Cale Makar Never Wavered on Eight-Year Term With Avalanche
· Yahoo Sports
As soon as the NHL and NHLPA came to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement last year, the focus on Cale Makar’s next contract quickly became something to watch.
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Not just because the Colorado Avalanche’s superstar defenseman was due for a new deal, but because Sept. 15, 2026, suddenly became a deadline.
Even though Makar would still be more than nine months away from officially becoming an unrestricted free agent, Sept. 15 marks the final day any player can sign an eight-year contract extension before those deals are eliminated under the NHL’s new CBA.
It became a clear drop-dead date for Makar, if eight years was something he wanted.
As it turned out, it was.
Makar signed an eight-year, $163.2 million extension with the Avalanche, carrying a $20.4 million annual average value.
He went this route despite other young stars like Leo Carlsson, Macklin Celebrini, and Connor Bedard opting for shorter-term contracts, Connor McDavid signing only a two-year extension last summer, and Quinn Hughes also expected to avoid a maximum-term deal whenever he signs his next contract.
“For me, the main thing, never really wavered off the term,” Makar said Monday, speaking to the media for the first time since signing his record-breaking extension on Aug. 28. “I think for our side, and myself personally, I really wanted that eight years.”
Makar is the first player in NHL history to eclipse the $20 million AAV mark.
The deal doesn’t begin until 2027-28, when the salary cap is expected to rise by nearly $10 million. But based on the $103.5 million upper limit for the upcoming season, his $20.4 million cap hit sits just below the maximum 20% of the cap he was eligible to receive.
More importantly, Makar’s decision to sign for the maximum term wasn’t simply about securing his own future. He viewed it as a commitment to the organization and an opportunity to provide the front office with stability as they continue building around their star-studded core.
Even with the higher AAV — a record-breaking number — Makar still gave back to the Avs by eliminating this process from happening again in a few years during his prime.
“You see a lot of deals trending a little bit shorter now. Some of the bigger contracts, and I felt like for me, it was kind of that trade-off of wanting to give the team stability over the entire contract and being able to build around that,” Makar said. “For myself too, showing my commitment here and how much I’ve loved it here and everything. I think for me that was never a question. I kind of always wanted those eight years. That’s probably a piece that played a role just in terms of working it out on both sides.”
The Avalanche have spent years constructing their roster with Makar’s eventual extension in mind. In the last 14 months alone, the club has handed out new contract extensions to Brock Nelson, Parker Kelly, Josh Manson, Martin Necas, Gavin Brindley, Scott Wedgewood, Sam Malinski, Brett Kulak, and Brent Burns.
They also added players like Nazem Kadri, Nic Roy, Zachary L’Heureux, and Fedor Svechkov, who arrived with term. All but three of them (Wedgewood, Burns, and Roy) are signed through at least the first season of Makar’s new deal.
They found ways to keep much of their core intact while maintaining the flexibility necessary to eventually pay Makar what he was worth.
Makar, 27, enters the 2026-27 season as a Stanley Cup champion, Conn Smythe Trophy winner, two-time Norris Trophy recipient and a Calder Trophy winner. He’s already established himself as one of the greatest defensemen of his generation, if not one of the best in NHL history, and is coming off another strong season that further cemented his place among the game’s elite.
When it finally came time to negotiate, there apparently wasn’t much negotiating to do when it came to the thing Makar wanted most.
“There wasn’t one conversation on term; both sides wanted the eight years,” Avalanche president of hockey operations and general manager Joe Sakic said. “It really didn’t take a lot of time. In the summer, things happen slower than they would during the regular season. But really it was an easy negotiation, and we knew where the cap was going, and Cale deserves everything he’s going to get. It’s nice to have that certainty with his contract.”
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