Step aside Connor McDavid, there&#8217;s a new highest-played player in the league, at least as of next season.

His name: <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/nathan-mackinnon-signs-eight-year-extension-with-colorado-avalanche/">Nathan MacKinnon</a>.
The Stanley Cup-winning superstar inked an eight-year contract extension Tuesday ahead of his final season playing under a super team-friendly deal that paid him $6.3-million a year.
MacKinnon&#8217;s new deal, kicking off in the 2023-24 season, will pay him an AAV of $12.6-million — a whole $100,000 more than McDavid.
“Nathan is obviously one of the premier players in the NHL, so a long-term extension was something we wanted to get done before the season started,” said Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland in the team’s press release. “He has that rare combination of speed and power with a high compete level that makes him a generational player. We are thrilled he will continue to be a member of this team and this community for many years to come.”
For MacKinnon, it&#8217;s well deserved. While he&#8217;s made mention that he doesn&#8217;t like the premise of being underpaid, his new deal puts him right at the top. The $100-million deal isn&#8217;t a surprise, either. MacKinnon has been one of the most productive players in the league over recent years since being taken first overall in 2013.
Over his 638 game career, he&#8217;s scored 242 goals and 406 points and his production has hit new highs in recent years. In each of the last three years, MacKinnon has scored 1.35 points per game played ranking third in the league behind Leon Draisaitl (1.47) and Connor McDavid (1.63).
<hr />
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
<hr />
<h2><a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">#NATIONVACATION TO LAS VEGAS</a></h2>
<a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-120226 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i1.wp.com/publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02.png?resize=803%2C803&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="803" height="803" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-loaded="1" srcset="https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02.png 2501w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02-300x300.png 300w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02-1024x1024.png 1024w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02-150x150.png 150w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02-768x768.png 768w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02-1536x1536.png 1536w, https://publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02-2048x2048.png 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 803px) 100vw, 803px" /></a>
<ul>
<li>When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’re jumping on a flight at the Edmonton International Airport and making our way to Vegas. On Sunday evening, we’ll fly back from Vegas to Edmonton. So the dates that you need to block off for this trip are January 12th to 15th.</li>
<li>Where we’re staying: After landing in LV, we’ll jump on the free shuttle and make our way to the Park MGM before settling in for a good night’s sleep. 😉</li>
<li>What you get: Your roundtrip flight, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry — we got seats this time (Saturday night), and exclusive entry into our pre-trip ‘get to know everyone’ event.</li>
<li>How Much: The total cost for the trip, flight, hotel, and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy) </li>
<li>Tickets: Ready to dive in? <a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Click this link</a>.</li>
</ul>

Step aside Connor McDavid, there's a new highest-played player in the league, at least as of next season.



His name: <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/nathan-mackinnon-signs-eight-year-extension-with-colorado-avalanche/">Nathan MacKinnon</a>.

The Stanley Cup-winning superstar inked an eight-year contract extension Tuesday ahead of his final season playing under a super team-friendly deal that paid him $6.3-million a year.

MacKinnon's new deal, kicking off in the 2023-24 season, will pay him an AAV of $12.6-million — a whole $100,000 more than McDavid.

“Nathan is obviously one of the premier players in the NHL, so a long-term extension was something we wanted to get done before the season started,” said Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland in the team’s press release. “He has that rare combination of speed and power with a high compete level that makes him a generational player. We are thrilled he will continue to be a member of this team and this community for many years to come.”

For MacKinnon, it's well deserved. While he's made mention that he doesn't like the premise of being underpaid, his new deal puts him right at the top. The $100-million deal isn't a surprise, either. MacKinnon has been one of the most productive players in the league over recent years since being taken first overall in 2013.

Over his 638 game career, he's scored 242 goals and 406 points and his production has hit new highs in recent years. In each of the last three years, MacKinnon has scored 1.35 points per game played ranking third in the league behind Leon Draisaitl (1.47) and Connor McDavid (1.63).

<hr />

Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at<a href="http://www.twitter.com/zjlaing"> @zjlaing</a>, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.

<hr />

<h2><a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">#NATIONVACATION TO LAS VEGAS</a></h2>
<a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" rel="follow" data-wpel-link="internal"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-120226 jetpack-lazy-image jetpack-lazy-image--handled" src="https://i1.wp.com/publish.oilersnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/vegas-02.png?resize=803%2C803&amp;ssl=1" alt="" width="803" height="803" data-recalc-dims="1" data-lazy-loaded="1" /></a>
<ul>
 	<li>When: On Thursday, January 12th, we’re jumping on a flight at the Edmonton International Airport and making our way to Vegas. On Sunday evening, we’ll fly back from Vegas to Edmonton. So the dates that you need to block off for this trip are January 12th to 15th.</li>
 	<li>Where we’re staying: After landing in LV, we’ll jump on the free shuttle and make our way to the Park MGM before settling in for a good night’s sleep. 😉</li>
 	<li>What you get: Your roundtrip flight, hotel, shuttle, viewing party (Friday night), game entry — we got seats this time (Saturday night), and exclusive entry into our pre-trip ‘get to know everyone’ event.</li>
 	<li>How Much: The total cost for the trip, flight, hotel, and entry to the game is $1499 per person (based on double occupancy) </li>
 	<li>Tickets: Ready to dive in? <a href="https://nationgear.ca/products/nation-vacation-vegas-3-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer follow" data-wpel-link="internal">Click this link</a>.</li>
</ul>

Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid is no longer the highest paid player in the NHL

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