Avalanche Contract Talks With Artturi Lehkonen Could Stretch Into Regular Season

With Colorado Avalanche captain? The team has shifted contract focus after locking in defenseman Cale Makar on an eight-year, $163.2 million extension. Joe Sakic, president of hockey operations and general manager, said negotiations with Finnish winger Artturi Lehkonen could run past the offseason and extend into the regular season. Sakic made the comments Monday on Altitude Sports Radio, after holding a press conference with Makar. Lehkonen, 31, enters the final year of a five-year deal paying a $4.5 million average annual value. In 2024-25, he hit a career-high 27 goals in 69 games, and 2025-26 saw him play 70 games. Availability has been the key question lately, but when healthy he’s a key left winger, top-line presence with Nathan MacKinnon, and a reliable penalty-kill and power-play contributor. In the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, Lehkonen produced 23 goals, 18 assists and 41 points in 56 games, including series-defining and Cup-clinching goals against Edmonton and Tampa Bay.