The Colorado Avalanche are having a problem that not many teams have the opportunity to struggle with. It's a problem of their own making, and it does bring to mind the phrase "too much of a good thing," in some respects.
Yes, if you haven't already guessed, the problem is the sheer weight of incredible talent at their disposal.
Setting aside the sarcasm for a moment, their problem is actually how much money they're going to have to dedicate to extending Cale Makar as the 2x Norris Trophy winner enters the final year of his contract. The Avs have built a roster full of stars and superstars like Gabe Landeskog, Martin Necas, and Nathan MacKinnon, and under the stewardship of both Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic, the team has been able to sign them to contracts that keep the rest of the roster built out and happy.
However, with the rising cost of contracts around the league the Avalanche are essentially having to face the problem of Makar's extension from both ends.
Stars like Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard signed contracts with 15+ million dollar AAVs. Just re-signing Makar to that kind of extension would take about half of the open cap space the team will have next season. That would leave another 15 million dollars total to re-sign the five other roster spots that will open up, and while that number seems like plenty now, this year alone the Avs had to pay nearly five million dollars to add Jaden Schwartz on a one year mercenary contract for their top six.
That number is likely to go up again next year, and the team will also need to consider finding another middle to bottom six contributor with Nic Roy heading to free agency after his 3 million dollar contract expires at the end of next season. How much, or rather how comparatively little Makar is willing to re-sign for will shape the Avalanche's roster for what's likely the better part of the next decade.