The most significant piece of offseason business for the Colorado Avalanche is finally finished. After a summer of quiet, the Avs and superstar defenseman Cale Makar agreed to terms on the largest contract in NHL history.

The terms of the deal are, as expected, eye-popping, as Makar’s extension is eight years, $163.2M in total. That gives the contract an annual average value (ie salary cap hit) of $20.4M. The deal makes Makar the NHL‘s highest-paid defenseman, though Minnesota‘s Quinn Hughes could surpass that number with an extension or in free agency next summer, but for now, Makar has reset the market for elite defensemen.

Makar is coming off a disappointing end to the postseason after suffering a shoulder injury against Hughes’s Wild in Colorado’s Round 2 series victory. The injury caused Makar to miss the first two games of the Avalanche’s sweep at the hands of Vegas in the Western Conference Finals. He returned for Games 3 and 4, but was clearly hampered by the injury and wasn’t able to be his best self.

His superstar status secured, Makar’s new contract now ties him to Colorado through the rest of his prime and gives him a great chance to be an Avalanche lifer.

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