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Will the Colorado Avalanche extend Nathan MacKinnon soon?

By Graham Tiedtke

GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 15: Goaltender Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Colorado Avalanche is congratulated by Nathan MacKinnon #29 and Kurtis MacDermid #56 after a shutout against the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 15, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. The Avalanche defeated the Coyotes 5-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - JANUARY 15: Goaltender Darcy Kuemper #35 of the Colorado Avalanche is congratulated by Nathan MacKinnon #29 and Kurtis MacDermid #56 after a shutout against the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL game at Gila River Arena on January 15, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. The Avalanche defeated the Coyotes 5-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche would be smart to get Nathan Mackinnon’s contract situation figured out as soon as possible.

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon could hit unrestricted free agency when his current contract expires after the 2022-2023 season. MacKinnon signed a new contract in 2016 for seven years. After ten seasons in the league, he finally won his first Stanley Cup Trophy.

The Avalanche are not in cap space trouble, as they currently have nearly $24 million today. To stay under the cap, they will have to negotiate player contracts in ways that are team-friendly.

Mackinnon’s value isn’t decreasing anytime soon, and it isn’t like he has anything more to prove to receive a lucrative contract extension.

Colorado still has to decide whether or not they will try to re-sign their current free agents in goaltender Darcy Kuemper, left winger Andre Burakovsky, center Nazem Kadri, wingers Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen, and defenseman Josh Manson.

None of those players seem likely to receive around the same amount of money as MacKinnon will. Honestly, MacKinnon deserves to be paid a lot of money. It would not surprise me if he goes to the Avalanche and tries to negotiate a big-money deal. However, it sounds like he would love even more to keep the band together so they can try and “run it back.”

Back in 2016, MacKinnon signed a 7-year contract extension worth $44.1 million. That’s an average of $6.3 million per year and the Avalanche could hypothetically give MacKinnon another extension worth roughly that same amount.

It would not necessarily be the smart way to go about the business side of things, and it may not even come down to a huge paycheque for MacKinnon. However, if it did come down to that, fans should understand.

This team just won the Stanley Cup. I think that it there could be a chance that some free agents would love to play alongside MacKinnon and other stars on the team for less than other teams might offer them. We’ll see in just a couple of days.

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