While the expansion draft is set to headline a busy NHL offseason, there are still several other storylines for each team in the months ahead. Here is a closer look at what lies ahead for the Colorado Avalanche.
Things haven’t gone well for Colorado this season. In fact, that’s really an understatement. After Patrick Roy abruptly resigned back in August, GM Joe Sakic had to scramble to find a late replacement in Jared Bednar. That seemed to set the stage for a disastrous season, one that saw the team bottom out in the standings and then to make matters worse, they had no good fortune in the lottery, dropping from the first overall pick down to fourth. That’s far from the only concern for them moving forward, however. Here are three key issues that Sakic and the Avalanche need to address beyond the upcoming expansion draft.
Reshaping The Defense Corps
The back end has been an area of concern for Colorado for several years now and it played a large role in their struggles this past season. They have a pretty good group of forwards but without a solid blueline, a lot of those talents are going to waste.
The Avs have a decent starting point to work with as Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie both have at least three years left on their respective contracts. Johnson hasn’t lived up to the billing of his number one status but is a quality option at both ends of the ice. Barrie isn’t the most reliable in his own zone but is one of the more dangerous offensive threats from the back end. Nikita Zadorov is a pending restricted free agent but should be a part of their future moving forward. After that though, there’s a sizable drop-off.
Whether it’s via the free agent market where they could make a run at repatriating Kevin Shattenkirk (who was a first rounder of Colorado back in 2007) or via the trade route, it’s likely that a big part of Sakic’s focus this offseason will be to give the defense a new look heading into 2017-18.
Matt Duchene’s Situation
The rumor mill was buzzing during the season with the revelation that the team was listening to offers on Matt Duchene and even captain Gabriel Landeskog. Most of the attention was paid to the 26 year old Duchene and after he wasn’t dealt at the deadline, many expect him to be moved before training camp.
During the season, Sakic was believed to be seeking a kings’ ransom and while there were some teams known to be interested, no one was able to meet the asking price. There is typically more flexibility with the salary cap in June than there is midseason so it’s quite possible that there will be more teams involved in the discussion in the weeks and months ahead. It’s quite likely that any move for Duchene will bring back a core blueliner as well.
If they aren’t able to find the right fit in the summer, it will be interesting to see if Sakic decides to publicly take Duchene off the block. At some point, frequent trade chatter begins to become a distraction and if they head into training camp without this case resolved one way or the other, it could dominate the headlines once again.
Veteran Supporting Cast
Three years ago, Colorado signed Jarome Iginla to act as a mentor to their young core while also providing some top six production. The move started off well but by the end of his deal, the veteran was a shadow of himself and was virtually given away to the Kings at the deadline.
The Avalanche have a trio of core forwards aged 21 or younger in Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost, and Mikko Rantanen while Landeskog is still only 24. As we’ve seen in other rebuilds over the years, simply acquiring top young talent isn’t enough to win. Instead, adding quality options as a supporting cast both on and off the ice is required.
Even though Colorado is squarely in a rebuilding mode, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sakic try to add a quality veteran or two up front to give his young core some help while also taking some of the pressure off their shoulders.
Cap Situation
$54.4MM in commitments to 15 players per CapFriendly.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
After losing the lottery, they need to just see if they can play in the AHL for a couple years
I wonder if Joe Sakic is the right guys to fix the mess. The Avalanche had the opportunity to draft Charlie McAvoy, Jakob Chyrchrun or Jake Bean in the first round, but instead drafted Tyson Jost. Now, Jost is an excellent young player, but when defense is the team’s biggest need, you need to draft a defenseman. Sakic didn’t do that & now he is still looking to get a cornerstone d-man. The organization’s offense first philosophy has to change
It’s obvious Salic is not the right guy for this job. Great player, great guy but that doesn’t always equate to a great GM. Even his old teammate Patrick Roy couldn’t stay on board any longer and bolted. This team needs help and having the wrong GM moving the marquee pieces for the wrong packages will really doom this organization.