Cale Makar’s new extension has already redrawn the top of the NHL salary board, and the ripple effect could reach more than one star player. At $163.2 million over eight years, Makar’s deal is the richest total contract in league history, and he becomes the first player to reach the $20 million mark in average annual value.
The length matters just as much as the money. Makar chose the maximum term, a clear sign of commitment to the Colorado Avalanche at a time when elite players have leaned shorter to keep their options open and maximize earnings later. That decision gives the deal even more weight, because it tells the rest of the league that a true monster number can still come attached to long-term security.
That’s where Quinn Hughes comes in. The expectation remains that Hughes will still aim for a three-year deal, one that lines up with Jack Hughes’ contract, with the possibility that the brothers could eventually land together with a new team.
The Minnesota Wild will try to push for a longer term, but they also understand the possibility of using that pitch to try to bring Jack in down the road. On the money side, $17 million had been the working range for both Hughes and Makar, though the Avalanche star’s longer term likely pushed the overall price even higher.
If Hughes does land on a three-year pact, it would probably come in below Makar’s number, even if it stays close.
Connor Hellebuyck is now the other major name drawing attention after making his trade request public. The Winnipeg Jets were already operating like a team staring at a difficult decision, and the request only made it more obvious. Hellebuyck’s contract gives Winnipeg some leverage: he carries an $8.5 million cap hit through 2031, and his full no-movement clause will shrink to a 21-team no-trade list next offseason.
That setup could help the Jets hold firm, even if it trims his market value. Hellebuyck reportedly has not handed over a tiny preferred list and, according to Chris Johnston, is willing to waive his NMC for a range of teams.
Buffalo had already been tied to the goalie around the draft. Hellebuyck reportedly would have approved a move there, but the Sabres were not prepared to meet Winnipeg’s asking price. Jesse Granger of The Athletic listed Buffalo among the possible fits and pointed to the kind of pieces that could make a deal work, saying, “The Sabres also have a plethora of top-six forwards they could send Winnipeg’s way, including Josh Norris and Ryan McLeod, giving this potential trade a real chance,” in addition to a goaltender.
Granger also identified the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, both of whom just reached the Stanley Cup Final and could use a stronger option in goal. The Utah Mammoth and New Jersey Devils were also on his list, with both clubs still trying to establish themselves as regular playoff teams while carrying questions in net.
There’s no shortage of teams that could use Hellebuyck. The problem is getting the price and the contract structure to line up, and that makes the actual landing spot hard to pin down.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is still living in the middle ground between a teardown and a roster that isn’t quite ready to fully bottom out. Kyle Dubas was brought in with the expectation that the Penguins were heading toward a rebuild, and the team has gotten younger under his watch. But the big names are still there.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang remain part of the picture, and Malkin is now 40 after signing a new deal this offseason. Josh Yohe of The Athletic noted that the younger wave has started to matter, writing, “The Penguins have gotten younger since Dubas took over, with notable names such as [Ben] Kindel, Egor Chinakhov and Elmer Söderblom making clear impacts last season.”
The veteran clock is still ticking, though. Crosby, Malkin and Karlsson can become unrestricted free agents next offseason if they are not extended, while Rust, Rakell and Letang are due to hit the market the following year. Yohe also pointed out that if the Penguins don’t look like a playoff team, those veterans should be paying close attention to the trade chatter around the league, saying, “…if they don’t look like they’re a playoff team and I were Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and others, I’d be very aware of all the trade buzz around the league.”
That leaves Dubas with a year full of decisions, and maybe a fast one if the season gets away from Pittsburgh early. If the Penguins stumble, they could have plenty of deadline pieces to move as rentals.
In Other News...
Kirill Kaprizov Could Be The Wild Statement Fans Have Waited For
Kirill Kaprizov has become the kind of player around whom everything else in Minnesota naturally organizes itself. His importance to the Wild goes well beyond scoring, because the conversation around leadership has started to match his stature on the ice. Quinn Hughes and Marcus Foligno are also part of that picture, giving the room a mix of skill, experience and emotion, but Kaprizov is the name that best captures where this team wants to go next.
Making Kaprizov the captain would say as much about the Wilds direction as it would about his standing with teammates. It would be a public recognition that his presence is central to the franchises identity and its ambitions, not just its offense. The question now is not whether he belongs in the leadership group, but how far Minnesota is willing to go in putting that responsibility on the player who has come to define so much of what it hopes to become. [Read more 🡒]
Cale Makar Just Raised The Stakes In Quinn Hughes Drama
Cale Makars new eight-year, $163.2 million extension in Colorado did more than reward one of the NHLs premier defensemen. It also reset the market at a position where the Minnesota Wild are trying to navigate their own high-stakes future, with Quinn Hughes now part of the conversation as he heads into the final season of his contract. For a team that would like stability on the blue line, Makars deal gives Hughes and his camp a fresh reference point in any long-term talks.
The Wild already know this situation comes with layers beyond money. New Jersey looms as a possible destination because Hughes brothers are there, and that family connection could matter if the negotiations drag on. Minnesota would prefer to lock him in, but if an agreement never comes together, the possibility of exploring a trade is hard to ignore when a player of Hughes caliber is entering such a pivotal year. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Could Find Cheap Scoring Help In One Veteran Camp Gamble
With training camps getting closer, a handful of established NHL scorers are still sitting on the open market, and that has created a familiar late-summer opportunity for teams hunting for low-cost offense. Vladimir Tarasenko, Eeli Tolvanen, Michael Bunting, James van Riemsdyk and Reilly Smith all bring different skill sets, but each comes with the same basic appeal: a track record that suggests there is still some useful hockey left if the right team is willing to bet on it.
For a club like Minnesota, the attraction is obvious even if the fit is not always simple. These are veteran players who can help in specific roles, whether that means finishing chances, providing depth scoring or bringing a little more established edge to the lineup, and the price tag is likely to stay manageable through a tryout or another short-term arrangement. The catch is the same one attached to all of these camp gambles, because any team interested has to weigh the upside of a bounce-back against the reality that some decline, and some limitations, are already part of the package. [Read more 🡒]