The first two moves for the Colorado Avalanche after clearing some salary cap space are familiar ones.
Colorado signed Brett Kulak and Brent Burns to new contracts Friday, ensuring that the Avalanche’s top six defensemen from last season are now under contract. Kulak’s contract is a five-year deal with a $4.5 million cap hit, a source confirmed.
Burns signed a one-year deal with a base salary of $850,000, but with bonuses, the deal could be worth about $3 million. This is similar to his contract from last season, which featured a $1 million base salary and $4 million in potential bonuses.
The Avs have traded away Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton and the rights to restricted free agent Jack Drury in the past 10 days, which freed up the cap space necessary to sign Kulak.
Kulak, 32, joined the Avs ahead of the trade deadline this past season from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a deal that sent Samuel Girard the other way. He was a steady, defense-first presence for the Avs, and could slot in on the second or third pairing, depending on what else general manager Joe Sakic accomplishes this offseason.
Burns, 41, signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche before last season. He had 12 goals and 35 points in 82 games. He has played in 1,007 consecutive games, which is the second-most all-time behind Phil Kessel. Burns could break Kessel’s mark and be the NHL’s all-time Ironman in Game No. 58 this coming season.
Because he is older than 35, Burns can sign contracts that include bonuses. The Avs can also roll over bonus money to the following year if they make the club exceed the salary cap ceiling. Burns attained $3 million in bonus money last season, and nearly $2.3 million of that was rolled over onto the 2026-27 cap for next season.
The Avs now have 11 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies on one-way contracts for next season, and about $5.63 million in cap space remaining. One of the forwards currently on a two-way deal could win the final spot up front and would eat up a little less than $1 million of the remaining space, but there is still room for Sakic and Co. to add.
It is a historically weak free agent class, but the Avs have also added more draft capital over the past 10 days for potential trades. They now have 10 selections in the 2026 NHL draft, which begins Friday night in Buffalo.
The Avs’ defensive depth chart could look the same on opening night as it did after Kulak arrived, but Colorado could still use reinforcements beyond the top six. The guys who were Nos. 7 and 8 at the end of last season, Nick Blankenburg and Jack Ahcan, are both UFAs.
