The Colorado Avalanche have the biggest need in all of the NHL this upcoming season to extend Cale Makar, but it’s another contract we’re here to talk about today. That contract is that of Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon has been titled as the league’s best player, by Avalanche fans but also by the PHWA two seasons ago. He had 51 goals and 89 assists in 2023-24. This past season, he bumped his totals up to 53 goals and 74 assists from his 2024-25 campaign of 32 goals and 84 assists.
Needless to say, but MacKinnon has been outstanding for Colorado for such a long time now. It’s actually surprising that his streak of 100+-points seasons only started four seasons ago. Before then, he never quite reached that.
Now, with Friday’s big news of Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson receiving an offer sheet of $18 million by the Philadelphia Flyers off of a five-year term, he’s guaranteed to get that much, even if (when) the Ducks match it, which they are expected to do.
That puts MacKinnon down another spot in terms of AAV. He will now be the sixth-highest paid forward in all of the NHL, which is a sweet deal for the Avalanche. While it’s a matter of timing and perhaps a team/some teams’ willingness to extend players with absurd contracts, the fact that MacKinnon is on a deal that is now sixth-highest in the league is a bargain for Colorado.
It also helps that the salary cap has increased once again. It has increased by $8.5 million for the 2026-27 season and will increase even more by $9.5 million in 2027-28.
Then, there is talk about teams who have at least one player over $10 million AAV never winning a Stanley Cup. Unfortunately, that’s true. It’s not necessarily the sole reason, but it’s simple. The more money you pay your top players, the less money and less of a chance you can land big fish in free agency.
I’m looking forward to seeing whether or not any of the teams who have a player making over $10 million AAV can break the streak at some point. Hopefully that team is the Avalanche, as they’ve not come close enough to even sniff the Stanley Cup Final since they won it all in 2021-22.
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