Avalanche ink breakout defenseman Malinski to an extension

Sam Malinski isn’t going anywhere.

The Colorado Avalanche signed the breakout defenseman to a four-year contract extension Tuesday, locking up the pending unrestricted free agent through the 2029-30 season. The deal carries an average annual value of $4.75 million, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

The contract represents a significant raise for Malinski, who had just signed a one-year, $1.4 million deal as a pending restricted free agent this past summer.

“Sam is a hard-working defenseman who has great skating and puck-moving ability,” general manager Chris MacFarland said in a news release. “His commitment to the defensive side of the game has turned him into a reliable defenseman for us. We’re excited to have him under contract for the following four seasons.”

The 27-year-old has emerged as one of Colorado’s most reliable blueliners in 2025-26, posting career highs in assists (21), points (24) and plus-minus (+26) through 50 games. He ranks tied for ninth among NHL defensemen in even-strength assists and tied for 18th in even-strength points.

Malinski entered training camp as the team’s sixth defenseman. He now skates alongside Cale Makar on the top pair in Devon Toews’ absence.

The new deal makes Malinski the fourth-highest-paid Colorado defenseman under contract for 2026-27. Next year is the final season of both Makar and Samuel Girard’s current deals. Malinski’s includes no-trade clauses in the first two years and modified no-trade protection in years three and four.

The Lakeville, Minnesota, native went undrafted after four seasons at Cornell University, where he served as captain and earned ECAC First All-Star Team honors twice. Colorado signed him as a college free agent in March of 2023.

Malinski made his NHL debut a few months later in Seattle on Nov. 13, 2023, and has compiled 49 points in 149 career regular-season games. He dressed in five of the Avalanche’s seven playoff games last spring, registering his first postseason point — an assist in Game 3 against Dallas.

The extension was possible on Jan. 1, when Malinski became eligible to sign. Given his production and the looming trade deadline on March 6, MacFarland moved quickly to keep a homegrown piece in place.

Sam Malinski, extended 4x$4.75M by COL, is a two-way puck-moving defenceman who skates really fast and excels at jumping up in the play. An active defender as well. Has been doing very well in a third-pair role but might have the skill to scale it up. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/0kXcgzVIVi

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) January 27, 2026

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