Many fans have been very critical of the Colorado Avalanche for Cale Makar’s extension signed on Friday. Colorado signed Makar to the biggest contract in NHL history worth $20.4 million per year. Fans claim it prevents the Avs from signing new players, noting his excessive salary cap usage. They think it makes it difficult for the Avs to build a competitive roster and compete for the Stanley Cup. That is not the case at all. Cale Makar’s contract is a steal, and the Avs are lucky to have him.

Image courtesy JFreshHockey

He is that good already

Makar has been a top-five defenseman every season except for two seasons. One of those seasons, he was sixth in the league. He already ranks in the top 100 (62nd) for all-time goals scored by a defenseman with 136. Makar has accomplished this in only 470 career games and will move up the list with each goal. This is also the case with assists (ranked 84th) as he begins the season with 371 helpers. However, Makar’s 507 overall points have him sitting at 75th all-time, one point behind former Avalanche Tyson Barrie.

At only 27-years-old, Makar already has a Hobey Baker Trophy, Calder Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, Stanley Cup, and two Norris Trophies. Undoubtedly the Canadian could retire today and be a Hall of Fame candidate as one of the best defensemen to play the game.

“I think you see a lot of deals trending a little bit shorter now,” said Makar during his press conference. “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, and then for myself too, showing my commitment obviously here and how much that I’ve loved it here and everything. So I think for me, that was never a question. I kind of always wanted those eight years, but that’s probably a piece that played a role just in terms of working it out on both sides for sure.”

The cap situation

This upcoming season will be the last season of Makar’s current contract at a cap hit of $9 million. Starting with the 2027–28 season, he will make $20.4 million per year. This will be17.9 percent of the total salary cap available. Eventually, that percentage will go down as the salary cap goes up every year, just like Nathan MacKinnon’s did in 2022. MacKinnon signed one of the largest contracts in NHL history in 2022, and it is now a bargain only four years later at $12.6 million. In the second year of Makar’s contract, he will take up only 16.5 percent, with another decrease coming the following season. In the end, $20.4 million per year will be another bargain for someone who fights for the Norris year after year.

Had the Avalanche signed Cale to a lower term contract with a lower AAV it would have been a mistake. He is one the players that you can build your entire blue line around and maybe even your forward core. Makar is a once in a generation type player… and you never let those go. No matter the cost.