The off-season for the Colorado Avalanche is going to be entertaining to say the least. On paper, the club doesn’t have a ton of cap space to sign players or make any significant trades.
Here are some of the concerns the Avalanche front office will have to consider when building their roster.
- The uncertainty of captain Gabriel Landeskog. Landeskog has missed the last two seasons due to knee surgery. Will the captain be able to play this season? If so, the Avalanche will need to make sure they leave enough room in their cap to fit him onto the roster.
- What will become of Valeri Nichushkin. We recently wrote an article on how we believe Nichushkin has played his last game in an Avalanche sweater. However, as of now, the Avalanche are unable to terminate his hefty contract. That essentially leaves over $6 million in dead cap for the Avalanche. Will they go through proceedings to terminate his contract or find a suitor for Nichushkin via trade. That’s a big question mark for the club heading into the off-season.
- Can the Avalanche re-sign Jonathan Drouin? Drouin was a perfect fit and had a great season with the Avalanche. The performance he put on should allow him to cash in during free agency. The Avalanche can’t let that happen. They need to find a way to sign Drouin to an extension but with what money?
- The Avalanche have several notable unrestricted free agents. Among them are Sean Walker, Yakov Trenin, Brandon Duhaime, Jack Johnson, and Andrew Cogliano. Who stays and who goes? If you are asking me, I think the Avalanche resign Duhaime and let all others walk. But that’s a difficult decision. The club gave up quite a bit to acquire Sean Walker and Jack Johnson and Andrew Cogliano were pieces of their winning cup team that also provide veteran leadership.
- Are Nikolai Kovalenko and Sam Malinski ready for full time NHL duty? Quite honestly, the Avalanche need them to be ready. They need some affordable contracts to build a solid roster. If those two players aren’t ready, the Avalanche will need to look at who they could sign as cheap replacements.
- Do the Avalanche stick with Alexandar Georgiev? Much to my surprise, Georgiev had a solid postseason. However, he struggled for much of the regular season. The Avalanche may look to the trade market for a more suitable starter.
There you have it…some of the concerns the Avalanche will need to address as the off-season approaches.
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