A Number No NHL Player Has Ever Reached
The Colorado Avalanche announced on Friday that defenseman Cale Makar has agreed to an eight-year contract extension worth $163.2 million, a $20.4 million annual average value that makes him the first player in NHL history to exceed $20 million per season. The deal runs through the 2034-35 season and surpasses every prior contract in the league by both total value and annual cap hit.
Makar, 25, was heading into the final year of a six-year, $54 million agreement he signed in July 2021, when the Avalanche were still building toward their 2022 Stanley Cup run. The new extension more than doubles his $9 million AAV from that deal.
"Cale is a generational defenseman," Colorado president Joe Sakic said in a statement. "We are beyond thrilled to get this done and have Cale in an Avalanche sweater for the next decade."
How the Salary Record Has Been Rewritten
The previous overall NHL benchmark was held by Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov, who signed an eight-year, $136 million extension last September at $17 million per season. Makar's deal clears that mark by $3.4 million per year — a 20 percent increase — and pushes the AAV ceiling into territory the league has never seen.
The jump is even more striking at the positional level. Earlier this summer, Colorado's own Bowen Byram signed an eight-year, $100 million deal with the Chicago Blackhawks, setting what was briefly a record for defensemen at $12.5 million AAV. Makar's new figure is more than 63 percent higher. The gap between Makar and every other defenseman on the salary sheet is now larger than it has ever been.
A Résumé That Earned Every Dollar
The price tag reflects six seasons of sustained excellence. Since his debut in the 2020 playoffs, Makar has collected the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, two Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenseman, a Stanley Cup championship, and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the 2022 playoff MVP. He has been the axis of Colorado's defense through every meaningful postseason push the franchise has made.
The structure of the deal also protects Colorado from the salary escalation that is expected to continue as the NHL's revenue base grows. Signing Makar now at a fixed number, even a record one, locks in a predictable cost against what will be an ever-rising cap.
Camp Opens September 16, Season on September 29
Makar's $20.4 million cap hit is more than double what he earned on his last deal, and it will shape how the Avalanche construct the rest of their roster. The Colorado front office faces meaningful decisions at other positions as training camp opens on September 16. With Makar under contract through his age-33 season, however, the club's foundation on the blue line is settled for the foreseeable future.
Colorado begins the 2026-27 regular season on September 29. Makar's extension was signed two days before the four-year anniversary of the franchise's Stanley Cup parade in Denver.