Elliotte Friedman's Cale Makar update may have a very different meaning
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Elliotte Friedman said Cale Makar won't max out. The Avalanche holdup may be about term, not money, with a Sept. 15 deadline closing fast.
Cale Makar still has no extension, and the reason may not be money at all.
What Friedman actually said
On the 32 Thoughts podcast in July, Elliotte Friedman predicted Makar will get whatever he asks for. He also bet that Makar would not max out.
Almost everyone read that as dollars, assuming a discount under the projected $20.8 million ceiling.
Nobody tested the other reading, which is term.
That matters because the eighth year is Colorado's asset, not Makar's. Under the new CBA, teams lose the ability to re-sign their own players for eight years on Sept. 16.
An eighth year would cover Makar's age-36 season, a cheaper season that pulls the average annual value down for the Avalanche.
For Makar, it means being locked in until 2035 while the cap climbs from $104 million this coming season to $113.5 million in 2027-28.
The Hughes precedent nobody applied here
Quinn Hughes is reportedly weighing a three-year deal in Minnesota while the Wild push for five to eight years. Friedman expects the shorter term to win.
Those talks keep getting bundled with the new contracts for Leo Carlsson, Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard in the daily rumor mill.
The comparison almost always stops at price. It should stop at term, because elite defensemen are the ones now treating short deals as leverage instead of risk.
Colorado Hockey Now noted there is no indication Makar isn't seeking the full eight years. There is no indication he is, either.
Pierre LeBrun reported in early August that Makar and Joe Sakic had barely started serious negotiations. A player chasing a record eight-year payday signs that deal in July.
At 27, Makar could take five years, reach free agency at 33 and sell his prime a second time into a far bigger cap.
Sept. 15 is the real tell.
If it passes quietly, this was never about the number.
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