Avalanche, Nathan MacKinnon reach long-term agreement

The Colorado Avalanche announced today that Nathan MacKinnon has signed a seven-year contract worth $44.1 million over its length. With an average cap hit of $6.3 million, it appears the Avalanche have locked in the team’s star player at a great price. For comparison, the second overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft behind MacKinnon, Sasha Barkov, signed a six-year extension worth $5.9 million per season with Florida earlier this off-season.

MacKinnon scored 52 points last season (21g, 31a) in 72 games, his third year in the NHL. He was third in Avalanche scoring, but led the team in shots (245) and tied for game-winning goals (6). In total, he has 218 games under his belt, scoring 59 goals and 94 assists in that time. In his debut season, MacKinnnon scored 24 goals and 39 assists in the regular season and two goals and eight assists in the playoffs. By the conclusion of his freshman campaign, MacKinnon became the youngest player in Avalanche history to make his debut, the youngest in the NHL to record two points in a game since 1944, and the youngest to win the Calder Trophy for being the league’s top rookie.

“Signing Nathan to a long-term contract was a priority this offseason,” said Avalanche executive vice president/general manager Joe Sakic. “He is going to be a key part of our team for many years to come and it was important to secure his rights moving forward.”

The signing leaves the Avalanche with just three unsigned restricted free agents: Duncan Siemens, Tyson Barrie, and Mikhail Grigorenko. Barrie and Grigorenko filed for arbitration earlier this week.