Joe Sakic, back in the general manager role, wrapped up business for the 2025-26 season quickly in July. There were three key members of the organization entering the final year of their contracts then. All three — Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and coach Jared Bednar — are still without extensions about three weeks before training camp begins.

Sakic, speaking Sunday ahead of the second annual Avalanche-University of Denver alumni game at Magness Arena, made it clear he is not concerned.

Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner and co-face of the franchise alongside Nathan MacKinnon, is expected to sign the largest contract in franchise history.

Avalanche 2026-27 schedule: Best matchups, toughest stretches in NHL’s new 84-game slate

"Not really an update. We continue talking," Sakic said when asked about No. 8. "I'm pretty confident that he'll be signed before the season starts.

"I'm not worried about it. I don't think Cale is worried about it. The dialogue has been great. When there's an agreement, we'll be glad to announce it. Hopefully something will be done before the start of training camp."

Lehkonen has been a critical member of the club since arriving ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. The 31-year-old Lehkonen had 21 goals and 48 points in 70 games last season, but was injured during the second round of the 2026 playoffs and did not have his typical postseason impact after returning in the conference finals against Vegas.

Bednar is the most accomplished coach in franchise history, and is entering his 11th season at the helm. He's the second-longest tenured coach in the league, behind only Tampa Bay's Jon Cooper. There have been calls to fire Bednar from outside the organization after stunning postseason endings each of the past two seasons, but management and ownership have stood firm in its support of the coach both times.

"Everything's great," Sakic said of his relationship with Bednar. "Not worried about that. There's been coaches, been players that have entered the last year of their deals before, and there's going to be in the future. Not really concerned about that, and I don't think Jared is either.

Makar is entering the final season of a six-year, $54 million contract. His next deal could be worth twice as much per season or more. The financial environment in the NHL has been changing rapidly in recent seasons as the salary cap ceiling has experienced unprecedented spikes after years of post-COVID pandemic stagnation.

There is also a new collective bargaining agreement coming in the NHL, and one part matters for Makar and the Avs. The current maximum contract length is eight years to re-sign a player and seven to sign with a new club. That will change with the CBA, and the last day Makar and the Avs could agree to an eight-year pact is Sept. 15, one day before the new CBA begins.

"No, not really worried about (that deadline)," Sakic said. "I think when there's a deal announced or signed and agreed to, both sides will be comfortable with whatever term it is."

Makar and fellow defensive superstar Quinn Hughes are both expected to reset the market for elite defensemen. The top contract for a defenseman in 2026-27 will be Pittsburgh's Erik Karlsson with an $11.5 million cap hit. Former Avs defenseman Bo Byram has signed a new deal with Chicago that starts in 2027-28 that carries a $12.5 million cap hit.

Hughes and Makar are expected to blow past that. The landscape has changed, even since Byram's surprising mega deal was announced July 1. The Anaheim Ducks matched a five-year, $90 million offer sheet for center Leo Carlsson in early July, then the San Jose Sharks signed their franchise star Macklin Celebrini to a five-year, $94 million pact. At $18.8 million per season, Celebrini has the largest contract in league history on a per-year basis.

Whether or not Makar and/or Hughes top that remains to be seen.

"I think everybody's projecting where the cap is going, and that's why you're seeing these contracts at a certain level," Sakic said. "Everybody wants to lock up their young stars, and that's what is happening."

While camp is a few weeks away, the Avs' projected lineup looks pretty similar to the one that won the Presidents' Trophy with a franchise-record 121 points before the stunning conference finals sweep by the Golden Knights. Sakic and Co. re-signed defensemen Brent Burns and Brett Kulak, so the defense corps and goaltending will be the same.

There were changes up front, notably trades of Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton and Jack Drury to provide some salary cap flexibility. Younger players will compete to replace Drury and Colton, while the Avs signed free agent Jaden Schwartz to a three-year, $9.75 million deal to fit somewhere among the top-nine forwards and ostensibly replace Nichushkin.

"We like the roster," Sakic said. "I think we have a good enough team to compete for the Stanley Cup. It's a long season. It's a process. Just got to try and get better every day. Obviously, there's some changes, but there's changes with every roster, every year. But we have the core here and it's a great core. They have a standard and we expect and assume that everyone's going to live up to that standard."

Colorado will have back-to-back games just 10 times after the NHL released its schedule for next season on Thursday. Three of them are among the first 10 games and six are before Thanksgiving. The first 84-game slate since before the franchise moved to Denver from Quebec City gets a little less congested after that and includes a nearly week-long holiday break.

The Avs are the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, but will be trying to move past a shocking postseason exit for the second straight year after being swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the 2026 Western Conference Final.

Here’s a look at some of the highlights from Colorado’s 2026-27 schedule:

Sept. 30 vs. Los Angeles — The Avs will welcome the Kings to Ball Arena to start the season. There will be a banner raising, if not the one fans were expecting after such a dominant 2025-26 season. Colorado swept Los Angeles in the opening round of the 2026 playoffs.

Oct. 10 vs. Toronto — Avs fans will get an early look at Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 selection in the 2026 NHL draft, when the Maple Leafs come to Denver.

Oct. 13 at Dallas, Oct. 14 vs. Dallas — Colorado will play four games against each of its seven Central Division neighbors. Half of the matchups with Mikko Rantanen and the Stars are a midweek back-to-back in Games No. 6 of 7 of the season. These two rivals also have back-to-back games on Jan. 22 and Jan. 24, with the latter at Ball Arena.

Oct. 16 vs. Pittsburgh — We’re running low on Nathan MacKinnon-Sidney Crosby matchups. The two friends will also see each other on Jan. 12 in Pittsburgh. This probably isn’t Crosby’s last trip to Denver, but it could be. Landon DuPount, the expected No. 1 pick in the 2027 NHL draft, will also be in town this weekend. Michigan plays the University of Denver at Magness Arena on Oct. 16 and 17.

Oct. 25 at Nashville, Nov. 5 vs. Nashville — A couple of early-season matchups with the Predators, who now include many more people with Avalanche ties. Chris MacFarland left to become Nashville’s president and general manager in June, and he traded for both Jack Drury and Ross Colton.

Nov. 27 at Minnesota — A Friday matinee the day after Thanksgiving, this will be the Avs’ only meeting with the Wild until March. Colorado and Minnesota will play three times in the final 13 contests of the season. The Avs handled Quinn Hughes and the Wild in five games during the second round of the 2026 playoffs.

Dec. 1-8 at Boston, Detroit, N.Y. Rangers, N.Y. Islanders, St. Louis — This is the longest road trip of the Avs’ season, and also the silliest one geographically. Boston to New York City is one of the shortest flights of the season, or a train ride. Instead, the Avs will go to Detroit in between. And then have a Long Island-St. Louis back-to-back that will be one of the longest in club history, though the game against the Islanders is in the afternoon, at least.

Dec. 12 vs. Washington — This is almost certainly the last time the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin, will be in Denver. It should be quite the farewell tour for Ovechkin this season, and the Capitals loaded up this summer to try and make it a memorable one. This game also kicks off the first of two five-game homestands.

Dec. 18 vs. Carolina — The fourth game of that homestand will feature the 2026 Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes and their lone trip to Denver.

Dec. 31 at Utah — The marquee game on the NHL’s calendar — the 2027 Winter Classic at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. The Avs have to play a home game on Dec. 29, but should get to practice at the football stadium the next day before the outdoor game on New Year’s Eve.

Jan. 2 at Vegas, Jan. 4 vs. Vegas — Going straight from the outdoor game to back-to-back tilts with the club that ended their dream season could be interesting. The Golden Knights will have a new coach and like the Avs had to do some salary cap gymnastics this summer, but they should be one of the top teams in the Western Conference again.

Feb. 15 vs. Columbus — The Avalanche will play Valeri Nichushkin and the Blue Jackets on Nov. 3, but this will be the first game back in Denver for him after being traded in June. Expect the memories of the 2022 championship run to be front and center that night, both in the tribute video and with Ball Arena’s reception.

March 5 at San Jose — This is the second of a three-game road trip, but it is also the day of the NHL’s trade deadline. For the second straight year, the Avs will play on that day.

March 9-17 vs. Philadelphia, N.Y. Rangers, Chicago, Edmonton, Minnesota — The second of two five-game homestands, this one is part of seven home games in an eight-game stretch. If the Avs need to make a late push, this might be the time to do it.

April 10 vs. Minnesota — The Avs will hope that Game No. 82 doesn’t have any postseason implications, but this would be a doozy of a season finale if it does. Colorado also finishes with six of its final nine games on the road, including a three-game trek to Minnesota, Vancouver and Calgary just before the finale.

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, .

Joe Sakic said superstar Cale Makar isn’t going anywhere, but his next contract will have a huge impact on how the Avs attempt to construct a Stanley Cup-contending roster into the next decade. Artturi Lehkonen has been a critical supporting star for the Avs since arriving at the trade deadline ahead of the club’s 2022 Stanley Cup run.

Both players have one year left on their current deals. The cap ceiling is expected to be $113 million for 2027-28, the first year of their new deals. That is $29.5 million more, or about 35% more than it was when Nathan MacKinnon started his eight-year, $100.8 million contract in 2023-24.

The negotiations for each deal will be entirely different. Makar is one of the best players in the world in the prime of his career. MacKinnon famously said Makar should get $20 million per season the day after Mikko Rantanen was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes.

Lehkonen is an extremely valuable player and a beloved teammate, but he’ll also be 32 when his next contract begins. It’s hard to fathom a number too big for the Avs with Makar, but it will be different with Lehkonen.

What might their contracts look like? The salary cap ceiling is surging to previously unforeseen levels, making it more difficult to project new deals. Sakic said last week that talks on extensions that don’t kick in until next year will start in mid-July. Maybe some deals signed by current free agents will provide more data on what contracts will look like moving forward.

Let’s try to find some comparable deals, and then adjust for the rising cap. Get ready to hear a lot about the percentage of the cap in the coming days/weeks/months to justify some cap hits that look … a little different than what we’re used to.

Cale Makar

Just kidding — there are no comparables for Makar.

Well, not as of Tuesday, anyway. Makar is one of the two best defensemen in the world. The other guy, Quinn Hughes, is also entering the final year of his contract. They’re on the same timeline. Who signs first, and will it impact the other?

The other issue — no elite defenseman has signed a contract as a pending UFA in a long time. It’s a weird quirk. The nine highest-paid forwards in the NHL right now all signed deals as pending unrestricted free agents.

Only three of the 10 highest-paid defensemen did. The other seven signed their deals as pending restricted free agents. That is a slightly different negotiation. If Makar had been an unrestricted free agent when he signed his last deal, he’d have gotten more than $54 million over six years.

Erik Karlsson and Drew Doughty both signed contracts of $11 million or more that began with the 2019-20 season. No other defenseman signed for that much per season until Rasmus Dahlin signed the same pact as Doughty — 8 years, $88 million. He was a pending restricted free agent, and that deal began two years ago.

Karlsson is the most expensive defenseman at $11.5 million. Makar and Hughes will reset the top of the defense market, and then reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski will be the next megadeal for a pending unrestricted free agent next year. Calder Trophy winner Matthew Schaefer will also be ready for a new deal next summer, and it is expected he’ll blow past what Makar got coming off his entry-level contract.

Here are the top-five contracts signed by defensemen who were pending unrestricted free agents in the league right now:

The percentage of the cap in year one of those deals matters. P.K. Subban also signed a deal that was worth a touch more than 13% of the cap when he was coming off a Norris Trophy win in 2014.

Both Makar and Hughes can make the case that they are among the top five to seven players in the sport, regardless of position. If Bobby Orr or Ray Bourque were 26 or 27 years old and a year from free agency, they’d be getting paid like a top five to seven player in the league.

So here are the top five contracts in the league right now:

Back to the cap percentage idea. If the Avs sign Makar to a deal worth $17 million per season, that would actually be slightly less (15.04%) than MacKinnon’s contract in 2023-24 (15.09%).

What MacKinnon said 18 months ago isn’t wrong. Makar is worth $20 million per year. The best players in the world are all worth that much, but superstars have consistently taken less to help their teams have more cap space to build around them. Kirill Kaprizov pushed the bar higher, but Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel didn’t go with him.

Even if Makar and Hughes didn’t want to take a higher percentage than what Karlsson got eight years prior, 14.11% of a $113 million cap is still $15.944 million per season.

The other big question, of course, is the term of the contract. The new collective bargaining agreement will limit the maximum contract length in future summers to seven years. Makar and Hughes (and Lehkonen) have until Sept. 15 to ink an eight-year pact if they’d like.

Kaprizov and Eichel did eight-year deals, but McDavid signed for just two, and Auston Matthews only inked a four-year pact. Whether Makar and Hughes decide to go short and cash in again, or go long for what will likely be their last huge deal, it’s going to cost Colorado (and Minnesota, assuming Hughes does sign) an enormous sum of money.

An eight-year, $120 million contract would be a significant victory for either franchise, and either might have to settle for something similar to Kaprizov’s deal.

Artturi Lehkonen

Lehkonen has been an immensely valuable player when available who has been on an incredibly team-friendly contract for years.

But, like the recently departed Valeri Nichushkin, the phrase “when available” also plays into this, and could even more so in the future.

Here’s something that sums up the past few years for the Avs: Since 2015-16, there have been 33 wings who meet this criteria — 200-plus games played, 70-plus goals scored and 150-plus points during their age 27-30 seasons. For Lehkonen and Nichushkin, that four-year window is 2022-23 through this past season.

Nichushkin has the fewest games played of the bunch (222) and Lehkonen has the third-fewest (248). Both have been highly productive when available. Both have missed 25% or more of the regular-season games. Nichushkin missed games in three of the past four postseasons, while Lehkonen missed two games in the second round this year and looked compromised during the Western Conference Final.

Lehkonen’s full value isn’t captured by 85 goals and 178 points over the past four seasons. He’s an excellent two-year player, penalty killer and someone who produces more on a per-game basis during the playoffs than the regular season.

Finding comparable players for him isn’t easy. Are the guys who have similar total production? The players with similar per-game numbers?

Here are some wings that might fit:

The guys who have the most similar career production ahead of the new contract are Arvidsson, Tarasenko, Teravainen and Smith. Arvidsson and Tarasenko were already dealing with injuries and decline, and their contracts reflected that. It’s also worth noting that both of those guys had nice bounce-back seasons last year, at ages 32 and 34, respectively.

Rust has aged the best. Palat and Smith have aged the worst. Toffoli is a weird case because he had played for six teams by the time his current deal was signed. But he had two of his best seasons at ages 30-31 and then signed with San Jose, where he scored 49 goals in two years.

There are seven players on this list. Lehkonen is more valuable than some, for sure. He hasn’t had quite the career, from a pure production standpoint, as Rust or Toffoli, at least.

The average cap percentage for those seven contracts is 6.15%. That amount in 2027-28 would be about $6.95 million. Lehkonen, when he’s healthy, has played like a $7 million player or more.

Given the cap surge, is he a $7 million player right now? And what about in the future?

The term for Lehkonen’s next deal could be just as important as the average annual value. It’s a tricky one on both fronts.

There’s no denying his present value, and losing Nichushkin only amplifies it. But there is potential for variance in the future with any deal that starts at age 32, and there might even be more than usual with Lehkonen because of his playing style and injury history.

The Avs are Doja Cat. The Nuggets? Hello Kitty.

The difference between the approach of the local hockey team and resident hoops club remains striking. What makes it more confusing is that they are both owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment.

The Avs throw caution to the wind. The Nuggets rely on caution to prevent wins.

Knee-deep into the offseason, general manager Joe Sakic has executed three trades, shipping Ross Colton and Jack Drury to Nashville and Valeri Nichushkin to Columbus for a combined five draft picks and three players. He created $8 million in additional salary cap space to re-sign Brett Kulak and Brent Burns.

And he still has $6 million left to pursue a forward. It is easier to make moves in the NHL, but the Avs have been bold over the last two trade deadlines and summers.

They moved on from Mikko Rantanen and Nichushkin, exhausted by Moose’s contract demands and wisely recognizing Nichushkin’s decline. These were not only top players on their team, but, at times, in the league. And they ripped off the band aid in pursuit of a Stanley Cup.

As CSG podcaster Jeff Morton pointed out last week, the Nuggets have been cautious, while other KSE properties are aggressive. Is it because president Josh Kroenke is more involved in the basketball operations, becoming too close to the players?

There is no question he has strong relationships. I witnessed the emotion first hand in the locker room after the Nuggets were eliminated the past two seasons. Caring is not a bad thing. But it is always better to like players, not love them.

And it is fair to wonder if Kroenke’s connection to the Nuggets has influenced the team’s conservative movement this offseason.

The other potential answer? It is about money. NBA owners would rather swim through a moat of alligators and walk in hot lava to their suite at The Four Seasons than go into the second apron.

It is punitive, and the Nuggets showed how scared they were during the first round of the draft. Desperate for a better ball handler or a tougher big man — Jonas Valanciunas was a scorer, not an enforcer — the Nuggets traded their pick to San Antonio for a pair of second-round selections.

They moved back to make the team they are chasing better, giving the Spurs another brute, Tarris Reed Jr., to guard Nikola Jokic.

Co-general manager Jon Wallace said it was important that the Nuggets not catch “draft fever.” The buzzword was discipline. Cheap also works for a team that hired two general managers and a coach with no previous experience in their roles.

Remember, the Nuggets’ new second rounders — Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins — will receive non-guaranteed contracts. Hardly anyone does unless their name is Bronny James. Brazile might become a rotational player this season, but it is more likely he is hooping with Hopkins in the G-League.

It would be easy to crush Wallace and co-GM Ben Tenzer for this draft night yawn.

But was it really their choice? Or are they operating under guidance from Kroenke?

Collecting picks is not uncommon, and there is an argument to follow this path as a market correction for the horrible trades of Isaiah Hartenstein and Reggie Jackson and for Bol Bol and DaRon Holmes II.

Those missteps left the Nuggets without assets to move up, or contributing players to fill out the roster (Where have you gone Bryn Forbes? Nuggets Nation turns its lonely eyes to you, woo, woo, woo).

Why can’t the Nuggets be transparent? Just admit they are in the middle of a reset?

Instead, Kroenke insists they are in a championship window because, you know, Jokic is on the roster. Well, you know who seems to be having a hard time believing that?

Jokic.

As the well-conditioned captain of the Serbian national team, Jokic said last week that the Nuggets were not good enough to win last season. The year before he said they were not deep enough.

All he left out was too predictable and unathletic, and he would have hit the problems right on the nose.

And the answer to all of this is frugality? Really?

“I think any time you get bounced in the first round like that, everyone’s gotta look themselves in the mirror,” Wallace said. “I think a large part of that is health. I think a large part of that is, as our team has entered into a more seasoned state individually, the type of basketball we play. The way we prepare, the way we attack teams is gonna have to change a little bit.”

This word salad makes me hungry for the Nuggets to just be honest about their intentions. Ship off two of the four starters between Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun and re-sign Peyton Watson.

Develop Spencer Jones and Julian Strawther, hope Brazile and Holmes become contributors and position the franchise to make a championship run in 2028, or more likely, 2029.

This is not my preference. I would love ownership to say, “F-them dollars!,” pay a significant tax penalty and become a second apron team for the first time under the current collective bargaining agreement. Then trade Johnson, keep Tim Hardaway Jr., and add backup point guard Keaton Wallace.

That would spark talk of another championship.

But that is not realistic. That is something the Avs would do.

They, after all, are Ozzie Osbourne to the Nuggets’ Ozzie and Harriet.

Colorado chose Egor Shilov with the No. 43 pick in the second round Saturday, and followed up with Beckett Hamilton at choice No. 74 in the third round. The Avs selected nine players in total — tied for the most in any draft by the club since it switched a seven-round format in 2005.

Shilov, listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, had 32 goals and 82 points in 63 games for the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL this past season. He finished seventh in the QMJHL in scoring, but first among rookies. He is expected to play for Victoriaville next season and then join Penn State for the 2027-28 campaign.

“We were really high on him — our staff, our analytics department, the scouting staff through and through was was high on him,” Avs scouting director Nick Pryor said. “It’s a high-talent player. We see him as a guy with a high offensive upside and a lot of skill, dynamic skill, playmaking.”

Hailing from Tyumen, Russia, Shilov has also played for the Long Island Gulls in the AYHL and Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL prior to joining Victoriaville. Shilov was previously committed to Boston University, but flipped to Penn State in May.

The consensus from several draft experts on Shilov is he’s a dynamic offensive prospect, but there are questions about his defensive commitment and compete level.

Hamilton, listed at 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, is in some ways the opposite type of prospect compared to Shilov. He had 24 goals and 62 points in 67 games for Red Deer, plus three goals in five games for Canada at the U-18 world championships.

He’s expected to stay with Red Deer next season, and hasn’t committed to an NCAA program for the future. Hamilton earned praise from multiple draft experts for his play away from the puck and his straightforward offensive attack.

“Beckett’s a high-motor, high-energy speed player, and that’s probably the first thing that drew us to him,” Pryor said. “But then he’s got some skill to go with it, and goal scoring. We like the pace of play that he plays at, and the drive that he plays with.

“Egor is more cerebral, really good on the power play. He can pick it apart. He’s good from the half-wall on the power play. Beckett’s north-south game is what was really attractive for us, but he does have skill and a goal-scoring touch to go with it as well.”

Both Shilov and Hamilton have played center for their CHL teams and gained some penalty-killing experience. The Avs have a very thin pipeline, and these two players immediately slot in among the top five or six prospects in the organization.

Colorado’s pipeline particularly thin at center. The Avs have a few prospects who can play center, like TJ Hughes and Gavin Brindley with the Eagles during the Calder Cup Playoffs and Jake Fisher at the University of Denver, but whether or not any of them can stick in the middle at the NHL is certainly in question.

Avs general manager Joe Sakic traded for both of these draft picks in recent days. The No. 43 selection arrived Thursday from Columbus in the Valeri Nichushkin trade, while No. 74 came from Nashville in the Ross Colton deal.

Colorado added four defensemen, a wing and two goaltenders with its remaining picks.

FOOTNOTES: The Avs made a player-for-player trade during the draft, sending Ivan Ivan to the Boston Bruins for Fabian Lysell, a 23-year-old forward. Lysell, who played 12 NHL games two years ago, is a 5-foot-11, 186-pound wing and was a first-round pick in 2021. … Two more University of Denver incoming freshmen were drafted Saturday — defenseman Ben MacBaeth was the No. 64 pick by the New York Rangers and Mikey Berchild was the 105th selection by the Carolina Hurricanes. All eight members of DU’s incoming recruiting class are now NHL draft picks.

Sakic spoke shortly before the 2026 NHL draft began Friday night. The Colorado Avalanche don’t pick until Saturday, but Sakic and Co. have made three trades and signed two key defensemen since he returned to the general manager role after Chris MacFarland left for Nashville.

The first two trades were with MacFarland and the Predators, before he sent Valeri Nichushkin to Columbus on Thursday. The Avs used some of the salary cap space created Friday to sign defensemen Brett Kulak and Brent Burns to new contracts.

“We weren’t friends,” Sakic said of making deals with MacFarland. “No, I mean, it was good. He did what he thought was best for his group. I thought we did what was best for our group. Those decisions for us really were cap decisions.

“We couldn’t have brought everybody back. You see where we are now after the two signings today with Kulak and Burns. Cap’s not at ($110 million). It’s ($101 million) for us, and so we had to do things to free up cap space while accumulating draft capital which hopefully tomorrow we can get some good prospects in our system. We’ve got a lot more draft picks now next year that we can use during the year or trade deadline or whenever to try and help our team.”

The cap ceiling for the 2026-27 is $104 million, but the Avs have nearly $2.3 million in dead money because Burns signed a one-year, bonus-laden contract last year. That allowed Colorado to exceed the ceiling last year, but also means the bill is due this season.

With the moves Sakic has made, the Avs currently have 11 forwards, six defensemen and two goaltenders on one-way contracts. They also have about $5.6 million in cap space to work with.

“There’s things we’re going to look to do, but it’s going to be with players that we feel are a good fit for us for what we’re trying to do,” Sakic said. “Hopefully it works out. If it doesn’t work out, we’re going to have a good amount of cap space and draft capital for things to happen during the year. So there’s no panic on our end. We’re not rushed. If we’ve got to start out with some kids this year to see what they’ve got, what they can do, we’re perfectly happy with that as well.”

Sakic did say he’d like to sign two more forwards and another defenseman. If the forwards don’t materialize, the Avs do have some interesting young forwards in the organization. Two of the guys who are among the 11 now arrived Wednesday.

Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux were both first-round picks in the 2021 draft. They’re both 23 years old. They’ve both played mostly in fourth-line roles for Nashville.

“We liked getting the two younger players that can immediately go on your roster,” Sakic said. “Svechkov, he’s like a (Jack) Drury. He’s not quite at Drury’s level yet, but we think he can get there. We do see a similar player that could play that role.

“L’Heureux, he’s going to be exciting for us. He’s type of player that we were looking for. … We probably wish we had that player in the (2026) playoffs. He’s going to bring a lot of enthusiasm, excitement, physicality and he goes to the net. He’s always around that net, so we’re excited to have both of them.”

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.

Valeri Nichushkin leaves a decorated and complicated legacy in Colorado.

There were long stretches, including during the last championship run, where he was one of the best two-way wingers in the NHL. And there were two moments off the ice where his conduct sabotaged postseason chances. He left the team during the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the Seattle Kraken under troubling circumstances and was suspended hours before Game 4 of the Dallas Stars series the following spring.

Open arms lead to broken hearts, but the Avs welcomed Nichushkin back, knowing a third violation could result in a lifetime ban. And the record when Nichushkin played remained remarkable.

But give Joe Sakic, the old, new GM, credit for recognizing that Nichushkin was trending in the wrong direction.

He faded last season. No, he was not the reason the Golden Knights broomed the Avs in the Western Conference Finals — that list starts with Nathan MacKinnon, Jared Bednar, and Brock Nelson — but he was no longer a menace in front of the net or along the boards.

By trading Nichushkin to Columbus for three draft picks, Sakic acknowledged the obvious — something of a surprise given the confidence he showed in the team at the end-of-the-season presser.

The Avs could not just run it back. What happened in Vegas needed to stay in Vegas.

Sakic shipped out Ross Colton and Jack Drury to buddy Chris MacFarland in Nashville, and sent Nichushkin packing.

There is no guarantee it works, but the moves served two purposes. It creates nearly $11 million in salary cap space to add a piece — perhaps they pursue Mario Ferraro — or use the draft picks to execute a midseason blockbuster.

This is what good leadership looks like. While I still disagree with Sakic’s reasoning for keeping Bednar, he is not afraid to be bold. He let MacFarland operate in this fashion and has continued the tradition.

The Avs need to get younger, even as they cross their white-knuckled fingers that the playoff version of Nelson and Nazem Kadri is not a harbinger of things to come.

It can be argued that Nichushkin is a better player than the Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon. And while the local hoops franchise frets about Gordon’s future, Sakic ripped off the band-aid with Nichushkin.

Did he get enough in second, third and fifth-round picks? Probably not. But if it allows the Avs to add a young impact player in the coming weeks or months, then it works.

There is a reason Trader Joe is buying the groceries again. He knows what he is doing.

WNBA Clark Mess

The WNBA was gifted its Tiger Woods with the arrival of Caitlin Clark. And the league has spent the last three years trying to prove that it doesn’t need her. The pettiness and jealousy are stunning. The lack of leadership from commissioner Cathy Engelbert is embarrassing. We can all agree that Clark is not better than some of her predecessors. But none moved the needle like her. The TV ratings, increased salaries and better travel scream as much. Yet, the league continues to let opponents bully and foul her in ways that are unspeakably bad. Does Clark beg for calls? Yes. That does not mean refs should turn a blind eye to Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas placing her fist on Clark’s throat in a pile-up. If the league wanted to send a message, Thomas would have been suspended for 10 games without pay, not one. The light discipline means that when it comes to Clark, it remains open season.

World Cup break

The hydration break has created an H2OhMy! effect on the World Cup. It helps that the United States won its pool. But it goes beyond that. There is actual scoring, the most since 1958. The more goals, the more exciting it becomes for fringe fans. It is unclear whether this World Cup will be a transformational moment for soccer in the United States, but the style of play makes that outcome seem more realistic.

The Avs sent Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, removing another member of the 2022 Stanley Cup championship team. Columbus is sending three draft picks to Colorado — a second-round selection in 2026, a third-round choice in 2027 and a fifth-rounder in 2028.

Nichushkin had 17 goals and 49 points in 72 games for the Avs this past season. The 31-year-old power forward has four seasons left on his contract with a salary cap hit of $6.125 million.

It is the third cost-cutting move of the offseason for the Avs, who were too close to the $104 million salary cap ceiling with four of the top eight defensemen from last season slated to be unrestricted free agents. The Avs now have 10 selections in the 2026 NHL draft, which starts Friday. They added No. 43 overall in this trade, and No. 74 in the first trade of the offseason.

The beginning of the offseason looks very similar to a year ago, when the Avs traded Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Blue Jackets for Gavin Brindley, two draft picks and the salary cap flexibility to sign Brent Burns and eventually make in-season trades for Nazem Kadri, Nicolas Roy and Brett Kulak, among others. “Selling” early in the offseason to “buy” later in the summer or during the regular season has become a popular strategy for a few championship contenders with salary cap issues in recent years, most notably Vegas.

Colorado began this offseason with 17 of its top 20 players from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs under contract for next season, but with a little less than $3 million in cap space. The Avs now have 15 of the top 20 guys back from last year, plus two young forwards from Nashville (Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux) and nearly $11 million in cap space. The Avs now also have an obvious hole in the top-six forward group, unless the plan is to move Nazem Kadri or Nicolas Roy to the wing next to Nathan MacKinnon or Brock Nelson.

This ends an often productive, but also often turbulent tenure for Nichushkin with the Avalanche. Signing Nichushkin to a one-year contract in August 2019 proved to be one of the better reclamation projects in recent NHL history. Nichushkin scored zero goals in 57 games in his final season with the Stars.

Nichushkin became a critical part of the 2022 championship run. He had nine goals and 15 points during the 2022 postseason and became one of the best two-way wings in the league during his time with Colorado. His combination of size, skating ability, skill and defensive prowess is exceedingly rare in the NHL.

The story of Nichushkin’s time in Denver can’t be told without the reasons why he wasn’t available at critical times. Nichushkin left the team during the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the Seattle Kraken. An intoxicated woman was found in his hotel room in Seattle ahead of Game 4. He was not charged with anything related to the incident and has since claimed that he would have rejoined the club for the second round had the Avs advanced. The organization has never corroborated this.

Then, he entered the NHL-NHLPA player assistance program twice during the 2023-24 season. The first time was during the regular season, but the second came during the second round of the playoffs. He was suspended for at least six months just hours before Game 4, effectively ending Colorado’s Stanley Cup hopes, and was placed in Stage 3 of the program.

To Nichushkin’s credit, he has had zero off-ice issues the past two seasons. The 72 games played were his most since 2025-16. If he has another issue in the future, Stage 4 of the player assistance program includes a one-year suspension and no guarantee of reinstatement by the NHL.

When he was available, he was often brilliant, though less so at times this past season. His per-game totals this season were his lowest since 2020-21 and he had just two goals and four points during the club’s run to the Western Conference Final. He was also one of several key players who was injured against the Vegas Golden Knights or was playing through an injury in that series.

Nichushkin is the third forward from the 2025-26 Presidents’ Trophy-winning club that is no longer on the roster since Sakic took over general manager duties earlier this month. Sakic also traded both Ross Colton and restricted free agent Jack Drury in separate deals to former GM Chris MacFarland with the Nashville Predators.