It has been one of the wildest offseasons in NHL history, but it’s been relatively quiet at the base of the Front Range.
High-profile trades, trade requests and multiple offer sheets have breathed fire into an offseason that also features one of the weakest free agent classes the league has seen. There was a big shakeup in Denver at the start, with Chris MacFarland off to Nashville. But Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche have stayed out of the fray, mostly.
The Avs look, well, a lot like the Avs from a year ago. After the best regular-season in franchise history followed by a Western Conference flameout, the current status of the roster is going to produce a variety of opinions.
One outer-circle core player and two depth players are gone. Three likely replacements have arrived. Sakic made it pretty clear the plan is to reinforce the roster in February, not early July.
There’s still plenty of time left in this offseason for a further shakeup, but Sakic sounded content after his efficient July 1 work was complete. There is still some business to be done before training camp begins.
There are still some questions to answer this offseason. Here are the biggest ones:
1. When will Cale Makar sign his next contract?
First, old friend Bowen Byram and the Chicago Blackhawks surprised everyone, both with what the team paid to acquire the former Avs defenseman and then the contract — six years at $12.5 million per year.
Byram, for now, would be the highest-paid defenseman in NHL history when his contract begins July 1, 2027. But that distinction isn’t likely to last long. Makar and Quinn Hughes are expected to sign for more this summer.
Then, Leo Carlsson sent shockwaves around the hockey world by signing an offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers — five years, $18 million per year. He will be the highest-paid player during the 2026-27 season, whether he stays with the Anaheim Ducks or switches coasts.
How does either of these deals affect Makar? Probably not a lot, but both of those moves have primed everyone for the new financial reality moving forward.
Makar signed his most recent contract on July 24, 2021. That was just a few days before he would have been a restricted free agent. He can be an unrestricted free agent July 1, 2027. Sakic said there will be no such suspense this time.
2. Will Artturi Lehkonen have a new contract by training camp?
‘The Sacrificial Lamb’ is the Avs’ other key potential unrestricted free agent in 2027. He’ll be 32 years old when the next contract starts, but Lehkonen has always been a critical cog in this Colorado machine, and even more so now with Valeri Nichushkin off to Columbus.
This could be a tricky contract for the Avs. His value often surpasses his traditional output. His availability is sometimes an issue. How much longer will he be a critical, impactful player? The Avs do not have any young players who can just step in and replace him. The sooner the better for the Avs on the contract, considering the rising cap ceiling and the cost of business is going up around the league.
3. What about Jared Bednar?
NHL coaches rarely coach on the final year of a contract. Bednar is about to start the final year of his current deal.
Will there be an extension before training camp? Sakic did not give a hard “yes” to a question about that earlier in the offseason, but both he and Kroenke Sports and Entertainment vice chairman Josh Kroenke voiced their support for Bednar shortly after the season ended.
“We’ll figure out later in the summer on all that stuff, but I don’t think he’s worried about it,” Sakic said. “He shouldn’t be worried about it. The contracts will come when they come.”
4. Will there be any more front office changes?
This offseason began with MacFarland leaving the club to become president and general manager of the Nashville Predators. Sakic now has the same role(s) with the Avs, adding GM duties.
MacFarland has traded for or signed several players from the organization, but he also poached Dawson Sprigings — one of the key members of the Avs’ analytics department. Sprigings is now an assistant to the GM in Music City.
The Avs quickly announced two analytics openings — one to replace Sprigings and one to expand Arik Parnass’ department.
Will the Avs have a new GM by the start of training camp? Will anyone in the current front office get a promotion? Will there be a new assistant GM hired to effectively replace MacFarland, or will Sakic’s inner circle remain one person smaller moving forward?
5. Who is coaching the Eagles?
Colorado’s AHL affiliate lost two members of the coaching staff after the Eagles had their most successful AHL season in franchise history. Assistant Kim Weiss, the second woman to be behind the bench of an AHL club, is now the head coach of the expansion PWHL team in Las Vegas.
Former head coach Mark Letestu is also heading to Sin City, for an assistant role with the Vegas Golden Knights. The Eagles will have their third head coach in three seasons, with Aaron Schneekloth also on an NHL bench in Seattle.
6. Who is playing for the Eagles?
It’s been a tough few days for a group that lost in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final. Alex Barre-Boulet and Tye Felhaber have signed with San Jose. Jack Ahcan and Chase Bradley went to Nashville with MacFarland. Jason Polin signed with Buffalo. Ivan Ivan was traded to Boston.
T.J. Tynan signed an AHL deal with Springfield. Valtteri Puustinen is off to Sweden. Jacob MacDonald, Ronnie Attard and Danil Gushchin are all free agents, the latter not qualified so he’s a UFA like the other two.
That’s six of the team’s top eight scorers from the regular season gone, plus a few other key veterans. As it stands right now, the Eagles look like they will be a much younger team next season. There are nine players who were aged 26 or older that saw Calder Cup Playoffs action who are no longer on the roster.
There were some reinforcements added. Forwards Vinnie Hinostroza and Adam Beckman, plus defenseman Domenick Fensore will all likely be staples for the Eagles.
One spot where the Eagles should excel is in net, with Trent Miner back and two young Russians — top prospect Ilya Nabokov and recent signing Nikita Novosyolov ready for their North American debuts. There will also be a few young forwards who do not make the Avs roster who will likely see big minutes for the Eagles.
Getting younger might mean fewer wins, but it could also mean more playing time for guys who might play for the big club at various points in the season.
7. Is this really everyone?
The Avs have 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies on one-way contracts. Sakic made it clear they want to bank as much cap space as possible ahead of the trade deadline.
So … are the Avs really done? There could still be a couple of players added with the Eagles in mind.
There are also a lot of competent NHL players still unsigned. The prices on most, if not all, of them is likely dropping as the days before training camp tick away.
Colorado also has had some success by signing free agents late in the cycle. Jack Johnson and Joel Kiviranta both originally arrived on player-tryout contracts (PTOs) for training camp. The Avs didn’t sign Victor Olofsson until Aug. 20 a year ago.
If this really is everyone, and the Avs do start next season with the 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies currently on one-way contracts, they would have $1,279,159 of cap space on opening night and $5,847,584 of projected space on trade deadline day, .
