The Nathan MacKinnon deal is done and completely official.

He signed his massive eight-year contract extension after the Avalanche’s charity golf tournament on Tuesday afternoon at The Ridge at Castle Pines. The deal is reportedly worth $12.6 million per year, which makes MacKinnon the highest paid player in the NHL. He’ll play the upcoming season on his current deal before the new one kicks in before next year.

MacKinnon signed the deal in front of the media, teammates, employees and sponsors. He was joined by Avs GM Chris MacFarland, president Joe Sakic and owner Josh Kroenke.

VIDEO: Nathan MacKinnon, Chris MacFarland, Josh Kroenke and Joe Sakic make his record breaking deal with the @Avalanche official 💰 #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/RVDsRyYwbO

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) September 20, 2022

MacKinnon said it was important to get the deal done before the season, mostly to eliminate any possible distractions.

“Yeah, it was a relief. I didn’t want to play out the season without a deal. I didn’t want to talk about it and think about it. I just want to be part of the team and try to win another Cup this season. A big weight off my shoulders. Obviously, really lucky to get a deal like this, and yeah, it feels great,” Mackinnon said.

Sakic, the greatest Avalanche player of all-time, shared how important it was to keep MacKinnon in Colorado for likely the rest of his NHL career.

“He’s an Avalanche. He’s been an Avalanche for the last nine years, 10 years. And he’s going to remain an Avalanche throughout his carer. And I think that’s important. It shows a lot of loyalty. I know Nathan wanted to get this done. We wanted to get it done. And he’s a franchise player,” Sakic said.

I asked MacKinnon if the new deal increases the pressure on him and the rest of the core to win multiple Stanley Cups during the next nine years. He said he embraces those expectations, and added “there’s no reason we can’t repeat.”

That journey to repeat starts soon. The Avs will open training camp on Thursday, with the first regular season game at home on October 12 against the Blackhawks.

MacKinnon putting pen to paper makes this offseason feel truly complete. And now it’s just time to go win it all again.

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