Star young defenseman Cale Makar and the Avalanche have given the NHL team a genuine chance to re-sign veteran left wing and team captain Gabe Landeskog.
The first and most important off-season domino fell on Saturday when, during the NHL draft, Makar agreed to a six-year, $54 million contract extension as a restricted free agent. His $9 million annual cap hit ties him as the NHL’s fourth highest-paid defenseman and accounts for 11% of the Avs’ $81.5 million salary cap.
But, given what he is — perhaps the NHL’s best defenseman at age 22 — it appears to border on a team-friendly deal that might allow Colorado to sign Landeskog before unrestricted free agency opens Wednesday.