The idea of the Colorado Avalanche trading Cale Makar sounds wild on its face, but one writer says it’s not something to completely dismiss.
Adrian Hernandez, an editing contributor for Mile High Hockey, pointed to the way Colorado handled Mikko Rantanen as a reminder that nothing is guaranteed. As he put it:
“Listen, I spent months saying, “there’s no way they don’t sign Mikko Rantanen,” and we saw how that worked out. Now I’m not suggesting the Avs will trade Cale Makar, but I have learned that these deals aren’t a slam dunk anymore.
Cale has all the leverage and yet the org has been open about “We expect him to be reasonable.” That is a dangerous conflict.
Someone has to give in.”
Hernandez said Sept. 15 matters for both sides because it is the deadline for teams to sign unrestricted free agents or pending UFAs to eight-year deals. Once that date passes, the longest contract allowed drops to seven years.
He said, “If that comes and goes, that’s already Cale using his leverage. I’m pretty much expecting 5 x $20AAV at this point.
I would love to be wrong.”
Asked why he doesn’t take Joe Sakic at his word when Sakic said Makar would finish his career in Colorado, Hernandez answered, “I don’t believe that’s up to Mr. Sakic at the end of the day.
Unless he’s willing to pay!” He also noted that Colorado wasn’t willing to pay to keep Rantanen.
Even so, Hernandez’s bigger point is that a trade is at least worth mentioning, even if it still feels unlikely. He emphasized that the Rantanen deal shocked people in Colorado, including Rantanen himself, and said the Makar situation is not a simple done deal.
Makar does not have trade protection, and his $9 million AAV would make him appealing to plenty of teams. Hernandez suggested clubs would view him either as a costly rental or as a player worth a massive package in a sign-and-trade scenario.
Makar was born in Calgary, Alberta, and Hernandez said it isn’t clear whether he’d want to play anywhere besides Colorado. But if he were open to moving, he would have no shortage of suitors. That list would include the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who were in on Zach Werenski, among others.
In Other News...
Nathan MacKinnon Sits At The Center Of Colorados Biggest Debate
Colorados power play was one of the clearer pressure points last season, and it showed up in the standings when the Avalanche finished 27th in the league at 17.1 percent. Even with Nathan MacKinnon driving the offense, the unit never found the kind of rhythm that usually separates a dangerous contender from a team that has to grind for every goal, and that left the Avalanche with more questions than answers heading into the offseason.
MacKinnon still led the club in power-play goals with 11 and topped the roster in points with 127, which is why so much of the discussion around the Avalanches next step keeps circling back to him. If Colorado is going to clean up one of its biggest flaws and put itself in a better position for the postseason, the fix has to come from its best player and the way the entire man-advantage group starts to click around him. [Read more 🡒]
Petterssons Latest Video Has Canucks Fans Wondering Whats Really Going On
Elias Pettersson showing up on the ice in Los Angeles was always going to turn heads, and it did exactly that among Canucks fans already tuned into every ripple around the roster. Any sighting away from Vancouver tends to feed the rumor mill, but in this case the available indication is much more mundane, tied to personal reasons rather than an immediate move that would send the hockey world spinning.
For the Avalanche, the larger market lesson is how quickly contract talk can start to orbit elite stars once one situation gets attention. Cale Makar is heading into the final year of his deal and is expected to be in line for a major extension, the kind of negotiation that naturally invites comparisons to Quinn Hughes contract path, while the rest of the league keeps making room for its own offseason decisions. Edmonton, meanwhile, has cap space and appears poised to look for help up front, with its new coachs system likely shaping how aggressively the Oilers pursue that addition. [Read more 🡒]