Sakic acknowledges getting an extension done with MacKinnon is a priority
Jul 8, 2022, 11:45 AM
With the offseason in full swing for the Colorado Avalanche, all the talk is around their free agents.
The team is going to let goalie Darcy Kuemper walk after trading for Alexandar Georgiev on Thursday, and is also apparently close to re-signing key forward Valeri Nichushkin.
But even with the future of Stanley Cup champions Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky and Josh Manson uncertain, there’s another priority on Avalanche GM Joe Sakic’s radar. And that is locking up Nathan MacKinnon to a massive contract extension before he’s set to hit free agency next summer.
“I mean, it doesn’t have to be before free agency. Obviously, (MacKinnon’s) got another year, but we’re hoping to have something done with him, an extension, this summer,” Sakic said at the 2022 NHL Draft on Thursday night.
MacKinnon signed a lucrative, seven-year contract worth $44.1 million back in 2016, but that looks like a bargain now. Making only $6.3 million a season means the best player on the Avs is in line to nearly double his average annual salary.
The 26-year-old has been dominant the last five seasons, recording 442 points (167 goals, 275 assists) in 338 games. That’s good for third in the NHL over that span. He was fantastic in the Stanley Cup playoffs, recording 24 points and leading the Avs with 13 postseason goals.
How the MacKinnon extension affects other free agents this offseason is certainly something Sakic is considering.
“It has to be because we have to look to the future. We have a kind of a ballpark, well we believe we have a ballpark on where that’s going to go,” Sakic said of the impending MacKinnon extension.
While it would be amazing to have all the free agents for the Avs back, that’s obviously not realistic. The team has about $25 million in cap space, and that’s going to disappear quickly. MacKinnon deserves to make the most money on the team and finish his career in Colorado. He’s earned the right to that extension this summer and not have to wait until next year.
How will it all shake out? Stay tuned, because just 11 days after the Avs won their third Cup, the NHL offseason is already off and running.
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