The Maple Leafs have found themselves at the center of a strange little salary-cap argument, and it all starts with Darren Raddysh’s new deal. Toronto locked up the pending UFA defenseman, acquired in a sign-and-trade, for eight years at $8.5 million per season. Around the same time, Colorado handed Cale Makar an eight-year extension worth $20.4 million per season.
That gap is the whole story. If the dollars were identical, there’d be no real conversation - Makar is the obvious pick. But the money is very much not identical, and that has opened the door for Maple Leafs fans to argue that they’d rather have Raddysh at $8.5 million than Makar at $20.4 million.
It’s a bold stance, and plenty of people won’t buy it. Still, there’s a real cap-based case behind it.
The argument isn’t that Raddysh is anywhere close to Makar as a player. He isn’t.
The point is that Toronto may be able to get more total value by using that money in pieces rather than tying it all up in one superstar.
Raddysh brings offense, power-play ability, and enough defensive competence to make the contract interesting. At $8.5 million, the Leafs can build around that production in a way Colorado can’t with Makar’s number on the books. The difference between the two cap hits is $11.9 million, and that opens up a lot of possibilities.
That kind of space could mean another top-six forward, help for a shaky third pairing, or several depth additions that make the lineup deeper across the board. It’s not just one extra player, either. Toronto could realistically turn that gap into two or three useful pieces, while Colorado may have to move someone or let another player go to make room for Makar’s salary.
That’s why this debate keeps circling back to roster construction. Cap flexibility can be every bit as valuable as star power, and Toronto is clearly betting on flexibility.
Of course, the comparison has limits. Both contracts run eight years, but they do not line up the same way.
Raddysh signed his eight-year, $68 million extension in June 2026, and it runs through 2033-34. Makar’s eight-year, $163.2 million deal was agreed to this week, but it does not begin until 2027-28 and runs through 2034-35.
Raddysh’s cap hit is already in play, while Makar’s doesn’t hit the books for another season.
And then there’s the talent gap, which is still massive. Makar has the hardware to match the reputation: two Norris Trophies, a Calder Trophy, and a Conn Smythe from Colorado’s 2022 Stanley Cup run. He’s sitting at 507 points in 470 regular-season games and remains one of the most dominant defensemen in the game.
Raddysh is coming off the best season of his career, and it was a big one: 70 points and 22 goals in 73 games. Before that, he had 143 points in his first 249 NHL games combined. That’s a real breakout, but it also puts his profile in perspective.
If he slides back toward the 35-point range, the whole conversation changes fast. Right now, though, Toronto has a defenseman who looks like a power-play weapon and a contract that gives the team room to do more elsewhere.
That’s what makes the Leafs’ side of this debate interesting. Nobody is seriously claiming Raddysh is Makar. The real question is whether the $11.9 million difference is better spent across the roster than concentrated in one transcendent player.
In Other News...
Cale Makar Does More For The Avalanche Than Most Fans Realize
Cale Makar has built a reputation around the kind of brilliance that shows up on highlight reels, but his value to the Avalanche goes well beyond the offensive instincts that usually get the attention. What stands out just as much is how well he reads the game from the back end, plays angles, uses his physicality when needed, and helps shut down chances before they become problems.
He also gives Colorado something harder to quantify: a steadying presence in the room and on the ice. Makar has taken on a leadership role without being the loudest voice in it, and his soft-spoken style comes with accountability for how the team performs. For an Avalanche group that leans on him in so many ways, that mix of defensive work and responsibility may be the part fans appreciate most when they look past the flashy plays. [Read more 🡒]
Why Avalanche Fans Should See Cale Makar's Deal Differently
Lane Hutsons new eight-year, $70.8 million extension with Montreal has already started the usual round of cross-league comparisons, but those numbers do not translate neatly to Cale Makar and the Avalanche. NHL analyst Marco DAmico pointed out that the two contracts were built at very different points in the players careers, with Hutson getting an early long-term commitment before he could reach unrestricted free agency and Makar signing after years of proving himself as one of the sports defining defensemen.
For Colorado fans, the bigger takeaway is that Makars eight-year, $163.2 million deal was never just about setting a market number for young defensemen. It reflected sustained elite play and postseason success, the kind of resume that changes how a team structures its future. So while Hutsons extension will inevitably get attention, Avalanche supporters should view Makars deal through the lens of achievement and timing rather than as a simple point of comparison. [Read more 🡒]
Maple Leafs Fans Are Already Feeling Hockeys New Price Reality
The Maple Leafs have spent the summer reminding everyone that demand, not recent results, still drives the hockey business. Season-ticket prices for 2026-27 are already out, and the sticker shock comes at a time when Toronto has given fans plenty of reasons to hesitate. The bigger backdrop is just as hard to ignore: CBC has stepped out of national NHL coverage, Sportsnet now holds the exclusive rights, and the cost of following the league is climbing along with the bill for one of its most expensive teams to watch.
For Avalanche fans, the part that matters most is how this new ceiling keeps rising across the sport. Cale Makars eight-year, $163.2 million deal pushed him into territory no NHL player had reached before, clearing the way for a salary structure that could reshape negotiations everywhere else. In Colorado, where elite talent already sets the standard, that kind of benchmark is likely to echo through future cap planning and player asks, even if the exact ripple effects are still playing out. [Read more 🡒]