Nathan MacKinnon is now the highest-paid player in the NHL after inking an eight-year extension deal with the Colorado Avalanche that carries an average annual value of $12.6 million. With a new deal secured, MacKinnon lets out a huge sigh of relief as he doesn't have to deal with a huge cloud over his head next season with regard to negotiations for an extension with the Avs.

“It was a relief. I didn't want to play out the season without a deal, I didn't want to talk about it and think about it. I just want to be part of the team and think about winning another Cup this season,” Nathan MacKinnon shared per Aari Deen of Mile High Sports.

The Avalanche did the right thing. Nathan MacKinnon is easily one of the best players in the NHL right now, and he is only still just 27 years old. Before signing the massive extension, MacKinnon would still have a year left to play with the Avalanche, having signed a seven-year deal with them that was worth $44.1 million back in 2016. While Nathan MacKinnon's new contract is a record-breaker, it could eventually turn out to be a bargain, relatively speaking, compared to some of the next deals that will go down in the near future.

After securing Nathan MacKinnon for another eight years, the Avalanche are now left with a projected cap space of only $1.9 million, per CapFriendly. Apart from MacKinnon, the Avs also carry long-term financial obligations to Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Cale Makar.