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How Nathan MacKinnon’s new contract stacks up with the NHL’s elite

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After years of being the most underpaid player in the NHL, Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon has finally cashed in.

MacKinnon signed an eight-year, $100.8 million extension with the Avalanche on Tuesday, making him the highest paid player in the league in terms of average annual value ($12.6 million per season). The deal, which kicks in for the 2023-24 campaign, narrowly surpasses Connor McDavid’s eight-year, $100 million pact inked in 2017.

The only deals in NHL history worth more total money than MacKinnon’s are Alex Ovechkin’s $124 million, 13-year contract with Washington, Shea Weber’s $110 million, 14-year contract with Nashville and Sidney Crosby’s $104.4 million, 12-year contract with Pittsburgh.

MacKinnon’s extension represents a significant raise for the 2014 Calder Trophy winner, who carried an AAV of $6.3 million since signing a bargain seven-year, $44.1 million contract in the summer of 2016.

The 27-year-old has developed into one of the NHL’s best players in recent years and has been a finalist for the Hart Trophy in three of the past five seasons. He’s coming off a 32-goal, 88-point campaign that culminated in Colorado winning the Stanley Cup.

The Nova Scotia native deservedly joins a handful of players with a cap hit of over $10 million. Here are the other NHLers pulling in eight-figure salaries.

Nathan MacKinnon has the highest cap hit in the NHL. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Nathan MacKinnon has the highest cap hit in the NHL starting in 2023-24. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Contract comparables (AAV):

$12,600,000: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

$12,500,000: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

$11,642,857: Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers

$11,640,250: Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

$11,500,000: Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks

$11,000,000: John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs

$11,000,000: Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

$10,903,000: Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs

$10,500,000: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens

$10,500,000: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks

$10,500,000: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

$10,000,000: Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

$10,000,000: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings

$10,000,000: Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

$10,000,000: Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers

Have your say:

After seeing where MacKinnon slots in among his peers, what do you think of his contract?

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