Colorado Avalanche have Cale Makar to worry about
Part of the Rantanen trade fallout is the potential franchise-altering decision that looms for the Colorado Avalanche. Cale Makar will become a free agent after the 2026-27 season. Makar currently holds a $9 million cap hit and will get paid.
This point is not negotiable. Makar will get paid. In fact, with the cap going up as it is projected it will, Makar could easily sail past the $12 million AAV mark. Makar stands to become the highest-paid defenseman in NHL history.
At that point, both the Avalanche and MacKinnon will need to come to grips with reality. Makar will easily make $14 if he continues to play the way he has.
That situation means the team will have nearly $30 million tied up in two players. That situation could potentially become dangerous as the Avalanche, despite the increase in the cap ceiling, may struggle to round out the team.
This season has shown that the Avs have lacked depth. The rash of injuries early in the season decimated the Avalanche’s ability to win games. Then, inconsistency hit the team, prompting more changes, especially in the bottom six.
Between Makar’s new contract and the need for reliable depth, the Avalanche had to make a tough choice. That choice involved sacrificing Mikko Rantanen.
In my estimation, if Rantanen was serious about giving Colorado the hometown discount, he would have made that clear a while ago. If anything, a deal would already be done by now.
It seems to me that Rantanen’s camp wanted to play hardball. The Avalanche wouldn’t budge and they swapped contract issues with the Hurricanes. The Canes will do everything they can to keep Rantanen. But there might be a team willing to pony up and pay Rantanen what he believea he’s worth.
It will certainly be an interesting summer.