<p>LAS VEGAS –&nbsp;There were no tells at the table when Nathan MacKinnon sat down with reporters for the NHL Media Tour Thursday, no swelling wasteline or anything to suggest the famously, fanatically dedicated superstar took any time off to soak in his first Stanley Cup win this summer. </p>



<p>Quite the contrary, MacKinnon said: the short offseason was actually to his liking. It got him back onto the ice quicker than normal, and it was almost like he never lost his legs. Back to the grind for him and the Colorado Avalanche. He doesn’t view his team as the hunted in 2022-23. As far as he’s concerned, the Avs remain the hunters, still the best team in the NHL.</p>



<p>But how long will they remain the best team in the NHL? It’s largely a matter of keeping their core of stars together. Captain Gabriel Landeskog signed his eight-year, $56 million extension last summer, as did superstar blueliner Cale Makar on a six-year deal at a $9 million AAV and top-line right winger Mikko Rantanen a couple years prior. He’s halfway through a six-year pact at a $9.25 million cap hit.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="190"></div>



<p>But the gargantuan question looming over the Avs this offseason? When does MacKinnon sign his extension? He’s been eligible since free agency began this past July and enters the final year of his deal.</p>



<p>The next MacKinnon pact is the NHL’s most anticipated in recent memory for two reasons. For one: he’s widely been considered the most underpaid player in hockey for most of his current deal, which carries a $6.3 million AAV. Over the course of it, he’s been a Hart Trophy finalist three times, won a Stanley Cup and averaged well north of a point per game. So, yes, underpaid is an understatement.</p>



<p>“It’s not what you want that’s for sure –&nbsp;it’s not the title you’re looking for,” MacKinnon joked Thursday. “I’m glad I won a Cup, though.”</p>



<p>The other reason MacKinnon’s next deal is the subject of so much discussion: it’s going to be huge, possibly with an AAV exceeding Connor McDavid’s league-high $12.5 million. Based on merit and the fact the salary cap is slowly starting to rise again, MacKinnon certainly deserves any number in that ballpark. While he still believes in the mentality of taking less to serve the team, he acknowledges he’s in for a monstrous payday.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="203"></div>



<p>“I think the deal I sign will be fair,” he said. “It’s not going to be a single digit or anything, but it’ll be good for both sides and Denver’s the only place I want to be. I’d like to be an Av for life.”</p>



<p>So when will the deal happen? Training camps are days away. MacKinnon says he believes the contract is “close.” And he’s adamant about getting something signed before the 2022-23 season begins.</p>



<p>“I’d prefer it to be done,” he said. “I just don’t want to talk about it at all, and if it’s not done (before the season) I probably will stop talking to them until after the season. I know it’s a cliché thing, but it’s tough, it gets emotional, you feel like it gets personal sometimes, so I’d like to get it done so it’s not a distraction.”</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="144"></div>



<p>And once it’s done, MacKinnon’s teammate Makar, the reigning Norris and Conn Smythe Trophy winner, can take the underpaid mantle from MacKinnon.</p>



<p>“I already chirp him about which guys are making more than him,” MacKinnon joked.</p>



<p>When the puck drops on 2023-24, it’s possible no one will make more than MacKinnon.</p>



<p>_____</p>



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