Avalanche Looking To Add Forward Help

Goaltending has been an issue for Colorado this season, to put it lightly.  The Avs have a combined save percentage of just .837 and they already made one move to try to shore up that position when they added Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers last month.

But that isn’t the only position they’re looking to improve.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the Avalanche are also looking to add up front.

Offensively, Colorado has fared relatively well out of the gate this season, averaging 3.45 goals per game through the first month of the year while having four players averaging more than a point per outing.  However, they’ve been dealing with a rash of injuries, further compounded by Ross Colton’s broken foot which will keep him out until at least mid-December.  Colton is known for being a checker but he happened to be their team leader in goals with eight already.

On top of that, the Avalanche are still without Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), Gabriel Landeskog (knee), and Valeri Nichushkin (Player Assistance Program).  None of them have played yet this season although Lehkonen is due back soon.  They’re also without Jonathan Drouin who was injured in the season opener while Miles Wood is out for another week or so; both have upper-body injuries.

With a healthy forward lineup, Colorado didn’t have the deepest of groups to begin with.  Now that they’re down several regulars, they’ve been rotating in several low-cost rookies and veterans at the league minimum with varying degrees of success in largely limited roles.

As things stand, the Avs are well into LTIR by nearly $2.6MM, per PuckPedia with an LTIR pool of nearly $9MM.  However, that’s with Nichushkin’s $6.125MM not counting against the books.  As soon as he’s cleared, that comes back onto the books which will wipe out most of the rest of the pool.  They’re also expecting Landeskog to play at some point this season; his $7MM comprises the bulk of their LTIR pool.  With that in mind, it’s not as if GM Chris MacFarland has a lot of financial flexibility to work with at the moment.

Knowing that, it stands to reason that he is shopping more for depth upgrades over trying to bring in an impactful piece he can’t afford for much longer.  In particular, those depth pieces likely need to be at or below $1.15MM, the maximum amount that can be buried in the AHL when a player is sent down while the ideal candidate likely makes closer to the league minimum of $775K, making it possible he sticks around even as others return.

Despite their struggles between the pipes, Colorado has a 5-6-0 record to start the season, putting them only a point out of a tie for a playoff spot.  But with limited cap space and several question marks remaining in goal, it will be interesting to see if MacFarland can find a swap that gives them a low-cost upgrade up front without taking away from any trade chips of note that might be needed make a bigger splash in goal.