The NHL’s Contract Reality: Why Stars Are Rethinking Long Deals

The NHL is a league where contract term is critical. With fully guaranteed contracts, the longer a player can secure a deal, the better it is for them. This isn’t the NFL, where underperforming players can be released with little warning. While NHL buyouts do exist, players are still paid the majority of what they’re owed. When you combine that with a hard salary cap, locking in players — effectively “buying” years of unrestricted free agency — becomes a critical strategy for managing cap hits and building long-term success.

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Right now, the maximum term a team can offer its own player is eight years. Gone are the days of 15-year mega deals. But that eight-year ceiling is about to disappear: starting September 16th, 2026, the max term drops to seven years. NHL teams have just over a month left to sign eligible players to the full eight-year term before it vanishes.

Superstar Deals

Teams love locking in superstar talent for as long as possible. It’s smart business in any league — elite players offer the highest chance of sustained success. The Edmonton Oilers did this with Leon Draisaitl the moment he became eligible. But with the cap rising rapidly, players are increasingly opting for shorter-term deals to maximize lifetime earnings. Careers can end abruptly, so players want to squeeze every dollar out of their prime years.

Three-to-five-year contracts have become the new normal. Players see the cap skyrocketing and expect it to keep climbing. Sign a three-year deal today, and by the time it expires, the cap could be $20–30 million higher. That next contract becomes exponentially more lucrative — assuming the player performs. The risk, of course, is injury or underperformance. One bad season can cost a player tens of millions.

The Cale Makar Contract Saga

Cale Makar is the perfect example of how complicated this decision has become. He has just over a month to sign an eight-year contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche. He’s entering the final season of his current deal, which pays him $9 million AAV — a number he will easily double on his next contract.

But should he sign for eight years now, with the cap rising so aggressively? Does it make sense for Colorado? With a full eight-year term, Makar could realistically demand the current max of $20.8 million AAV. If he waits a year, the max will be even higher — but he’ll only be able to sign for seven years.

This is a massive internal debate for Makar’s camp. An eight-year deal today takes him to age 36. A shorter-term contract — similar to Connor McDavid’s strategy in Edmonton — could set him up for a monster payday at age 29, followed by an even bigger final contract. Instead of $19–20 million AAV now, he could be looking at $22–23 million AAV in a few years, especially with current cap projections.

Elliotte Friedman recently summed it up on NHL Tonight: “The Avalanche said that we are gonna get this done; I think one of the big questions about him is going to be term.”

Time Is Running Out

The clock is ticking on eight-year max deals. Quinn Hughes is another superstar who could sign for eight years before the option disappears, but he’s widely expected to go short-term — likely to align his future with his brothers. Every player in this situation faces a complex internal debate. It’s not as simple as choosing “long” or “short.”

With the cap rising, do superstars even want the max term anymore? From a pure earnings perspective, it doesn’t make much sense. But eight years of guaranteed money is a powerful safety net if injuries strike or things go sideways.

There’s a lot to weigh — financially, strategically, personally. And with the rising cap and the eight-year max term about to vanish, the decision has never been more complicated.

Next: Devils Lurking, Wild Waiting: Friedman Says Hughes Talks Stalled