Cale Makar is staying in Denver for a very long time, and it's going to cost the Colorado Avalanche more than any team has ever paid a hockey player. The star defenseman announced Friday afternoon that he agreed to an eight-year contract carrying a $20.4 million cap hit per season, a deal worth $163.2 million that runs through 2035 and stands as the largest contract in NHL history.
The extension does not kick in immediately. As reported by The Denver Post, Makar has one season remaining on his current contract, a six-year, $54 million pact he signed on July 24, 2021. That deal carries a $9 million cap hit for 2026-27 before the new $20.4 million annual rate takes effect on July 1, 2027, according to Denver Sports.
The timing lines up with a league-wide financial surge. Under an agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players' Association reached in January 2025, the salary cap upper limit rises to $95.5 million for 2025-26, $104 million for 2026-27, and a projected $113.5 million for 2027-28, per the NHLPA. That growth is what made a $20.4 million annual hit feasible for Colorado in the first place.
Near the Legal Ceiling on Salary
The NHL's Collective Bargaining Agreement caps any individual player's contract at 20% of the team salary cap upper limit, which means Makar's $20.4 million average annual value sits near the maximum allowable amount under the 2026-27 cap of $20.8 million, as detailed by Denver Sports. That figure represents roughly 18% of the projected 2027-28 cap of $113.5 million, effectively locking in near-maximum leverage for Makar under league rules.
His number now tops every other blockbuster signed this summer. Denver Sports reports Makar's cap hit eclipses San Jose center Macklin Celebrini's five-year, $94 million deal with an $18.8 million cap hit beginning in 2027-28, as well as Anaheim center Leo Carlsson's five-year, $90 million offer sheet — matched by the Ducks over Philadelphia — carrying an $18 million cap hit that makes Carlsson the most expensive player for 2026-27. Minnesota forward Kirill Kaprizov's $17 million average annual value also now trails Makar's, per the same account.
Before this summer's spending spree, the largest contract in NHL history by total value belonged to Alex Ovechkin's 13-year, $124 million deal with the Washington Capitals signed in 2008, a total Makar's $163.2 million extension surpasses by nearly $40 million, according to Boardroom. Erik Karlsson had held the highest-paid defenseman status for six seasons on an eight-year, $92 million contract signed in June 2019 that carries an $11.5 million cap hit, per The Denver Post's reporting — though Karlsson is still set to hold the largest average annual value among defensemen for 2026-27 until Makar's new number takes over the following year.
A Résumé Built for Franchise History
Makar was Colorado's No. 4 selection in the 2018 NHL draft, and the Avalanche have spent the years since watching him rewrite the franchise record book. He holds Colorado's all-time regular-season records among defensemen for goals (136), assists (371), points (507), power-play goals (45), and power-play points (208), along with playoff defensemen records of 26 goals and 90 points, according to NHL.com. Per The Denver Post, he has 136 goals and 507 points in 470 career regular-season games, and 26 goals and 90 points in 90 playoff games — a 1.0 points-per-game postseason average.
He reached 400 career regular-season points in just 374 games in October 2025, making him the third-fastest defenseman in NHL history to the mark behind Hall of Famers Bobby Orr (333 games) and Paul Coffey (359 games), per NHL.com. The Denver Post also notes Makar and Orr are the only players in league history to be Norris Trophy finalists in six of their first seven NHL seasons; Makar has won the award twice and needs one more to become the 10th player with three career wins, putting him among 14 defensemen with multiple Norris wins.
His trophy case extends well beyond the Norris. Makar won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2019-20, took home the Conn Smythe Trophy when Colorado won the Stanley Cup in 2022, and helped Canada win both the IIHF World Junior Championship and the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, per The Denver Post. He also won the Hobey Baker Award as a sophomore at UMass, twice won the Alberta Junior Hockey League title with the Brooks Bandits, and earned AJHL MVP honors before turning pro. Last winter, Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Devon Toews won silver medals together for Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Makar made an immediate mark in the NHL, too. Called up directly from UMass for Game 3 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, he scored a goal 16:02 into his first period, becoming the first defenseman in league history to score a postseason goal in his NHL debut, per NHL.com.
What It Means for Colorado's Payroll
The extension locks Makar in alongside the two other pillars of Colorado's roster. Nathan MacKinnon signed an eight-year, $100.8 million extension in September 2022 that carries a $12.6 million cap hit, and Devon Toews signed a seven-year, $50.75 million contract in October 2023 with a $7.25 million cap hit, according to The Leafs Nation. By committing to Makar through 2035 on top of those two deals, the Avalanche have locked in a massive share of their future payroll ceiling to a top-heavy talent structure, per the same outlet's reporting.
Makar was represented in negotiations by agents Scott, Brian, and Steve Bartlett of Bartlett Hockey, the same agency that secured his 2021 deal and has negotiated long-term extensions for young defensemen including Minnesota's Brock Faber ($68 million) and Utah's Logan Cooley ($80 million), according to the agency's own client history. The Denver Post also notes another recent defenseman megadeal around the league: Bowen Byram signed a six-year, $75 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 1, 2026, carrying a $12.5 million cap hit.
Makar turns 28 on October 30, meaning the bulk of this extension covers what should be the prime years of his career. One open question hanging over the deal, as Denver Sports frames it, is how Colorado builds affordable depth around three-plus stars once Makar's cap hit jumps from $9 million to $20.4 million in 2027. Another is what this contract means for other elite defensemen still unsigned — Makar and Vancouver's Quinn Hughes both entered the final year of their current contracts this offseason and were eligible for extensions, but as of this signing, Hughes and the Minnesota Wild have not agreed to a new deal.
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