Not long after I posted my blog yesterday the news broke that the Colorado Avalanche had checked one huge thing off of their summer to-do list - they signed RFA Cale Maker to a massive six-year, $54-million contract.

The Avs have their work cut out for them this summer, but inking Makar is a win for the club and step in the right direction.

The 22-year-old defenseman is one of the best in the game already and now he has the bank account to match. Makar is a Calder Trophy winner and will be a perennial Norris Trophy candidate for years to come. I mean the kid has 94 points (20g 74a) in 101 career games, with a plus-29 rating. He is one of the most dynamic players in the league and one the Avs had to lock up long-term. Makar's cap hit is second on the team at $9-million per season and he's worth every stinking penny. Wouldn't you agree?

Here's how the contract breaks down:
Year 1 - $8 million
Year 2 - $9 million
Year 3 - $11 million
Year 4 - $10.6 million
Year 5 - $8.7 million
Year 6 - $6.7 million

I actually think think it is a steal for this guy. Makar is young, hockey gifted and still has room to improve. Heck of a value for GM Joe Sakic.

***

It was day two of the worlds longer NHL draft and the Avalanche had three picks that culminated with another Makar brother getting his name called by the team.

ICYMI: Colorado picked Oskar Olausson in the first round. We talked about him yesterday.

Day 2:

Round 2 - pick 61 - Sean Behrens, D, USNTDP (USHL)
Round 3 - pick 92 - Andrei Buyalsky, C, Dubuque (USHL)
Round 7 - pick 220 - Taylor Makar, LW, Brooks (AJHL)

I don't know much about these draft picks and we probably won't for years but pick 220 has close ties to the club already.

Taylor Makar is the younger brother of Cale. Hockey bloodlines run deep. The younger Makar is a forward and his older brother compares him to Josh Anderson. He had 19 points (5g 14a) is 16 games with the AJHL's Brooks Bandits. They were the third pair of brothers to be united in this years draft. They joined the Hughes and the Dach brothers and that's pretty cool and should be some kind of NHL first. If anything it proves that hockey families are they absolute best.

With the draft over we are just days away from the start of free agency and a potential loss of Gabriel Landeskog and Phillip Grubauer. Neither should happen if the Avs want to remain Cup favorites for next season. IT's too soon to tell but it doesn't look good with little progress being made with either UFA. Perhaps that changes in the next couple of days. We can only hope.

Thanks for reading,
Steve

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