Makar’s next deal becomes the Avalanche’s summer fulcrum as Lehkonen extension talks loom

Colorado’s offseason picture is getting shaped by two players at very different stages of their deals, and the timing is turning one negotiation into the background music for the other. The Avalanche’s priority, according to coverage of the situation, is getting Cale Makar under a new contract framework after July 1, 2026 passed and Makar became available for an extension. That matters because Makar is not simply a top player, he is the kind of foundational defenseman whose next market number can reshape what Colorado can comfortably pay elsewhere.

As the Avalanche weigh their options around a long-term agreement for Makar, the spotlight at forward line also shifts to Artturi Lehkonen. He is in the final year of a five-year, $22.5 million contract with a $4.5 million cap hit, and coverage points to the possibility of an extension being pursued this summer. Lehkonen, who will turn 32 during the 2026-27 season, has been described in the same reporting as having dealt with nagging injuries repeatedly, a factor that tends to influence both term and annual value when teams plan for what comes after the current deal.

The cap context is part of the reason the Avalanche’s order of operations is being treated as consequential. The Hockey News projected an expected cap ceiling of $113 million for the 2027-28 season, describing it as an “exponential” jump compared with recent years. In practical terms, the argument being made is that the cost to secure elite talent rises with the ceiling, and the number teams consider “today” can look different once the league’s cap grows and new deals set new benchmarks.

That rising-cap reality affects both how a team evaluates a player’s current value and how it models future roster construction. Coverage of the situation also suggests that Joe Sakic has stated that a contract for Makar would be done this summer, reinforcing that Colorado is likely to treat Makar’s extension as the anchor move. Once that anchor number is established, it becomes easier to estimate how much flexibility remains for other extensions like Lehkonen’s, especially for a player who has provided impact during Colorado’s most important runs but who has also missed time in multiple seasons.

Lehkonen’s role with the Avalanche has long been tied to availability and effectiveness when he is able to get into a groove. Reporting tied to the potential extension notes that he was a “massive part” of the Avalanche’s 2022 Stanley Cup run and that, even though he has dealt with recurring issues, his effort level and presence in the lineup have been difficult to replace. Those are the types of attributes that teams want to preserve, but they can get financially complicated when the price of keeping that quality climbs quickly alongside the cap.

For fans, the immediate takeaway is that Colorado’s extension strategy could be less about choosing between two priorities and more about sequencing them. Getting Makar’s agreement in place first may determine how much room remains for Lehkonen to be re-signed on terms that satisfy both sides. Over the coming weeks, watch for how quickly Colorado closes the loop on Makar’s deal, and then whether talks on Lehkonen trend toward an agreement before he becomes a bigger question mark in the broader market dynamics of the following summer.