Avalanche Signs MacKinnon To Achieve $12.6M AAV On Eight-Year Extension – TSN.ca

The Colorado Avalanche have signed Star Forward Nathan MacKinnon to an eight-year contract extension that will make him the highest-paid player per year in NHL history.

MacKinnon will carry an average annual value of $12.6 million on the deal, which will begin in the 2023-24 NHL season. The total value of the contract is $100.8 million, which TSN Hockey insider Pierre LeBrun reports includes $85.34 million in bonus funds.

The 27-year-old will excel Connor McDavidwho currently has the league’s highest cap hit at $12.5 million.

“Nathan is obviously one of the best players in the NHL, so we wanted to get a long-term overtime done before the season started,” said Chris MacFarland, Avalanche general manager. “He has that rare combination of speed and power with a high level of competition that makes him a generational player. We look forward to having him as a member of this team and community for many years to come.”

MacKinnon, who is entering the final season of a seven-year, $44.1 million contract with an average annual value of $6.3 million, said last week he was poised to overtake the title of NHL’s most underpaid star .

“I think the deal I’m going to sign is going to be fair,” MacKinnon said at the NHL Player Media Tour. “It’s not going to be single digits or anything, but it’s going to be good for both parties, and Denver is the only place I want to be. I want to be an Av for life.”

MacKinnon led the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in June, scoring 13 goals and 24 points in the postseason. He had 32 goals and 88 points in 65 games during the regular season, surpassing points-a-game mark for the fifth straight year on his bargain deal.

“It’s not what you want, that’s for sure — it’s not the title you’re looking for,” MacKinnon joked of the most underpaid label. “But I’m glad I won a trophy.”

MacKinnon joins the $10 million club

The product of Cole Harbour, NS becomes the 14th player to have a cap hit of $10 million or more in the 2023-24 season. The same number of players will carry cap hits over $10 million this season, but Chicago Blackhawks stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Tows are both playing off the last of their eight-year, $10.5 million AAV contracts signed in 2014.

Calgary Flames winger Jonathan Huberdeau was previously named to the 2023-24 roster after signing an eight-year, $84 million ($10.5 million AAV) extension, which he agreed to shortly after his acquisition from the Florida Panthers last month would have.

MacKinnon has also become the highest-paid player at the Avalanche, ranking ahead of his fellow forwards Mikko Rantanen ($9.25M AAV) and defenders Kal Makar ($9 million).