Joe Sakic explained Cale Makar’s extension timeline

The Avalanche announced on Friday that their generational defenseman signed an eight-year, $163.2 million contract extension. The deal carries an annual average value of $20.4 million that makes him the first player in NHL history to crack the $20 million per season threshold.

The deal surpasses the eight-year, $136 million extension Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov signed last September and eclipses the $18.8 million AAV that San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini agreed to in late July. The new contract kicks in on July 1, 2027, and runs through the 2034-35 season, keeping Makar in an Avalanche sweater until the age of 35.

As soon as the Avalanche were eliminated in the Western Conference Finals by Vegas, Makar’s contract was the biggest storyline hanging over the franchise. It took the entirety of the summer to get across the finish line, but on Monday, GM Joe Sakic sat alongside Makar to announce the deal and walk through the process.

“Both sides wanted the eight years,” – Avalanche GM Joe Sakic in a lengthy answer about the Cale Makar contract. Also called it an “easy negotiation” for the Avalanche and Makar’s camp. pic.twitter.com/Pjl04ieFSn

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) August 31, 2026

Sakic described the timeline in straightforward terms.

“I know we talked right after the season. Just what both sides were thinking at the start, then we just, we waited,” Sakic offered. “There was a lot of stuff going on, getting ready for the draft, free agency. And we just pushed it through the summer.”

The real negotiations didn’t pick up until mid-July, but once they started, the biggest piece fell into place immediately.

“It was mid-July when we started our conversation. Both sides, there wasn’t one conversation on term. Both sides wanted the eight years,” Sakic said.

And unlike some high-profile contract negotiations that drag on with contentious back-and-forth, Sakic made it sound like this one was remarkably smooth.

“And it really didn’t take a lot of time,” Sakic added. “In the summer, things happen slower than they would during the regular season. But it really was an easy negotiation.”

Makar is coming off a season in which he posted 20 goals and 79 points, becoming the first defenseman in over 30 years to hit 20 goals in three consecutive seasons. The two-time Norris Trophy winner and 2022 Conn Smythe recipient has been the heartbeat of this Avalanche roster since arriving as the fourth overall pick in 2017.

The deal was always going to get done. Both sides knew it. And now, with Makar locked in for the next nine years, Colorado can shift its full attention toward bringing the Stanley Cup back to the Mile High City.

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