Nathan MacKinnon here for the long haul!

Photo Credit: thesportsquotient.com

The Colorado Avalanche have announced that forward Nathan Mackinnon has been signed to a 7 year extension at a total hit of 44.1 million dollars.

This is some exciting news as many of the fan base had started to lose faith in the franchises ability to sign and keep their young star players long term. The length and term of the deal indicate that not only did the Avalanche want to keep Nathan around, but he shared the same views.

This leaves the avalanche with an estimated 8.3 million dollars left to sign blue liner Tyson Barrie and forward  Mikhail Grigorenko.

This is a step in the right direction in my honest opinion. The Avalanche have stepped forward and given Mackinnon a nice big long deal. They also did not over pay for him either. This contract will come down to being an absolute steal in the next couple years as the cap goes up and the UFA deals continue to be blown out of the water.

This move allows the team to keep Nathan around long term but still have enough cap left to build the rest of the team around him and the rest of the core.

Praise to the Avalanche, Praise to Nathan and as the famous Disney movie would suggest..

"Praise the Ant Mother!"