The Colorado Avalanche have officially locked up their franchise defenseman for the foreseeable future. Cale Makar has signed an eight-year contract extension with the Avalanche worth $163.2 million, carrying an average annual value of $20.4 million, according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman.
One of the best players in the world has hit a record-setting payday. On Friday, the Colorado Avalanche announced that the team has signed defenseman Cale Makar to an eight-year contract extension.
There was never a question as to whether or not the Colorado Avalanche would sign defenseman Cale Makar to a long-term contract extension. The question was always a matter of when it would get done, how many years it would be worth, and how much money it would involve.
The NHL has had an interesting new millennium. It was a league sans a salary cap when the 2000s started… and then the owners locked the players out for an entire season.
Cale Makar has signed the largest contract in NHL history. The deal is an eight-year extension with an AAV of 20.4 million. Although the deal was rumored to be close, there were questions about the term.
This summer has featured a somewhat unusual free agency period. The sharp rise in the salary cap has pushed player price tags up in a general sense, but that windfall hasn’t extended to every point in the player market.
We’re almost into the month of September, and in the NHL, that usually means two things: training camps are around the corner, and PTO season is about to begin in earnest.
People will talk about the “Mount Rushmore” for a franchise, which is to say the four people, usually four players, that most define the franchise. Not always the four-best players, but the four that evoke the essence of the franchise.
As the Colorado Avalanche close in on a contract extension for Cale Makar, one insider is framing the negotiation in a way that makes this imminent deal a very black-and-white situation: the Makar extension is about changing the NHL landscape.
(Players marked with Xs on jerseys have not chosen their numbers for 2026-27 yet) For 99 percent of the season, things were going very well for the Colorado Avalanche.
Aside from trying to figure out Cale Makar’s contract extension, the Avalanche are looking forward to the coming season. After a disappointing sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, the Avalanche and their Central Division brethren didn’t do a ton.
One of the summer’s most anticipated pieces of business appears to be closing in. Word is Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche have agreed to terms on a new contract extension, setting up what could be a historic extension for the two-time Norris Trophy winner.
One of the biggest extensions of the offseason is in its final stages. According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Colorado Avalanche are closing in on an extension with defenseman Cale Makar.
ESPN and TNT Sports announced their respective NHL U.S. national broadcast schedules for the 2026-27 season on Aug. 26, with the Colorado Avalanche seeing 16 nationally broadcast games in the United States as a result.
Sean Behrens’ professional career lost a year before it ever got started. The Avalanche drafted him 61st overall in 2021. He became an excellent college defenseman at the University of Denver.
The Colorado Avalanche could eventually have one more team standing between them and a Central Division title. This one will be different, though. This one will be brand new.
Nathan MacKinnon continues to receive the recognition he deserves as one of the best players in the NHL. On Sunday evening, NHL Network released a list of the Top 20 centers in the league heading into the 2026-27 season, and the Colorado Avalanche superstar came in at No.
The Colorado Avalanche were the best regular-season team in the NHL last season. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar were the stars of the show once again in Denver.
The Colorado Avalanche's 2025/26 season was one of the best of any team in recent memory. But in the postseason, the team came up short when they reached the Western Conference Finals against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Colorado Avalanche are getting a reality check, as the club looks to build a championship team. Colorado is getting ranked dead last at no. 32 in the NHL, in The Athletic’s new pipeline rankings for 2026.
The Colorado Avalanche are still among the favorites to capture the Stanley Cup even if their contention window is slowly closing. They have arguably the most talented core in the league and want to win now.
The Colorado Avalanche enter the 2026–27 season with a refreshed roster after a busy offseason that saw them trade away veteran forwards for younger, cost-controlled pieces while adding experienced depth on a budget.
A recent interview with Colorado Avalanche prospect Ilya Nabokov offers something more interesting than another update on a young goalie trying to make the NHL.
The saying when it’s hard to believe that a big-name NHL star may become available is that Wayne Gretzky was once traded, so anyone can be dealt. That still rings true today, though some players feel far more untouchable than others.