Cale Makar's next contract might be closer than fans think, and the messaging out of Colorado just got a lot more optimistic.
Joe Sakic said this week he's "pretty confident" Makar will sign an extension before the season starts, according to a report from DNVR Avalanche relayed by Gino Hard on Sunday.
The reigning Norris finalist is entering a pivotal stretch of his contract timeline. Makar posted 79 points in 75 games this season, with 59 assists.
He was even better once the games got tighter. Four goals and five points in 11 playoff outings, a -1 rating in his final five games.
Sakic reportedly isn't worried about the eight-year deadline tied to Makar's next deal. He believes both sides will land somewhere comfortable, whatever the term ends up being.
That's a notably calm tone for a negotiation involving one of the league's best defensemen. No urgency, no tension, just confidence.
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Cale Makar contract bombshell may be coming sooner than expected
Makar carries a $9,000,000 cap hit on his current deal. Whatever comes next will almost certainly reset that number significantly higher.
Colorado finished the regular season at 55-16-11, tops in the league with 121 points and a staggering plus-99 goal differential. Makar is a massive piece of why that happened.
Losing him, even hypothetically, isn't something this front office can afford to gamble on. The Avalanche built this era of hockey around him.
Head coach Jared Bednar has leaned on Makar in every situation that matters, power play, penalty kill, closing minutes. That kind of usage doesn't get replaced by internal options.
Signing a $9,000,000 defenseman to a bigger extension is a bit like trying to renew a lease you already know is about to spike. Everyone sees it coming, the only question is by how much.
There's no reported deadline pressure yet, and camp hasn't opened. But if Sakic's read on the room is accurate, this gets resolved well before puck drop.
For a fan base that's watched contract sagas drag out elsewhere around the league, calm confidence from the top is exactly the kind of signal Colorado needed heading into the season.
Should the Avalanche give Cale Makar the richest defenseman contract in NHL history?
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