As the NHL races toward the September 16 deadline for signing eight-year contracts, the Colorado Avalanche have already handled most of their heavy lifting and can afford to watch the frenzy unfold.
They’ve locked up Cale Makar on the richest contract in NHL history, and with training camp opening this week they already have 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders on the roster. On paper, they’re in a strong place and should again be among the Western Conference’s better teams, barring disastrous injury luck.
The one lingering question is Artturi Lehkonen.
Lehkonen is heading into the final season of a five-year deal that carries a $4.5 million cap hit, and he has clearly outperformed it. The timing makes this even trickier: his contract is expiring right as salaries across the league keep climbing.
This morning, the Washington Capitals handed Ryan Leonard an eight-year deal worth $10.5 million per season. Leonard is coming off a 45-point year, so it does feel early for that kind of commitment, even if he is only 21 years old.
Leonard is not a direct comparison for Lehkonen. He’s simply the latest sign of a market where players are getting paid. And it’s only been 12 months since people criticized the Avalanche for giving Martin Necas $11.5 million per year, only for him to answer with a 100-point season.
Lehkonen is a different kind of player, and that makes his next contract harder to pin down. Still, that’s the puzzle here, and it’s worth trying to solve.
In Other News...
Martin Necas Just Gave Avalanche Fans Another Reason To Love This Core
Martin Necas arrived in Colorado with the kind of upside that can change a teams ceiling, and his first full season with the Avalanche did exactly that. After being acquired from Carolina and then signing an eight-year extension in October 2025, he delivered career highs across the board, finishing with 38 goals, 62 assists and 100 points in 78 games while quickly looking like a natural fit in the Avalanches core.
The rest of the league took notice, too, with NHL Network placing him No. 49 on its top 50 players list and TSN ranking him No. 31. For Avalanche fans, the encouraging part is not just the production but the way Necas has already started to justify the long-term commitment, giving Colorado another high-end piece to build around as it keeps pushing to stay among the NHLs elite. [Read more 🡒]
Alex Newhook Just Became An Avalanche Trade Reminder Again
Alex Newhooks rise in Montreal has quietly turned into another reminder of what Colorado gave up when it moved him out of the organization. Since arriving with the Canadiens, the former Avalanche forward has settled in as a useful middle-six piece, the kind of player teams lean on to keep the lineup moving and the offense balanced. Now Montreal has locked him up for the long term, a sign that his game has earned real trust beyond just being part of the return in a past deal.
The new four-year extension, which begins in the 2026-27 season, also shows how the Canadiens see his role growing as the cap picture changes around the league. For Colorado, it is the sort of development that naturally reopens the conversation around a familiar trade, because Newhook is no longer just a former first-round pick finding his way. He is a proven NHL regular on a team that clearly plans to keep him around. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Face One Big Question As Pressure Builds On Aging Core
The Avalanche are heading into a stretch where the conversation is less about what they already accomplished and more about how long this version can keep holding together. Coming off a Presidents Trophy season, Colorado has the kind of core that still gives it a high floor, but there are real questions about whether an aging roster can keep matching the pace that made the team so dangerous in the first place.
There is also a quieter layer to the outlook: the roster stability that helps the Avalanche stay competitive could end up making the next step harder, especially if some of the speed concerns around older players become more noticeable. At the same time, the team does have younger options who could tilt the balance back in its favor, which leaves Colorado with the kind of season-long tension that can swing either way well before 2026-27 is over. [Read more 🡒]