Colorado Avalanche awards Nathan McKinnon 8-year extension of $100.8 million

instead of Nathan McKinnon After owning one of the league’s best-paid deals, he’s now on the cusp of becoming the highest-paid player in the game starting next season.

McKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche have agreed to an eight-year, $100.8 million extension that will carry $12.6 million, sources told ESPN, confirming multiple reports. It’s a deal that will see McKinnon sign the richest contract in the salary cap era. His new deal sees him beat the Edmonton Oilers Conor McDavid for #1 with $100,000 with McDavid’s AAV with $12.5 million.

The agreement will go into effect at the start of the 2023-24 season with the upcoming 2022-23 campaign being the final year of McKinnon’s previous extension which was a seven-year deal that made him earn $6.3 million annually.

The contract status of the Hart Trophy, a three-time Hart Cup finalist, has long been a topic of debate given his level of production and his deal value. McKinnon has averaged 1.31 points per game over the past five seasons.

MacKinnon’s re-signed extension adds to what has been an off-season activity since his third Stanley Cup win in franchise history. General Manager Joe Sakic took over as President with Assistant General Manager Chris MacFarland’s promotion to General Motors. MacFarland has since signed Valery Nesushkin An eight-year extension carries a $6.125 million cap hit while also re-signing Arturi Laconin into a five-year contract worth $4.5 million annually.

It was also an off season that saw Avs lose out on the second streak Nazim Qadri And the goalkeeper Darcy Comber. They sought to make up for those absences by signing Evan Rodriguez For a one-year deal with the expectation that he will compete with her JT Comfier And the Alex Newhawk For the second line center role. Meanwhile, the Avs made a business deal with the New York Rangers for a goalkeeper Alexander Georgievwho will work side by side with Pavel Francos.

Getting a new deal for McKinnon does more than give him the MVP title next season. It also reinforces the latest step Avs has taken when it comes to keeping most of its core components intact. Samuel Gerrard And the Miko Rantanen The first steps in that plan were with both signing extensions in 2019. Gerrard signed a seven-year deal worth $5 million each season while Rantanen signed a six-year deal worth $9.25 million. A year later, they traded Devon Toze She signed a four-year contract with him worth $4.1 million annually.

In 2021, the front office re-signed the captain Gabriel Landskog And the final winner of the 2022 Norris Cup Cal Makar for long term extensions. Landeskog received an eight-year deal worth $7 million annually while Makar received a six-year deal that would net him $9 million annually.

MacKinnon’s massive contract means the avalanche is expected to be worth $13.987 million, according to CapFri Friendly. But there are other considerations they must take into account during the upcoming season. Both Bowen Byram and Newhook, the team’s first-round picks in 2019, in the final year of their entry contracts. Compher is set to be an unrestricted free agent while Rodrigues, who has signed a one-year contract this off-season, could also hit the open market. Veteran defender Eric Johnson The UFA will also be suspended.