Avalanche Are About to Enter Their Most Expensive Era Yet
The Colorado Avalanche have spent years assembling one of hockey's most enviable collections of superstar talent. Now comes the fun part, which is keeping enough talent around them to win another Stanley Cup.
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar give the Avalanche two of the NHL's premier players, while Martin Necas has added another high-end piece to a core built to contend for years.
The Avalanche have made their intentions clear and that is they are willing to pay a premium to keep elite talent in Denver.
Spending $163.2 million over eight years to extend Makar was not only a no-brainer, it was a non-negotiable. He's a franchise cornerstone and arguably the game's best defenseman.
"You can't win without superstars," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said when the extension was announced, according to Derek Van Diest of NHL.com.
Makar's deal begins in 2027-28 and will carry a $20.4 AAV, while MacKinnon is at $12.6 million and Necas comes in at $11.5 million. Van Diest stated MacKinnon, Makar, and Necas will account for $44.5 million, or 39.2% of the projected $113.5 million salary cap in 2027-28.
When that much money is concentrated at the top, the Avalanche need to find production from cheaper players in the form of entry-level contracts, inexpensive veterans, reclamation projects and internally developed players.
A team paying premium prices for established players can't continually fill every roster hole through expensive veterans or trades. Cheap NHL-ready talent becomes enormously valuable.
An inexpensive 15-goal winger or reliable third-pair defenseman might not generate the attention of a Makar extension, but those are exactly the types of players who allow teams with expensive stars to remain deep.
The 2022 Championship Provides the Standard
MacKinnon and Makar were the foundation of the 2022 Stanley Cup championship, but Colorado's strength was that elite talent didn't have to do everything.
The Avalanche had quality throughout the lineup. They don't have to recreate that exact team from four years ago, but can management recreate that level of depth under a completely different financial structure?
Sakic and the Avalanche aren't hiding their philosophy. They've chosen superstars in MacKinnon, Makar, and Necas.
Sakic's job has transitioned from acquiring elite players to finding value everywhere else.
The Avalanche have already answered the hardest question facing most NHL franchises. Where will its elite talent come from?
The next question may ultimately determine whether another Stanley Cup follows and how much championship talent can Sakic fit around it.
Jason Fink is an NHL writer and lifelong hockey fan who fell in love with the game when he watched Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers defeat the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final. When he’s not writing, Jason enjoys spending time with his wife Michelle and their son Theo and daughter Stella. Whether he’s following the latest NHL news or cheering from the rink, his passion for the sport has been a constant throughout his life.