With just two teams still playing, the rest have already started their offseason planning. What storylines lie ahead around the league? Our Offseason Keys series continues with a look at the Colorado Avalanche.
If it wasn’t for Vegas, Colorado could have easily wound up being the talk of the league. After a horrific 2016-17 season and the early trade of Matt Duchene, virtually no one thought they’d be heard from as a competitive team let alone a playoff squad. However, they picked up their play considerably following the trade and worked their way into the postseason to end their year on a high note. Now, GM Joe Sakic faces the decision of whether or not to try to escalate things or keep the same approach. Here are some of their keys for the summer regardless of which route they take.
Add A Top-Four Defenceman
The defense has been an area of need for Colorado for a while now. They’ve been active on the waiver wire the last couple of years to try to upgrade the third pairing and the overall depth and while that has improved things a little bit, those improvements are only incremental at best.
Erik Johnson gives the Avs a legitimate top pairing player while Tyson Barrie, though he can have his struggles in his own end, is one of the more dangerous offensive threats from the blueline. Things start to fall off after that, however. Samuel Girard should progress into a top-four player down the road but he’s only 20 while Nikita Zadorov has shown flashes of dominance but hasn’t really become a consistent top-four option. 2017 second-rounder Conor Timmins will turn pro in 2018-19 and could become a key player down the road but he won’t immediately crack the top four. With due respect to those players, that unit could use some help if it wants to take that next step forward.
Sakic has stated that he could see the team getting younger next season and if that is indeed the plan, that may take them out of free agency. Colorado has several young forwards in the system and if they don’t want to get an older player on the open market, the time is right to look into trading one or two of those and getting another core defender that they can build around for the foreseeable future.
Extension Talks For Rantanen
Winger Mikko Rantanen’s first full NHL season back in 2016-17 was decent but many felt he had another level to get to. He more than proved his supporters right this past season as he jumped from 38 points up to 84, ranking him tied for 16th overall in the league. In doing so, he has solidified himself as a long-term fixture on the top line.
As the 21-year-old gets set to enter the final year of his contract as of July 1st, the Avalanche can begin to work on a contract extension with him. In particular, if they believe that Rantanen will produce at a similar level, they’d be wise to try to get something done now as another 80+ point season will really drive up the price in the summer of 2019.
What will be interesting here is if Sakic tries to use Nathan MacKinnon’s contract as the benchmark that Rantanen can’t go past. MacKinnon is viewed as Colorado’s franchise player and has a $6.3MM cap hit. However, the Upper Limit of the salary cap will be a fair bit higher this summer than it was two years ago which is something that will come into play. If they intend to keep a Rantanen extension at a rate under MacKinnon’s, they may not be able to go with a maximum-term deal and instead sign one that doesn’t buy out as many UFA-eligible seasons.
With there being another season left on Rantanen’s deal, this is something that doesn’t have to be resolved for another year. Given the sizable jump in points from his rookie to sophomore campaign, an extension for him will be a little trickier to navigate. Of the top young players that can sign early extensions starting next month, Rantanen’s case will be one of the more interesting ones to follow.
Add Goalie Depth
With the addition of Jonathan Bernier in free agency last summer, Colorado had an above average backup that could step in if Semyon Varlamov struggled or was injured. Combined, the duo did well enough to help lead the Avs to the postseason before both went down and Andrew Hammond, who was included in the Duchene deal to help offset salary, was forced to start the final two playoff games.
Both Bernier and Hammond are set to become unrestricted free agents next month but it appears the Avalanche intend to go in another direction as they signed KHL netminder Pavel Francouz earlier this summer. Even if they view the 28-year-old as Varlamov’s backup, they still would be wise to add some insurance.
Spencer Martin is a restricted free agent and should be part of the picture in the minors but given the uncertainty surrounding Francouz and how he’ll adapt to the NHL level, he’s not an ideal third-stringer. Someone with more of a proven track record in the NHL would certainly be beneficial and fortunately for Colorado, there are some players like that available (including Hammond). It certainly won’t register as an exciting move if they do indeed sign a goalie like this but it would certainly be a beneficial move.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.