The Colorado Avalanche have signed right-shot defenseman Sam Malinski to a contract extension on Tuesday, the team announced. The extension is for an impressive four years, which puts him under contract through the 2029-30 season. He will be 31 by then.
Malinski has impressed the Avalanche and head coach Jared Bednar. Through 50 games, he has just three goals but also 21 assists, which is a career-high for him at the NHL level. He went undrafted but signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Avs in 2023 and even earned an additional one-year contract.
This contract extension holds a $4.75 million cap hit every year as well as base salaries of $5.5 million in 2026-27 and then $4.5 million in each of the last three years. It also consists of the following: “no-trade” clauses in 2026-27 and 2027-28, as well as a modified no-trade clause in the last two years of the extension.
That’s smart for Malinski. I don’t expect him to have a major drop-off as far as potentially making the Avalanche think of trading him—especially in the first two years of his extension. Having the modified no-trade clause in the last two years of the extension gives him more control of where he’d want to go if it ever came down to it. Avalanche fans will want to see the young defender shine and continue to earn that extension.
Malinski has averaged 16:43 of ice time this season, an uptick compared to his first two seasons in the league. The result of two things have played into that increase of ice time: His overall play and the injury to defenseman Devon Toews, who is making some progress in his rehab, but still a little ways away from returning to the team as far as in games.
Malinski has played in every single game this year, which cannot be said for either of his first two years. It’s clear the Avalanche have a lot of faith in him, and he has been compensated for how well he has done.