Cap Comparables: Why Cale Makar became NHL's first $20M player
Cale Makar has signed an eight-year contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche, featuring a record-breaking $20.4 million annual cap hit. This deal makes him the highest-paid player in NHL history, reflecting his status as a dominant defenseman.
Why it matters
The contract sets a new financial benchmark for NHL players, significantly altering the league's salary landscape.
The NHL's cap-hit benchmark has been reset for the third time this summer.
After Anaheim's Leo Carlsson made waves last month by signing an offer sheet that granted him a record $18-million cap hit, and Macklin Celebrini joined the fray with a five-year pact granting him an $18.8-million cap hit, the Colorado Avalanche announced Friday that Cale Makar has inked a hefty eight-year extension that moves the star defenceman onto the cap-hit throne.
Per Makar's agents at Bartlett Hockey, the blue-liner's new deal clocks in at $163.2 million in total, with a record-setting $20.4-million cap hit.
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