There have been a few seismic moments in the NHL this summer as the financial situation changes rapidly.
Cale Makar and the Colorado Avalanche delivered the latest shockwave on Friday afternoon. The Avs and their franchise defenseman agreed to the largest contract in NHL history, an eight-year, $163.2 million pact that makes Makar the league’s first $20 million man and keeps him under contract with Colorado through 2035.
“First reaction … wow!” former NHL coach Bruce Boudreau said. “It wasn’t long ago that $163 million to a hockey player would never be thought of. Thatap NBA territory, so good for him.”
Makar is widely considered the NHL’s premier defenseman. He has won the Norris Trophy twice, while being named a finalist six times in his first seven seasons. He also won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year and the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs in 2022, when the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup.
“A unicorn deserves to break the bank,” TSN analyst Jon Goyens said. “He helps you win every night, helps you win Cup(s) and helps you sell tickets and merchandise.”
The path to a spot in the Hockey Hall of Fame is clear, and with good health, Makar will be a first-ballot lock far before this new contract is complete.
“Cale’s career to date is on par with many of the best defensemen to ever play in the history of the NHL,” ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes said. “He’s as great a person as he is a player — transformational. Love that the Avs recognized that from Day 1, and this new contract reflects that amazing partnership between him, the organization and the fans.”
Four different players have held the title “most expensive player in the NHL” since the Carolina Hurricanes lifted the Cup to complete the 2025-26 season. It was Kirill Kaprizov, with his $17 million cap hit, when the season ended.
But the Anaheim Ducks matched a 5-year, $90 million offer sheet for Leo Carlsson from the Philadelphia Flyers in early July. Carlsson, at $18 million, will have the highest cap hit in the league this coming season.
Three weeks later, Macklin Celebrini signed a five-year $94 deal that kicks in next season. His $18.8 million cap hit was set to pace the league, but Makar has already eclipsed him, and Minnesota’s Quinn Hughes could as well.
“Love it for him,” MSG Network analyst Cory Schneider said. “(Makar) is worth every penny and the financial landscape of the NHL world has evolved overnight, so this is the cost of doing business to keep the best player in the world — 1B to Connor McDavid as 1A. Love seeing NHL players signing deals worth $160 million overall too. It’s good for the game.”
Makar and Hughes were in the same situation when the offseason began. They are considered the two best defensemen in the league, and both are entering the final year of their current contracts.
The big difference is that Makar was drafted by the Avalanche and has already forged a legacy in Denver. Hughes was a huge trade addition early last season for the Wild. Minnesota is under immense pressure to convince Hughes to stay, but also doesn’t have the long-term equity with the player.
“I was born 10 years too soon!” said Bryce Salvador, a former NHL captain and defenseman for the New Jersey Devils, who now works for MSG Network. “It’s great to see the league is healthy, and provided the revenue continues to grow, players are going to continue to make more money — as they should.”
In the short term, the Avs have to be elated that Makar is signed and for the maximum eight years. It was hard to imagine Makar’s situation ever reaching a point like Mikko Rantanen’s did, but that memory is still plenty fresh.
There’s at least a handful of players in this league worth $20 million, but there might not be two handfuls. And the Avs have two of them. Keeping Makar with Nathan MacKinnon remains the bedrock of everything. The rest can be figured out.
“Not really surprised,” NHL Network analyst E.J. Hardek said. “I figured it was kind of whatever (Makar) wanted to sign for. Probably pressure as the bar-setter for him to get to a high number. But, he’s a special and very impactful player, so he deserves it.”
Makar’s deal is only $400,000 per year below the maximum he could have signed for — $20.8 million, which is 20 percent of the salary cap ceiling in 2026-27. But he won’t cost nearly 20 percent of the cap in any of the deal.
The cap ceiling is expected to rise to $113.5 million in 2027-28, when Markar’s deal begins. He’ll cost just a shade below 18 percent of the cap in the first year, and then less if the ceiling continues to rise like it has the past few years.
Makar, Celebrini and Carlsson have ushered in a new era of star-level spending. Hughes will soon join them.
It’s clear that Makar being on the roster is valuable at any number. How valuable, by dollars and cents, could depend on how many other defensemen join him and Hughes near the top of the financial food chain.
Zach Werenski, the 2026 Norris Trophy winner, is eligible for a similar megadeal next summer. So is Winnipeg’s No. 1 guy, Josh Morrissey. Miro Heiskanen, Evan Bouchard and Adam Fox are all two years out, along with Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer.
But a lot of the best young defensemen in the league — Lane Hutson, Jackson Lacombe, Moritz Seider, Brock Faber, Noah Dobson, Thomas Harley and Rasmus Dahlin among them — are already locked into long-term contracts and won’t be joining the $ 15-million-plus club until at least halfway through Makar’s new deal.
Think of it like Nikola Jokic. He was absolutely worth $55 million to the Denver Nuggets this past season as one of the best players in the world. But he was even more valuable because 25 players in the league made at least $45 million.
“There are a lot of layers to it,” MSG analyst and 20-year NHL defenseman Ken Danyeko said. “The landscape has changed, as we know. I still think teams have to be careful and not get careless. I know easier said then done. I go by recent history and the balance on teams’ salaries that win Cups — I think that means something.
“Having said that, if there’s a guy you can pay this much, I would think it would be Makar. Best d-man in the league. But for me, that doesn’t mean you pay an above-average d-man $13 to $14 million because Makar set the bar. You have to still draw the line if you are going to have team success.”
