The Colorado Avalanche are not trading Cale Makar. They just aren’t. They are going to figure out a contract that makes him happy while doing their best to keep the cap hit low so that they can build around him. However, in a universe where they are unable to come to an agreement, here is one of the few scenarios where it makes sense to trade Makar.
The Avalanche are faced with making the decision to 1.) Make Makar happy, while 2.) Making it so that they can fill in the gaps along the rest of the roster. That’s the tricky part. Even though the salary cap is going up, Makar is still probably going to get between $15-17 million annually.
With that being said, it’s always fun to think of hypothetical scenarios. In this case, it would be the worst-case scenario for Colorado—A scenario where Makar decides to take his talents elsewhere, to a team that is willing to pay him what he wants, and ultimately deserves.
The hypothetical deal would send Makar and Brock Nelson to the former Avalanche rival Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Moritz Seider and forward Dylan Larkin. This would be a win-win for both organizations.
Colorado could also be a dream destination for Larkin, as Nestor Quixtan wrote in June.
For the Avalanche, they would be moving off of a blockbuster contract extension committment with the best defenseman in the league for one of the best defensemen in the league and his AAV of $8.55 million over the next five seasons. Seider will be 30 years old when his current contract runs out.
Colorado would also be adding even more center depth, allowing them some flexibility. Perhaps they could move off of Nelson’s deal ($7.5 million AAV over the next two seasons). It would free up some much-needed space if they did that.
I cannot stress enough that this would never happen, though. The Avalanche want to and will do everything they can to lock Makar up and have him be an Av for life. Ideally, he would take some sort of a discount, but in all honesty, he shouldn’t have to. If the Avalanche value him like every other team would, they would pay up.
If the Avalanche were to acquire Seider, though, they would be getting a top-pair defenseman in return for Makar. He would fit in Makar’s spot alongside Devon Toews, giving Toews a new partner, however odd that may seem. I don’t really think that a new pair partner would be much trouble for Toews.
The Red Wings would welcome Makar with open arms. He would add an offensive boost that the Red Wings would love. The Red Wings haven’t made the postseason since the 2015-16 season. Given that it has been 10 years, they are probably pretty desperate at this point. They want to bring a playoff berth to the city, and adding Makar would be a good way of convincing their fans that they are serious.
Adding Nelson would make up for the loss of Larkin, though not for as long as the Red Wings might hope. But, it would create an opportunity for a long-awaited playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
What would you ask for in return of Cale Makar? It’s a fun exercise that I’d love to hear readers’ opinions on.
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