NEWSLETTER
When you win a Stanley Cup, it tends to change the financial trajectory of players who play a big role in said championship.
And we just found out just how much it changed life for Nathan MacKinnon of the Avalanche.
That’s a $12.6 million AAV, making MacKinnon the richest player in the history of the NHL. And it doubles his previous cap hit, a $6.3 million number that made him arguably the most underpaid player in the league.
MacKinnon was the first overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and has lived up to the hype. He has produced 648 points in 638 games for the Avs since he joined their NHL lineup, with each of the past four seasons being well above a full point-per-game pace. His 242 goals are 22 more than Alexsander Barkov, who was the second player picked that year, for the most from the class of 2013.
This means the Blackhawks will be dealing with MacKinnon for eight more years in their division. Colorado has six players from their core locked up for at least five more years.
