Makar 'going to finish his career' with Avalanche, GM says

DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche want two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Cale Makar to be a member of the team until the day he retires, Avalanche president of hockey operations and general manager Joe Sakic said Thursday.

Sakic, who took over for GM Chris MacFarland after the latter was hired to be president of hockey operations and GM of the Nashville Predators on June 2, said he has already made signing Makar to an extension a top priority.

“Cale is going to finish his career here," Sakic said. "We're already talking to his agent, so we're confident that something's going to get worked out at some point. I mean, he's got another year, but this summer we expect to have him signed.”

Makar has one season remaining on a six-year, $54 million contract ($9 million average annual value) he signed on July 24, 2021, and is eligible to sign an extension July 1.

Makar, who won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's top defenseman in 2022 and 2025 and the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022, was the third-leading scorer at the position this season with 79 points (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 regular-season games. He was also third on the Avalanche in scoring, behind centers Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. 

The 27-year-old is a key piece of Colorado's core, which is expected to be highly motivated after being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final following a season in which the team finished with 121 points (55-16-11) -- the most in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history -- and won the Presidents' Trophy.

“The core guys are still here, so we're going to shoot and try and win another Cup next year,” Sakic said. “Everybody was disappointed. I won't say anger was the thing, but to a man, they want to bring this back. They want to bring the group back, and they want to try and do it again.

“It's a great group. They care about each other. They want to win. They're very competitive. They're disappointed, but their expectations are to try and come back and try and compete and win a Stanley Cup.”

Colorado has been building toward a three-year window of Cup contention, and Sakic said he believes that window is still open.

“We got a great hockey team here, and this team was built for a two-, three-year run," Sakic said. "We still got most of the guys coming back, and their expectations, our expectations, I know the fans' expectations, is to try and win a Cup. 

"We could panic and try and blow everything up and start all over, but this team, what they've done over the course of the year was pretty remarkable. Now we want to give them an opportunity to try and do it again. I mean, the last two trade deadlines were meant for not just that year. It was to try and compete for a few years with this group and try and bring home the Stanley Cup, and that's the goal.”

Keeping that group together includes retaining coach Jared Bednar and his staff. The 54-year-old, who has one year remaining on his contract, is 445-262-75 in 10 seasons with the Avalanche and 60-41 in 101 playoff games, including the Cup championship in 2022. 

“He's got the confidence from the players,” Sakic said. “It’s clear from everybody, from players, the staff, that he's the right guy. They respect him, they love playing for him, and that's a big thing. And when we look at it for this group, he's the best coach. He’s the best coach for the group, and we're confident in that decision. 

"He's not just the coach, I mean, he's the voice of the of the organization, and, like I said, the players really believe in him, and I'm going with the players.”

Added Kroenke Sports and Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke: “I think he has [the] absolute belief of the dressing room.”

Alterations to the makeup of the team could still happen. Sakic hasn’t ruled out anything in pursuit of winning with this current core, including signing pending free agent defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Kulak.

“There's always changes, but we have the core guys here,” Sakic said. "We have a nucleus. We're a deep team. We feel we're strong in all the positions. Obviously, we have some UFAs that we're going to try and sign to keep the group together. ... Right now, the priority is getting through the draft, free agency. Try and make our team as good as possible going into the summer.”