The Colorado Avalanche have one of the best, if not the best, players in the NHL right now (that’s a debate that fans can go on and on with forever) in Nathan MacKinnon. They signed MacKinnon to an extension several years ago with an AAV of $12.6 million. With today’s breaking news of Kirill Kaprizov signing a $17 million deal with the Minnesota Wild, MacKinnon’s deal looks pretty sweet.
I’ve always been of the mindset that, in hockey, it is best not to pay a ton of players north of $10 million. That’s just not a great way of building a winning team. I always look to the Toronto Maple Leafs in this instance. In 2021-22, they had three players making $10 million or more. Even with a rising salary cap, the Avalanche have just MacKinnon making eight-figures (north of $10 million). Cale Makar, who is going to need an extension soon, is making $9 million on his current deal.
In 319 career regular season games, Kaprizov has scored 185 goals and recorded 201 assists. Though MacKinnon had 80 goals and 146 assists in that same amount of games played, it’s more important to note what the players have done for their team recently. There is so much that goes into why or how a player did better or worse than (insert any name here). There are too many variables to consider. It just matters what they do now.
Obviously, signing MacKinnon to his 8-year, $12.6 million deal was the easiest choice of general manager Chris MacFarland’s career. He’s simply the best player in the world (don’t come after me, Oilers fans). MacKinnon’s deal runs out when he is 35 years old and nearing the end of his career. It wouldn’t surprise me if he played past the length of his current deal, but getting the contract done prior to Kaprizov’s (they obviously had to) is one of the best things to happen to the Avalanche. The timing just worked out so well for them. Even The Athletic views MacKinnon as underpaid.
Imagine if MacKinnon was in need of a contract at the same time as Makar, and at the same time as Kaprizov. If Kaprizov ended up signing first, it would have bumped up MacKinnon’s price substantially. That would have been brutal for Colorado.
Now, I don’t know if the same scenario will happen when it’s time for MacFarland to extend Cale Makar. There’s absolutely no question that Makar is the best defenseman in the NHL. His accolades and even the eye test prove it to be true. Makar is going to end up with a massive extension, and part of that is that he is only 26 years old (for another month).
Money is about to be spent by the Avalanche, but they got their best offensive threat locked up for years to come, and Avalanche fans should be thrilled about the timing.