After surprising the hockey world in 2017-18 with one of the best turnarounds in NHL history, the Colorado Avalanche went from being the worst team in the league to returning to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now, the plans for the Avalanche off-season should including trying to maintain that success next season in hopes to continue growing towards a championship.
The biggest obstacle now is knowing how much adjusting needs to be done. Their improvement reminds many of what the Edmonton Oilers did just one season earlier. Then, they fell all the way back down last season despite having almost an identical roster. General Manager Joe Sakic has to look at this and try to make sure his team doesn’t regress too.
So, how much does Sakic do this summer? Probably not a whole lot. Staying the course appears to be his best bet. Rather than chase multiple big fish or make personnel trades, the Avalanche off-season plan would likely benefit from less movement.
Colorado Avalanche Off-Season Plan
Thanks to a trade and immediate contract extension for Washington Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer, the Avs have nearly a full roster already. Colorado currently has 12 forwards, nine defensemen, and two goalies signed to their roster (plus plenty of non-roster contracts). Incredibly, they still have $18.5 million in cap space.
With that kind of flexibility, the Avalanche could make a run at multiple high-profile free agents. However, Sakic has been clear about continuing the youth movement, so don’t expect to see him overpaying for mid-career UFA’s this summer. In fact, he’s already stated his plan to buy out Brooks Orpik’s contract after the 37-year-old defenseman was acquired along with Grubauer at the draft.
Below is a breakdown of the Avs at each section of their roster. This includes lineup projections, rumors, and suggestions for the franchise for next season’s team.
Avalanche Forwards
Except for 32-year-old Carl Soderberg, all of the rostered forwards in Colorado are between 20 and 28 years of age. Being that young, and with as many promising prospects already on their roster, there’s plenty of reason to believe they’ll only improve up front.
That being said, they were extremely top-heavy last year. Forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen made up one of the league’s deadliest lines. MacKinnon blew up for 97 points and finished second in voting for the Hart Trophy. Rantanen and Landeskog potted 84 and 62 points respectively on MacKinnon’s wings.
After that, though, the Avs forward scoring drops dramatically. Rookie Alexander Kerfoot finished fourth among forwards with 43 points, and as the team’s second line center he never had consistent wingers. This came from the fact that no one else could consistently produce. While Kerfoot’s season qualifies as a strong rookie campaign, he’s left shouldering a lot of responsibility for a second year player if the roster remains as-is.
Pending Contracts to Re-Negotiate
The only expiring contracts this year are those of Nail Yakupov, Matthew Nieto, and Blake Comeau. Comeau, the only UFA in the group, probably won’t be back. Yakupov could be released as well, while Nieto should be brought back. While this is a small crowd to evaluate this summer, Sakic needs to preemptively look ahead to next year and start offering extensions this season. Eight of the 12 signed forwards are going into contract years. Most notably, Rantanen, Kerfoot, J.T. Compher, and Sven Andrighetto will all be RFA’s seeking raises.
These young forwards need big seasons to entice solid raises. The Avs are relying heavily on them all to grow. Compher and Andrighetto could be regular second liners if they can build on last season. If they don’t, though, the team will once again be hoping their first line can carry them back to the postseason.
Free Agent Forward Acquisition: Paul Stastny
The Avalanche should strongly consider bringing in one forward via free agency to help mitigate their reliance on the first line. While Sakic wants to stay young, signing one strong forward makes a lot of sense for the team. Center Paul Stastny has been rumored to maybe be seeking a homecoming in Colorado. If that is true, Sakic needs to consider.
Stastny would slide in tremendously and be able to provide that much-needed depth scoring presence. Despite being deep at center, everyone behind MacKinnon is still developing. If Kerfoot is ready next season to add another 10-15 points to what he scored last year, then Stastny could lead the third line. If not, the two could swap, taking some of the weight off Kerfoot. Also, Tyson Jost and Compher can play wing. This leaves Vladislav Kamenev and Dominic Toninato to fight for the fourth line center role.
Avalanche Defensemen
This has been the weak point of the Avs roster for a very long time. Although they haven’t made any big moves to bring in established defensemen, they suddenly look much better on the back-end. This can simply be attributed to how well they’ve developed their prospects. Regulars Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie lead the group, followed by Samuel Girard and Nikita Zadorov. Those two youngsters have evolved so dramatically in a short period of time, and now round out the Avs’ top four admirably.
The bottom pair in Colorado could be in flux all year long. The team re-signed Mark Alt to provide depth at the position, and Mark Barberio is still in the mix. There’s also David Warsofsky and Anton Lindholm who both spent some time in the lineup last year too. Then there are RFA’s Patrik Nemeth and Duncan Siemens still without contracts. Considering the fact that they also have strong prospects at the position, specifically Conor Timmins, Sergei Boikov, and Cale Makar, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the team decided against bringing one or either of those RFA’s back next season.
Avalanche Goalies
The trade for Phillip Grubauer has made things really transparent for the future of the Avs goaltending situation. It is known that Grubauer is close to being ready for a starting role in the NHL, and with Semyon Varlamov entering the last year of his contract, it appears Grubauer will have that job very soon. Varlamov is oft-injured, something that has forced Colorado to rely more heavily on backups than most teams. While Jonathan Bernier did well, Grubauer is someone who can take over the job and not let go.
Should Varlamov stay healthy, the team may look to trade him mid-season. This would also require strong play from Grubauer. Should any of that not happen, the two will probably settle into a 1A / 1B type of rotation. Grubauer is locked up for three years as well, so it is not hard to imagine Varlamov’s days in Colorado are numbered one way or another.
Projected Roster
They already possess almost everyone listed below, so not a whole lot must happen to start with this team in September. To keep the Avalanche off-season plan in tact, a roster such as this would benefit the team.
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Jost – Stastny* – Andrighetto
Compher – Kerfoot – Nieto*
Soderberg – Kamenev – Wilson
Extras: Dominic Toninato, Gabriel Bourque
Johnson – Barrie
Zadorov – Girard
Barberio – Lindholm
Extras: Mark Alt, David Warsofsky, Patrik Nemeth*
Varlamov
Grubauer
Extras: Pavel Francouz, Spencer Martin*
*The asterisk indicates the player is not currently under contract with Colorado Avalanche
Main Photo
Embed from Getty Images
