Cale Makar, Avalanche agree to 8-year, $163.2 million contract extension

The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Cale Makar to an eight-year, $163.2 million contract extension on Friday, setting a new NHL record with an average annual value of $20.4 million.

Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche Extension

Star defenseman Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche agreed to an eight-year, $163.2 million contract extension, according to an announcement from his agency on Friday. The deal carries an average annual value of $20.4 million, establishing a historic benchmark for player compensation across the league.

According to hockey insider Frank Seravalli, Makar becomes the first player in the NHL to sign a contract featuring a salary exceeding $20 million annually. The agreement eclipses the previous high-water mark set by Kirill Kaprizov, who signed a $136 million deal last summer.

Beating the Collective Bargaining Agreement Clock

Makar was entering the final season of a six-year, $54 million extension he originally signed in July 2021, and he was set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He is entering the final season of a six-year deal that is worth $9 million annually, after which his extension will kick in.

By finalizing the extension now, the Avalanche and Makar ensured the pact could span eight years. Once the NHL’s new CBA goes into effect on Sept. 15, maximum contract lengths cannot exceed seven years.

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The Avalanche confirmed the deal with a video of Makar, in which he said he couldn't be more excited to stay in Colorado for the long-term future.

A Storied Resume in Denver and Internationally

Drafted No. 4 in 2017, the 27-year-old Makar is already one of the most decorated players in franchise history. Since breaking into the league during the 2019 playoffs and scoring in his first game, the UMass product has won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, been named to the NHL First All-Star Team four times, won two Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman, and helped the Avalanche to the 2021-22 Stanley Cup title, where he was also named postseason MVP.

We’re lucky because we’re watching greatness, then-teammate Erik Johnson said during that postseason run.

He is one of two players — Hall of Famed Bobby Orr being the other — to be a finalist for the Norris Trophy at least six times in his first seven seasons. Only 14 players, Makar included, have ever won multiple Norris Trophies. In 2024-25, he won the Norris and became the league’s first defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since Mike Green in 2008-09. Makar’s most impressive season arguably came in 2021-22, when he won the Norris with 28 goals and 86 points in 77 games, then had 29 points in 20 playoff games as Colorado captured the Stanley Cup.

Canada and the 2026 Winter Olympics

The Calgary native has also found success on the international stage. He helped Canada to gold at the 2018 World Junior Championship, 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and was part of the silver medal winning team at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Over Makar’s seven NHL seasons, he’s reached 20 goals four times and hit the 90-point mark twice. He registered 20 goals and 79 points in 75 games last season, helping the Avalanche to the Presidents’ Trophy with the NHL’s best record. He dealt with an injury in the playoffs that kept him out of the first two games of the Western Conference final, which Colorado lost in four games to the Vegas Golden Knights. He is already the franchise’s all-time leader among defensemen in goals (136), assists (371) and points (507).

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Cap Projections and Future Impact for Colorado

Makar will be 36 when his new contract ends, so general manager Joe Sakic guarantees he will have him through his prime. The percentage of the cap Makar’s AAV will occupy will decrease over time as the cap ceiling continues to rise.

Photo: Yahoo

Kirill Kaprizov and the Minnesota Wild

The salary cap for the 2027-28 season, when Makar’s new deal goes into effect, is expected to rise to $113.5 million. The maximum cap hit a player can have is 20 percent of the upper limit, which would make the individual player max $22.7 million next summer. But because that’s only a projection, the maximum a player can sign for now is 20 percent of the current $104 million cap, $20.8 million.

Makar tops Kirill Kaprizov ($136 million deal signed last summer) as the most lucrative contract in NHL history. His new deal will presumably also have an impact on the negotiations between star defenseman Quinn Hughes and the Minnesota Wild.