Calgary-born Cale Makar signs $163.2M extension, richest deal in NHL history
The eight-year contract keeps the Colorado Avalanche defenseman under club control through the 2034-35 season and makes him the league's highest-paid player.
Cale Makar, a native of Calgary, Alberta, has agreed to an eight-year, $163.2 million contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche, the richest deal in NHL history. The extension carries an annual average value of $20.4 million starting in 2027-28, surpassing the previous record set by Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov last year.
The 27-year-old defenseman is coming off a season with 20 goals and 59 assists, finishing second in Norris Trophy voting behind Columbus's Zach Werenski. Makar has won the Norris Trophy twice in his career and was selected fourth overall by Colorado in the 2017 NHL Draft out of the University of Massachusetts.
Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic prioritized locking up Makar this offseason, freeing salary cap space in part by trading Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. The deal comes after Colorado, which won the Presidents' Trophy last season, was swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, a series Makar entered banged up with an upper-body injury.
Makar's record-setting contract could soon be topped, with Edmonton's Connor McDavid and Toronto's Auston Matthews both eligible for extensions next summer. Makar was part of Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup-winning core alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP that year.
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