For all of the talk regarding Cale Makar’s record-setting contract extension, one thing has begun to emerge: Despite the eye-popping numbers, Makar actually did the Avalanche a solid.
How so?
There are two specific reasons why Makar helped the Avalanche while still getting paid.
The first reason lies in his overall cap hit. The contract extension came in at $20.4 million against the cap. Some have posited that the total is just shy of the $20.8 million max 20% limit for an individual contract.
That assessment would be true if the extension kicked in this season. But it doesn’t. Makar’s record-breaking deal will kick in next season, when the cap ceiling will actually jump from $104 million this season to $113.5 million in 2027-28.
Had Makar wanted to push the Avs for the max 20% allocation, his cap hit should have been $22.7 million per season.
Hence, Makar did the Avalanche a favor by taking $20.4 million per season. This is a very important point. If Makar were really greedy and wanted to push the Avs to the brink, he could have asked for at least $22 million.
And what was Joe Sakic going to do?
He would have had no choice but to pay up. As Sakic himself admitted, the Makar extension wasn’t really a negotiation. So, if Makar’s camp really wanted to stick it to Colorado, the Avs would have to pay or risk losing the game’s best defenseman.
Makar agreed to sign long-term with Avalanche
The other reason that shows that Makar did the Avalanche a solid was by signing for the max term of eight years. Yes, Colorado was pushing for the max amount. But Makar could have pushed back and signed a short-term deal.
If he had really wanted to go that route, again, what was Sakic going to do?
Makar’s camp could have dug its heels in the sand and demanded a three or even four-year deal. Makar would have been 30 or 31 when the deal expired, lining him up for one more massive payday.
At that point, say, around 2030 or 2031, with the cap presumably much higher, Makar could have demanded $25 million or more per season.
Again, what was Joe Sakic going to do?
If you really think about it, Makar virtually had all the leverage heading into this negotiation. The only thing that the Avalanche could have threatened Makar with was trading him to a team he didn’t really want to go to.
Doing so, however, would have been akin to pushing the red button. The blast would have soured the relationship so much that the Avalanche would have essentially destroyed the team the organization has spent over a decade building.
In the end, Makar did the Avalanche a favor. And the organization responded in kind.
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