Joe Sakic drops major Cale Makar contract update as historic extension looms
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Avalanche GM Joe Sakic says he's confident Cale Makar signs a record extension before training camp opens, setting up a new benchmark deal for NHL defensemen.
Cale Makar might be days away from becoming the richest defenseman in hockey history.
Joe Sakic spent Sunday skating in an Avalanche alumni game, but reporters wanted to talk about something else entirely, the contract situation with his franchise cornerstone.
The GM did not sound worried at all.
Makar has been eligible to sign an extension since July 1 and is playing out the final year of a six year deal worth $9 million a season.
Given how much the salary cap has climbed, that's about to look like a bargain.
The cap sits at $104 million for 2026-27, meaning a player could theoretically sign for up to roughly $20.8 million a year.
Nobody expects Makar to hit that ceiling, but a massive raise is coming either way.
Why the timeline matters so much
Sakic made it clear he isn't treating September 15 as some kind of hard cutoff, but he still expects a deal to get done before camp opens.
That lines up with a growing belief around the league that Makar and Quinn Hughes in Minnesota are each watching the other, with whoever signs first setting the market for elite offensive defensemen everywhere.
Makar is a two time Norris Trophy winner who put up 79 points last season and has been arguably the best defenseman alive since he broke into the league full time.
Losing him was never really on the table.
Sakic has said multiple times that Makar will finish his career in Colorado.
What comes next for Colorado
The Avalanche freed up extra room by shipping Valeri Nichushkin to Columbus over the summer, and that flexibility could help push this deal across the finish line.
All signs point to an announcement sometime before puck drop.
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