Report: 20 year old Nathan MacKinnon gets a huge payday.

If you doubted even for an instant the value that National Hockey League organization are now placing on the center position, doubt no longer. We had a center, Auston Matthews, go first overall to the Leafs at the draft, and on Friday two former first round picks, both centers, got monster paydays of their own.

After the Winnipeg Jets announced a colossal eight-year $49 million deal with an average annual value of $6.125 million with 23 year old Mark Scheifele, the Colorado Avalanche followed suite announcing a massive signing of their own, giving former first overall pick Nathan MacKinnon $44.1 million in a seven-year deal with an average annual value of $6.3 million.

“Signing Nathan to a long-term contract was a priority this offseason,” said Avalanche executive vice president/general manager Joe Sakic in an official statement. “He is going to be a key part of our team for many years to come and it was important to secure his rights moving forward.”

With the timing of both these deals, and the similar nature of both the players and their contracts, there will undoubtedly be comparisons made between the two young centers for years to come.

[pub]