MacKinnon will enter the final season of a 7-year contract this fall that takes an average of $6.3M off the Avalanche's books, a bargain considering what the new Stanley Cup winner brings to his team and the NHL.
This statement raises a notable question: does he deserve to be paid more than Connor McDavid? Not many people think so, but it seems he will ask for it. So the Avalanche would have to spend at least $12,500,001, which is $1 more than McDavid earns on average, for him to become the highest paid player in the NHL.
Colorado will only have about $26 million to sign 11 players at the end of next season, and if MacKinnon commands about $13 million, that leaves only $13 million to sign 10 more players.
As you can see, this doesn't make sense, MacKinnon will have to give his new boss (Chris MacFarland) some play if he wants to keep a competitive team in the future.
In 65 games last season, MacKinnon had 88 points, then added 24 points in 20 playoff games en route to winning his first Stanley Cup.
