Which NHL Teams Are Paying Their Defensemen The Most?

Cale Makar’s contract sent shockwaves through the NHL. His record-breaking $163.2MM eight-year contract, which carries a $20.4MM cap hit, is the AAV is the highest in NHL history, surpassing the $18.8MM record mark Macklin Celebrini set earlier this offseason and Leo Carlsson’s $18MM before that. However, this could obviously be subject to change with a Quinn Hughes deal looming. In 2027-28, the Avalanche’s payroll will cap out to $101MM as of right now, nearly $42MM of that is the highest amount of money going towards any NHL team’s defense corps for that season. But that’s not next season, the Avs…