The offseason is now in full effect following Carolina’s Stanley Cup title. Accordingly, it’s now time to examine what teams will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Colorado.
Although many teams in the Western Conference would have been happy with a berth into the Conference Final, this year ended up being nothing but a disappointment for the Avalanche. After being the most dominant team in the regular season, Colorado was outclassed by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, losing four consecutive games. To add insult to injury, the now-former General Manager, Chris MacFarland, departed for the Avalanche’s division rival, the Nashville Predators, to become their new General Manager and President of Hockey Operations. Now, the reins are back with Joe Sakic to get this team over the hump.
Extend Makar
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Despite having Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas up front, there’s little hope for Colorado’s long-term outlook if Cale Makar departs in free agency next summer. A Norris Trophy finalist for the past six seasons, Makar’s six-year, $54MM contract will expire after the 2026-27 campaign.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he did, but the Avalanche shouldn’t have any expectation that Makar will take a pay cut for his next deal. If he’s seeking the biggest deal possible, his floor will inevitably be Kirill Kaprizov‘s eight-year, $136MM extension signed with the Minnesota Wild. Colorado should plan to have between $17MM and $20MM in cap space next year to ensure it can secure Makar for the long term.
As of now, the Avalanche have a projected $37.75MM available for the 2027-28 offseason, assuming the upper limit of the salary cap reaches $113.5MM. Still, that number is projected after Colorado has made any moves this offseason. Additionally, if Makar signs for $17MM, that leaves approximately $20MM to either retain or acquire 10 additional players.
Although that will leave the team in a bind, it’s difficult to argue that it isn’t worth it. Through the first seven years of his career, Makar has scored 136 goals and 507 points in 470 games, averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game. If he were to keep that production up over a 20-year career, even if he were to maintain his 88% availability due to injuries, Makar would finish only a few points behind Ray Bourque as the highest-scoring defenseman of all time.
Hire A New Powerplay Coach
If the Avalanche were bad at anything this season, it was the powerplay. After struggling last postseason, Colorado had hoped that Dave Hakstol would be the answer, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
Despite being able to deploy the likes of MacKinnon, Necas, Makar, etc, the Avalanche finished 27th in the league with a man advantage, converting only 17.11% of opportunities. It increased slightly during the postseason, rising to 20.56%, but it didn’t make much difference for them in the end. For what it’s worth, Colorado did finish with a higher powerplay percentage in the playoffs than the Carolina Hurricanes or Vegas Golden Knights.
Obviously, Colorado already has all the talent you could want for two powerplay units, so their biggest change will likely come to the coaching staff to resolve the issue. Especially as they commit to a rebuild, the Avalanche could look to poach David Quinn from the New York Rangers, who managed to have one of the worst teams in the NHL with the fifth-best powerplay.
Additionally, Colorado could target an old friend. Many of the rumblings coming out of Detroit have been about notable players being traded from the Red Wings this offseason. However, assistant coach Alex Tanguay has consistently helped the Red Wings have one of the better power plays in the NHL throughout the last few years, and would be a huge asset to the Avalanche’s coaching staff. Depending on how much the Red Wings tear it down this offseason, Tanguay may welcome an opportunity to win.
Target Defensive Depth
Heading into the offseason, the Avalanche have approximately $7MM in cap space to work with and only four defensemen signed through next season. Inarguably, their top three are set with Makar, Devon Toews, and Sam Malinski. Still, Colorado is set to lose Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, Jack Ahcan, and Nick Blankenburg to the open market next season.
Josh Manson, who is also signed through next season, is a far trickier defenseman to evaluate. He had the second-best offensive season of his career with five goals and 31 points in 79 games. Still, 19 of his points came via secondary assists, meaning he only had a primary impact on 12 points throughout the entire campaign, on the league’s best team. He remains very physical, but may be better-suited as a really good option for the bottom-pairing rather than a mainstay in the top four.
Regardless, given their deployment the past two years, the Avalanche have no qualms about playing either Malinski or Manson on their off-side, giving Colorado plenty of options to pick from. Given their cap situation, the Avalanche could target presumably cheap defensive talent such as Ian Cole or Erik Gudbranson. They can provide low-risk opportunities to former higher-end prospects like Adam Boqvist and Ville Heinola, both of whom are expected to enter the open market soon.
Trade Nichushkin Or Lehkonen
This may be a tougher pill to swallow for an Avalanche fan base that has grown accustomed to elite talent in the top six. Carrying on from the salary cap outlook, incorporating an expensive Makar extension, it’s likely that somebody expensive will have to be moved as a consequence.
Yesterday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Colorado was including Valeri Nichushkin, and his $6.125MM salary through the 2029-30 season, in trade talks, with additional flexibility in mind. Given that he’s signed through the next four seasons, the Avalanche could conceivably move Nichushkin for defensive depth, hitting two birds with one stone. He has struggled with injuries over the past few years, but is a big winger who can be a force to play against in the playoffs.
However, if Colorado can’t find a dancing partner for Nichushkin, it may be time to consider moving on from Artturi Lehkonen. Eligible for an extension on July 1st, it’s highly unlikely that the Avalanche will be able to sign both Makar and Lehkonen long-term, even if they move out Nichushkin. If the Avalanche are good at anything, it’s asset management, and trading Lehkonen with one year left on his contract, especially at an exceptionally affordable $4.5MM cap hit, could capture quite the haul.
Since joining the Avalanche in 2021-22, Lehkonen has been around a 50-point producer when healthy. However, his draw comes from the postseason, where he has scored 23 goals and 41 points in 56 games since putting on the burgundy. Like Nichushkin, Lehkonen only has a 12-team no-trade list in his contract, giving Colorado plenty of options. If they consider moving him, there’s a chance the Avalanche could improve their defensive depth and prospect capital in the same trade.
Photo courtesy of Jerome Miron of Imagn Images.