multi-assist games and multi-point performances.
In 2025-26, he became the fourth-fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach 500 points, doing so in his 467th career game. He also became the first defenseman in more than three decades to record three consecutive 20-goal seasons.
None of it appears to have satisfied him.
The new contract gives Makar nine more seasons to chase whatever comes next, with the organization that has been home from the beginning of his career.
