The Colorado Avalanche have signed defenceman Cale Makar to the largest contract in NHL history.
The new deal is for eight years and $163.2 million and carries a record-setting annual cap hit of $20.4 million. Macklin Celebrini briefly held the post of record for highest average annual value with a salary of $18.8 million on the five-year extension he signed last month.
With those deals set to kick in next season, Anaheim Ducks centre Leo Carlsson is set to carry the NHL’s highest cap hit this season at $18 million on the five-year offer sheet he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers that was later matched.
Makar has also blown past the record for the highest cap hit of any defenceman in NHL history, quickly surpassing the $12.5 million AAV Bowen Byram received from the Chicago Blackhawks in July on his six-year, $75 million extension.
The cap hit falls just short of the largest possible under the cap. The maximum cap hit sits at $20.8 million per season - 20 per cent of the current $104 million salary cap.
The deal begins with the 2027-2028 season and the eight-year contract comes ahead of the Sept. 15 deadline for players to sign for that term. As of Sept. 16, the max term for players re-signing while under contract will be seven years, while the maximum for players signing with new teams will be six years.
Makar becomes the eighth player to sign for eight years this summer, joining Ville Koivunen, John Marino, Tyson Foerster, Eetu Luostarinen, Ivan Demidov, Alex Tuch and Darren Raddysh.
The deal comes just days after Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said he was “pretty confident” Makar would sign before the season starts.
Makar, 27, finished second in Norris Trophy voting after recording 20 goals and 79 points in 75 games with the Avalanche last season while registering a plus-32 rating and averaging 24:51 of ice time.
He previously won the Norris Trophy in 2022 and 2025.
Makar added four goals and five points in 11 playoff games while averaging 25:25 before the Avalanche were eliminated in the Western Conference Final.
The 6-foot, right-shot blueliner will spend this year playing under the final season of a six-year, $54 million contract that carries a $9 million cap hit.
Drafted fourth overall by the Avalanche in 2017, Makar has 136 goals and 507 points in 470 career games.
Makar helped the Avalanche win their first Stanley Cup championship in 21 years in 2022. He registered eight goals and 29 points in 20 games while averaging 27:04 of ice time during that run to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
He also won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2020, putting up 12 goals and 50 points in 57 games.
The Calgary native represented Canada at Milano Cortina 2026 in a silver-medal finish. He also helped Canada to a 4 Nations Face-Off victory in 2025 and World Juniors gold in 2018.
