The mere suggestion of trading Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon should be enough to send Colorado Avalanche fans heading for their stress tabs. It seems outrageous that a team with two bona fide superstars would see itself forced to trade one or both.
But that’s the reality the Avalanche could face. And it raises a fair question: Do the Avs have any untouchables on their roster?
Let’s pause for a moment to note that no player is untradeable. The 1988 Wayne Gretzky trade proved that even the Great One could be traded. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances that led to that trade.
But heck, Gretzky actually got traded twice.
That said, are MacKinnon and Makar truly untouchable? On the surface, yes. There is no way the Avalanche are trading either one. Not even a once-in-a-century pandemic could break up Colorado’s core.
That said, there might be a case in which the Avalanche could see themselves forced to trade Makar or MacKinnon. And it would involve a complex chain of events.
Dissolution of Avalanche core would start with Makar
The dissolution of the Avalanche core would begin with Makar. The trigger would be a suddenly unreasonable contract demand from Makar. While the Avalanche would essentially pay whatever Makar wants, a max deal of, say, $20.8 million AAV could trash Colorado’s cap structure.
It’s not that Makar isn’t worth it. In a market without a cap, Makar would be looking at Shohei Ohtani money. The thing is that Makar maxing out his cap hit could lead to a cascading effect in which the Avs would have to dump contracts. Veterans like Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, and Devon Toews could find themselves on the block.
Other complementary pieces like Nic Roy and Artturi Lehkonen would likely depart via free agency next summer.
There’s no telling how Colorado could replace such pieces with a more limited cap allocation. And those restrictions could lead to the team’s decline. A decline could lead to further pressure to win with limited resources.
Yes, the cap will be going up in the next couple of seasons. But it might entail the Avalanche taking a couple of steps back before the rising cap allows the team to attract top free agents and restock the club’s depth.
By then, would MacKinnon and Makar force the organization’s hand, demanding moves designed to help the team get back to its championship caliber? Would a couple of playoff misses ultimately lead to trade requests?
It’s a doomsday scenario to be sure. It would take gross mismanagement from Joe Sakic and company to see the Avalanche descend into such a scenario.
While highly unlikely, it’s not impossible. That’s why the Avs must ensure that Cale Makar’s next contract is both fair and reasonable for the team’s Stanley Cup aspirations.
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