BSN Exclusive: Cale Makar expected to sign contract by Sunday with Avalanche

CALGARY, Alberta – When the NCAA championship game finishes between the University of Massachusetts and Minnesota-Duluth Saturday night, the Avalanche plan to try to immediately sign top prospect Cale Makar to an entry-level NHL contract, BSN Denver has learned.

It should be an easy sell. The most Makar can make for his first three years, excluding bonuses, is $925,000 per year. If he plays one game with the Avalanche in these playoffs, an entire year will be “burned” off his ELC, meaning he could become an unrestricted free agent after his next six NHL seasons – not seven, like it would if he were to play his first NHL game in the 2019-20 season.

But the Avalanche don’t seem too concerned about that. The thinking around the team, sources tell BSN Denver, is that Makar is a foundation piece for the long-term, and barring injuries or subpar play, almost certainly will be signed for a longer-term contract beyond his first UFA year when his initial contract is up.

That would seem to indicate, therefore, that the Avs would go ahead and play Makar in this current playoff series with the Calgary Flames. That part of things seems to have a slight bit of uncertainty around it, however, and the result of tonight’s game could factor into whether he actually plays in this series or not.

If the Avs fall behind 2-0 tonight to the Flames, the earliest he could play would be Game 3 Monday night at the Pepsi Center. Would throwing a player right into the lineup, perhaps without even one practice yet with the full team, make a lot of sense? On the other hand, it couldn’t hurt to have the newly-named Hobey Baker Award winner and No. 4 overall draft pick from 2017 be a part of your lineup in a win-or-go-home-soon situation, would it?

There has been a lot of worry about what Makar playing right away would mean for the Avs’ expansion draft protection list, for when Seattle joins the league in 2021-22. For one thing, the rules for that expansion draft have yet to be finalized. Makar could still be exempt from having to be protected. For another thing, there is no chance Makar would be exposed in that draft. If the Avs have to expose a veteran defenseman they might wince at losing, then that might be just the cost of doing business. Bottom line: the team doesn’t seem to be worried about the expansion draft. That is still more than two full seasons away.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has said Makar “could help us” in these playoffs, and he reiterated that again when asked about it Saturday. Asked about the chance of Makar jumping right into the lineup for Game 3, he said, “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

Makar, a Calgary native, led the Minutemen to their first NCAA title game in school history, and has won virtually every major college award in this, his sophomore season.

A right-hand shot defenseman, Makar has excellent speed and overall skill.

Avs center Tyson Jost has played with and against Makar in some Canadian junior tournaments, and told BSN Denver, “He’s really, really good.”

In February, as part of an exclusive interview with BSN Denver from the UMass campus, Makar responded this way when asked if he’d be ready to play this year still at the NHL level:

“My original goal coming to UMass was two years, and hopefully I’d be ready. I feel like I’m relatively on that track,” he said.