New report just leaked Cale Makar's projected next contract

The latest buzz floating around the NHL circles pegs Makar's next deal near sixteen million dollars per season, a number that jumps off the page and rattles cap spreadsheets across the league. The chatter picked up this week as projections around the rising salary cap gained traction.

James Wilson from NHL Trade Rumors writes that right now, nothing has changed in real terms. Makar, 27, remains signed through the 2026-27 season on the six-year, fifty-four million dollar extension he signed in 2021, carrying a nine million dollar cap hit. That deal still looks team-friendly every time he steps on the ice.

The rumor itself comes from a speculative report suggesting Makar could reset the defense market when extension talks eventually begin. The logic is familiar. Elite forwards are pushing fifteen million annually, and Makar is not just a defenseman, he is a franchise driver.

From a pure hockey standpoint, it is hard to argue against the valuation. Makar has already won a Norris Trophy, a Conn Smythe, and a Stanley Cup, while averaging well over a point per game from the blue line during his prime seasons. His skating tilts the ice, his exits are clean, and Colorado's power play flows through him.

Here is where the fan brain kicks in. Everyone knows he is worth every dollar on the ice, but sixteen million still feels like a gulp moment when you picture the rest of the roster.

Colorado's front office has lived in this space before. Nathan MacKinnon reset the market on his last extension, and Mikko Rantanen's deal once felt massive before it aged gracefully. The Avalanche have shown they will pay elite talent and then solve the rest creatively.

It is also important to slow the conversation down. This is not a negotiation leak, not a team comment, and not a league source confirming talks. It is a projection based on market direction and comparable contracts, nothing more.

The Avalanche still have multiple seasons before any pressure point arrives. Until then, Makar remains the engine of a contender, playing prime minutes, driving possession, and giving Colorado a nightly advantage few teams can match.

In the end, this story is less about panic and more about appreciation. Colorado has Cale Makar under contract right now, and that alone keeps the championship window wide open.