On August 28, 2026, the Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Cale Makar to an eight-year contract extension worth $163.2 million, carrying a $20.4 million average annual value. The deal, which begins with the 2027-28 season and runs through 2034-35, makes Makar the first player in NHL history to average $20 million a season — and the highest-paid player in the league by a wide margin.
For context on how fast that number arrived: Makar's own previous contract, signed back in 2022, paid him $9 million a year. His new deal is more than double that, and it comes on the heels of an offseason that had already reset the market twice — the Anaheim Ducks signed Leo Carlsson to an $18 million annual deal, and the San Jose Sharks locked up Macklin Celebrini at $18.8 million, both before Makar's number blew past them.
None of this happened in isolation. The NHL's salary cap has been climbing quickly as league revenue grows, and it's projected to keep climbing — potentially past $120 million within two seasons and $130 million within three. A player earning $20.4 million against a $113.5 million cap represents about 18% of the team's total cap space, a big number in absolute terms but a more manageable share than it might first appear, especially as the cap ceiling keeps rising underneath it.
Makar's deal also arrived just ahead of a real structural change: starting September 15, 2026, new NHL contract rules cap the maximum length at seven years for a player re-signing with his own team, and six years for a player signing with a new team. Makar's eight-year term got in just before that window closed, making him one of the last players able to sign a deal of that length.
The ripple effects are already visible. Analysts have pointed out that Makar's new number instantly made several other elite, still-productive defensemen — like his own teammate Devon Toews, signed at a comparatively modest $7.25 million a year — look like enormous value by comparison. Other star blueliners reportedly next in line for major extensions, including Quinn Hughes in Minnesota and Zach Werenski in Columbus, will likely use Makar's contract as their opening reference point in future negotiations.
Is $20 million a year sustainable, or an outlier? Given how quickly the salary cap is rising and how routinely each offseason has been resetting the market lately, it's hard to bet against another player crossing that threshold within the next few seasons. Makar got there first — but the direction of NHL salaries points toward him having company before long.