Since this past off-season began, 16 defensemen have signed new contracts or extensions with a cap hit of $5 million or more. 11 of them were for 6 years or longer.
- Zachary Werenski — 6 years, $9,583,333 AAV
- Charlie McAvoy — 8 years, $9,500,000 AAV
- Seth Jones — 8 years, $9,500,000 AAV
- Darnell Nurse — 8 years, $9,250,000 AAV
- Cale Makar — 6 years, $9,000,000 AAV
- Dougie Hamilton — 7 years, $9,000,000 AAV
- Miro Heiskanen — 8 years, $8,450,000 AAV
- Quinn Hughes — 6 years, $7,850,000 AAV
- Colton Parayko — 8 years, $6,500,000 AAV
- Mattias Ekholm — 4 years, $6,250,000 AAV
- Ryan Pulock — 8 years, $6,150,000 AAV
- Rasmus Dahlin — 3 years, $6,000,000 AAV
- Neal Pionk — 4 years, $5,875,000 AAV
- Adam Pelech — 8 years, $5,750,000 AAV
- Alec Martinez — 3 years, $5,250,000 AAV
- Alex Goligoski — 1 year, $5,000,000 AAV
Even with the flat cap, defensemen are making bank.