That now becomes the challenge for general manager Joe Sakic, who won’t have much time to enjoy the championship. With 10 pending unrestricted free agents potentially heading to market — including forwards Nazem Kadri, Valeri Nichushkin and Andre Burakovsky, defenceman Josh Manson, and goaltender Darcy Kuemper — he has to decide who he is going to keep and who he is going to let walk.
MacKinnon can sign an extension as early as this summer. After scoring a playoff-leading 13 goals, you can bet that the 26-year-old forward will be getting a significant raise from the $6.3 million US he was earning this year. “There’s nothing better than this,” said Makar, who received all 18 first-place votes for the Conn Smythe. “You dream of this. It feels so surreal. It feels like a video game right now.”This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.“It’s insane to watch,” said Makar’s younger brother, Taylor, who joined Cale for his post-game news conference. “He’s the hardest working person I’ve ever known, so dedicated.