As the NHL goes crazy with teams handing out eight-year contracts to beat the September 16 deadline when eight-year contracts are no longer allowed to be signed, the Colorado Avalanche have most of their business wrapped up and can sit back and watch the action.

They locked Cale Makar into the richest contract in NHL history, and they’ve got 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders on the roster as training camp opens up this week. They’re in a good spot, as they will once again (barring disastrous injury luck) be one of the better Western Conference teams.

The lone question mark that looms is what’s going on with Artturi Lehkonen and his contract situation. He is entering the final year of a five-year contract that is paying him $4.5M per season. He has significantly outplayed his contract, and it’s ending just as the market is exploding with player salaries reaching new heights seemingly every day.

Just this morning, the Washington Capitals gave an eight-year deal to Ryan Leonard that will pay him $10.5M per season. Leonard is coming off a 45-point season, so it feels a little early for the Caps to be making that kind of commitment to him, but he’s also just 21 years old.

He’s in no way a contract comparable for Lehkonen, just the latest example of players getting paid. It hasn’t even been 12 months since people dinged the Avalanche for giving Martin Necas $11.5M per year, and he responded with a 100-point season.

Anyway, Lehkonen. He’s a unique player, and finding a fit for what his next contract might be is not easy. That’s what we’re going to try to do, though, because we love to futurecast a contract around here.

Let’s dig in.

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