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Colorado Avalanche Promote Joe Sakic, Chris MacFarland

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The Colorado Avalanche are making some front office changes after winning the Stanley Cup. Joe Sakic, who was recently given the Jim Gregory award as GM of the year, will be promoted to president of hockey operations, while Chris MacFarland will become the team’s new general manager.

A move like this was necessary if the team was going to keep MacFarland in the picture, as he had drawn plenty of interest from around the league. The long-time executive has been with the Avalanche since 2015, coming over that year from the Columbus Blue Jackets where he had served for more than a decade. There was always going to be a time when he was given the keys to a team of his own, and when he wasn’t included in some of the other recent general manager searches, it appeared as though a promotion in Colorado was imminent.

In this case, he’ll get the opportunity to run a team with the support of a manager that is not only a franchise icon but an extremely successful executive in his own right. Sakic will be able to take a lot of the pressure off of MacFarland with the press and help him to continue the excellent work that the front office has done over the last several years.

It is interesting to see this move happen just ahead of free agency, and it only strengthens the idea that MacFarland was already doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the organization. He’ll now have control of the ship, even if Sakic is still standing over his shoulder guiding him across uncharted waters.

Colorado Avalanche Extend Alexandar Georgiev, Jacob MacDonald

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The Colorado Avalanche announced via Twitter that they have extended goaltender Alexandar Georgiev for three years. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that the deal is expected to carry a $3.4MM AAV and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the salary breakdown to be $3.6MM in year one, $3.7MM in year two, and $2.9MM in year three. Colorado had acquired the goaltender on Thursday in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick. The trade, and now this extension, seems to put a close to Darcy Kuemper’s time in Colorado, as he is set to hit the free agent market on Wednesday.

Just after the Georgiev announcement, the team also announced via Twitter and their website that they have extended defenseman Jacob MacDonald for two years. The news was first broke by The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. MacDonald’s contract is two-way, with a $450K salary in the minors and carries a cap hit of $762.5K each season (link).

Georgiev, 26, was an arbitration-eligible RFA who was due a $2.65MM qualifying offer, one the Rangers likely couldn’t afford, especially as a backup to Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin. With speculation that the team could let Georgiev walk in free agency, the team was able to secure a return by sending him to Colorado for the above draft picks. Colorado appeared set to try and work out an extension with Kuemper, the incumbent goaltender, but with several other UFAs on the docket and a goalie market with seemingly much higher demand than supply, Georgiev became the more attractive option.

The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Avalanche now boast a duo of Georgiev and Pavel Francouz in net, which will cost a combined $5.4MM over each of the next two seasons before Francouz becomes a UFA after 2023-24. The cost for both goaltenders is surely attractive for Colorado, given it is less than some teams pay for just their starter, however it doesn’t come without some questions as to performance. In 33 games last season, Georgiev played to just an .898 save-percentage, the worst mark of his career, and a 2.92 goals-against average. Francouz played to a far better .916 save-percentage and 2.55 goals-against average in 21 regular season games, as well as a .906 save-percentage and 2.81 goals-against average in seven playoff games, filling in for an injured Kuemper. Though Francouz’s numbers are relatively good, the Avalanche have made clear his role is as the backup. This may not necessarily hold true over the remainder of his contract, and could formulate strong competition between the two for playing time.

Switching gears and turning back to MacDonald, the 29-year-old is a veteran of 43 NHL games, including eight in 2021-22 for the Avalanche, his most significant time however, coming in 2020-21, where he played in 33 games. Having just two goals and eight assists in his NHL career to date, the defenseman has been a prolific point-producer at the AHL level, hitting the 40-point mark three times, including one 55 point season. This season, MacDonald tallied 10 goals and 15 assists in a mere 33 AHL games. The Cornell University alum could be a candidate to push for more playing time with the Avalanche this year, having shown his ability to play at the NHL level, his affordability, and with questions regarding other Avalanche defensemen, including pending UFAs Josh Manson, Jack Johnson, and Ryan Murray, as well as Samuel Girard, who broke his sternum in Colorado’s second-round series against the St. Louis Blues.

Andre Burakovsky Hopes To Return To Avalanche

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  • Peter Baugh, who covers the Colorado Avalanche for The Athletic, says that talks between the Avalanche and winger Andre Burakovsky have been quiet, however Burakovsky does still hope to remain in Colorado. With the veteran a pending UFA, and the market opening up on Wednesday afternoon, if Colorado wants to keep him around, the talks will likely have to intensify shortly to get something done. The forward has seen his production take a massive step forward since being traded to Colorado from the Washington Capitals in the summer of 2019, hitting a career-high 61 points in 80 games this season. In addition to Colorado’s need to balance the salary cap along with other pending UFAs in Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin, Burakovsky also brings with him a streaky nature, leaving his breakout and free agency with question marks surrounding it.

West Notes: Puljujarvi, Gaudreau, Nichushkin

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The Edmonton Oilers have cap space in hand and, after a strong run to the Western Conference Final, a clear desire to add difference-making players to their roster. One player they’re likely to subtract from their lineup is forward Jesse Puljujarvi. Puljujarvi, 24, will become an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent on Wednesday and is expected by many to be moved before next season. After a promising season in Edmonton, the Oilers faithful could not be faulted for expecting to return at least something of reasonable quality as part of the compensation package in any summer Puljujarvi trade. It seems, though, that that’s unlikely to happen. According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, the Oilers are “frustrated” by “how little interest there is” in Puljujarvi.

Dreger clarifies that there are about three or four teams that are “nibbling” at the prospect of acquiring Puljujarvi and that the Oilers front office is bracing for a reality where they are forced to “sell low” on Puljujarvi and accept a return they deem to be sub-par. Puljujarvi, the fourth overall pick at the 2016 draft, scored 14 goals and 36 points in 65 games in 2021-22, which is a career-high in points production, although his playoff scoring (just three points in 16 games) left much to be desired. There is a general belief that Puljujarvi could “pop” on another team and score with a level of consistency and frequency he never could in Edmonton, and the Oilers may be left with a sort of trade return that is not commensurate with the value they believe Puljujarvi holds.

Now, for some other notes regarding the league’s Western Conference teams:

  • With Filip Forsberg now off the market, Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has solidified his spot as the undisputed top free agent scorer set to be available on next week’s open market. The Calgary Flames, though, are hoping his contract situation ends in a similar way to Forsberg’s. Flames GM Brad Treliving, as relayed by TSN’s Salim Valji, remains “optimistic” about the prospect of re-signing Gaudreau, and part of the reason for that optimism has been because he and Gaudreau’s agent, Lewis Gross, have been “genuinely working towards a deal.” There has long been speculation on a Gaudreau return to his native East Coast, perhaps to the Philadelphia Flyers or New Jersey Devils, but it seems as though the Flames are fully intent on keeping that from happening and have every confidence that they’ll be successful.
  • With a spectacular performance in the playoffs, capped off by an impactful Stanley Cup Final series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winger Valeri Nichushkin could enter the market next week on extremely strong ground. The Colorado Avalanche and GM Joe Sakic are going to try to keep that from happening. The team bid farewell to goalie Darcy Kuemper, helping them save cap space, and will likely use a solid chunk of that space in their attempt to retain Nichushkin. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes pegs a Nichushkin extension in Colorado at the $5MM-$6MM average annual value, which seems more than reasonable for a strong defensive player who scored 52 points in 62 games. It’s still an open question as to whether the Avalanche will commit to the full eight-year term they are permitted to offer Nichushkin, but their ability to offer one more year than any teams on the open market could be a factor in deciding if Nichushkin stays in Colorado. If he doesn’t, he can expect a multitude of suitors once the market opens.

Free Agent Focus: Colorado Avalanche

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Free agency is now less than a week away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in mid-July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well.  Next up is a look at the Colorado Avalanche.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Artturi Lehkonen – Montreal didn’t want to move the winger at the trade deadline but GM Joe Sakic parted with prospect blueliner Justin Barron and a 2024 second-round pick which was enough to land the 27-year-old.  The move worked out quite well for Lehkonen and Colorado as he proved to be a strong fit both offensively and defensively while he scored a pair of key goals in the playoffs, the one to get them to the Stanley Cup Final and the one that was the Cup-winner in the sixth game of the series.  Lehkonen has yet to crack the 40-point mark in his career but is a strong defensive forward and with his offensive improvement in Colorado, he could pass the $4MM mark on a one-year award while a long-term deal that buys out some UFA eligibility could push him closer to the $4.5MM range.

G Alexandar Georgiev – The freshly-acquired netminder is in need of a new contract and his fortune has certainly changed in recent days.  Some expected him to be non-tendered with the goalie trade market usually not being strong but that changed this year with Colorado flipping three draft picks for the rights to the 26-year-old.  Georgiev is arbitration-eligible and is coming off a quiet season that saw him post a 2.92 GAA along with a SV% of just .898.  However, with the Avs committing to a platoon of Georgiev and Pavel Francouz, it’s clear they’ll want to get their new goalie locked up on a multi-year deal soon.  GM Joe Sakic told reporters after the draft, including Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link) that he expects to get this deal done by the end of the weekend.

F Nicolas Aube-Kubel – Claimed off waivers by Colorado back in November, the 26-year-old fit in well with the Avalanche, picking up 11 goals and 11 assists in 67 games despite averaging less than 10 minutes a night in ice time.  He’s owed a qualifying offer of $1.225MM which isn’t overly high but he’s also arbitration-eligible.  It’s possible that the Avs want to avoid giving Aube-Kubel that option as that could push the salary higher than they can afford for someone in that role.  If they can’t get an agreement in place by the tender deadline, it’s possible that Aube-Kubel goes unqualified.

Other RFAs: F Shane Bowers, F Callahan Burke, F Nick Henry, F Mikhail Maltsev, D Keaton Middleton, F Andreas Wingerli

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Nazem Kadri – There’s rarely a bad time for a career year offensively but having one in the final season of a contract before becoming UFA-eligible is basically the best time for one.  Kadri, who had been a solid secondary scorer for most of his career, found a new gear entirely as he set new career-bests in assists (59) and points (87) in 71 games while logging over 19 minutes a game.  As a result, the 31-year-old has positioned himself as the top center on the UFA market this summer and as we all know, high-end centers are always in short supply and high demand and Kadri is well-positioned to go for a seven-year max-term deal with a cap hit at or higher than $8MM per season.  That’s a price tag Colorado is unlikely to be able to afford especially with Nathan MacKinnon’s contract up a year from now.

F Valeri Nichushkin – Dallas fans can only be wondering ‘what if?’ when it comes to the 27-year-old.  After two disappointing stints with the Stars including one where he didn’t score a single goal in 57 games, they actually bought him out which paved the way for him to join Colorado.  From there, Nichushkin has continually improved and is coming off a 25-goal, 27-assist season in just 62 games while providing strong offensive contributions in the playoffs with 15 points in 20 contests.  He’s a quality penalty killer as well which only increases his value.  Nichushkin is coming off a contract that carried a $2.5MM AAV and it’s quite possible he doubles that on the open market next week.

F Andre Burakovsky – The 27-year-old wasn’t able to produce with the type of consistency Washington was hoping for which helped lead to his trade to Colorado in 2019.  Since then, Burakovsky has been able to put up consistent second-line production and he improved on that in 2021-22 with 22 goals and 39 assists, both career-highs.  That has him in line for a nice jump on the $4.9MM AAV he has played under for the last two seasons.  An extra million or so on a long-term agreement is definitely doable.

G Darcy Kuemper – Colorado paid a high price to get Kuemper on the final year of his contract (with salary retention) and they quickly realized they wouldn’t be able to afford the veteran on his next deal, leading to the Georgiev trade.  The 32-year-old is the most proven goalie to hit the market this summer and is coming off a strong season that saw him post a 2.54 GAA along with a .921 SV%.  While his numbers weren’t as impressive in the playoffs, that shouldn’t hurt his market too much.  It has been suggested that his camp is seeking a contract similar to the one former Colorado netminder Philipp Grubauer received from Seattle (six years, $5.9MM AAV).  Kuemper might not get that at his age but something close should be doable.

D Josh Manson – When Colorado picked up Manson, they were looking for some reliability and stability at the bottom of their defense corps.  He provided exactly that.  The 30-year-old played a lesser role than he did with Anaheim but that shouldn’t affect his market next week.  Manson is a quality second-pairing player that can play upwards of 20 minutes a game, kill penalties, and play in late-game defensive situations.  A lack of offense limits his earnings upside to a degree (he has only reached 20 points once in an eight-year NHL career) but he should be able to get a bit more than the $4.1MM he made on his expiring contract with a multi-year commitment as well.

Other UFAs: D Dennis Gilbert, D Jordan Gross, F Darren Helm, D Jack Johnson, D Jacob MacDonald, F Stefan Matteau, D Roland McKeown, G Hunter Miska, D Ryan Murray, F Kiefer Sherwood, F Dylan Sikura, F Nico Sturm

Projected Cap Space

Colorado has over $24MM in cap space to work with.  Suffice it to say, it won’t take long to spend that up as a few of the above players plus some depth pieces to round out the roster will more or less take care of that money in a hurry.  The Avalanche will be losing some important players next week but there’s a big, shiny silver lining that they won a couple of weeks ago that should help ease the sting of some of those pending departures.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Joe Sakic Wins GM Of The Year

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Joe Sakic won many awards as a player, and now he has one as an executive. The Colorado Avalanche GM has won the Jim Gregory GM of the Year Award. Sakic edged out Chris Drury of the New York Rangers and Julien Brisebois of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the award.

Sakic led the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup title this year, and his work, especially this year, went a long way to getting them there. Savvy trades for Darcy Kuemper, Artturi Lehkonen, and Nazem Kadri provided the team with crucial difference-makers that all played a role on their cup run. His trade for Devon Toews especially is one of the most lopsided trades in recent NHL history. Sakic’s shrewd free-agent moves, highlighted by his acquisition of Valeri Nichushkin, helped support the core of players the Avalanche drafted.

Sakic, a Hall of Fame player, is now building an executive career that could eventually come to rival the success of his playing career. The Avalanche look like they could be contenders for many years to come, and they’re in that position thanks in large part to the work Sakic has done. Now, Sakic has even more recognition to show for that work, in addition to the Stanley Cup ring he won earlier this summer.

Colorado Avalanche Acquire Alexandar Georgiev

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The Colorado Avalanche have found a new goaltender. The New York Rangers have traded Alexandar Georgiev to the Avalanche in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, and a 2023 third-round pick.

This means that Darcy Kuemper is no longer expected to re-sign in Colorado, as the Avalanche go with a cheaper option to pair with Pavel Francouz. Georgiev, 26, is a pending restricted free agent due a qualifying offer of $2.65MM and is eligible for arbitration. Even if he landed a good settlement, it won’t match what Kuemper will likely be able to command on the open market, especially in a year with such a shallow pool of free agent goaltenders.

Interestingly enough, it appeared as though the Rangers were not going to issue that qualifying offer, which would have made Georgiev a free agent next week. With Igor Shesterkin in place and several free agents to sign, the team was expected to walk away from their backup if they couldn’t find a trade partner. By landing three picks, general manager Chris Drury has squeezed quite a bit of value out of the last few days of Georgiev’s tenure in New York.

In fact, his time there has been incredibly valuable, relative to the cost that the Rangers paid. Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2017, Georgiev played three seasons with the team under an entry-level contract, two more with a cap hit of $2.45MM, and now netted them three draft picks before he walked out the door.

With a .909 save percentage in 131 NHL games, he doesn’t have a huge track record of success but there have been flashes of brilliance from the netminder, skill the Avalanche will hope to nurture in Colorado. The fact that Francouz has shown the ability to perform at a high level can make them a worthwhile tandem, not to mention the fact that the team itself has been able to overcome poor goaltending performances in the past.

For Colorado, with this core, it’s time to push all the chips to the middle and try to repeat. The team now has no draft picks until the sixth round this year, and are already without six future picks as well. Given the relative youth of so many key players they can afford it, though a gap in prospect development like that can be a tough thing to overcome down the road.

Still, this leaves more money open for some of their other free agent negotiations. Nazem Kadri (UFA), Valeri Nichushkin (UFA), and Artturi Lehkonen (RFA) all played huge parts in the team’s Stanley Cup win, and are deserving of big raises this summer. With a goaltending tandem that could very well cost less combined than Kuemper will make on his own, there are a few more dollars to go around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

NHL Announces 2022-23 Regular Season Schedule

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The news continues to break during what’s been a busy pre-draft week. The NHL has released the full 82-game schedule for the 2022-23 campaign, marking a return to normal dates and length for the first time since 2018-19.

2022-23 will see its curtains open overseas, where the San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators will open the season at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia on October 7 and 8, 2022. The regular season will begin on the North American side of the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, with a classic doubleheader. The puck will drop at Madison Square Garden for an Eastern Conference Final rematch between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers, followed by a Pacific Division showdown in Southern California between the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings.

The Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup banner-raising ceremony will be the following night at home against the Chicago Blackhawks. The season will wrap up on April 13, 2023.

Some key events throughout the season include the 2022 Global Series in Tampere, Finland, where the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets will play a pair of games on November 4 and 5, 2022. The 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic is slated for January 2, 2023, between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Boston Bruins at Fenway Park, and the 2023 NHL Stadium Series is set for February 18, 2023, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Hurricanes will host the Washington Capitals. All-Star Weekend will be February 3-4, 2023, hosted by the Florida Panthers.

Latest On Darcy Kuemper

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The Colorado Avalanche are pushing to re-sign several of their pending unrestricted free agents, including goaltender Darcy Kuemper. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic met with Kuemper’s representatives this morning in Montreal, and though there is no agreement yet, both sides want to continue talking as we inch toward free agent frenzy.

Kuemper, 32, is one of only four real UFA goalies who represent starting options, along with Marc-Andre Fleury, Ville Husso, and Jack Campbell (though each has their own question marks). Given his performance in the playoffs–good, but not great–it would certainly make sense for him to stay put, where the powerhouse Avalanche squad can provide the best chance at another championship.

Still, the Avalanche likely don’t want to give out the same money or years that Kuemper might be able to land elsewhere, since they have some other huge names to sign this year and next. Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen stand out this year (assuming Nazem Kadri has priced himself out), while Nathan MacKinnon will be signing a massive extension.

That same situation played out last summer when Philipp Grubauer landed a massive deal from the Seattle Kraken that the Avalanche couldn’t match. They needed the money to keep Gabriel Landeskog and proved they could win with a different goaltender. With that history in mind, Kuemper’s camp will know that Sakic is willing to walk away if the number gets too high.

Though it’s unclear what would be Colorado’s next move if it happens, LeBrun writes that people around the league see the Avalanche as the “perfect landing spot” for Fleury, should Kuemper go elsewhere in free agency.

Colorado Avalanche Extend Andrew Cogliano

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One of the veteran players that finally got a chance to lift the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche this season is coming back for more. The team has signed Andrew Cogliano to a one-year contract for 2022-23, keeping him from the open market. The deal will be worth $1.25MM, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

Cogliano, 35, played more than 1,100 regular season games and 100 playoff games before arriving in Denver this season, acquired at the deadline for a 2024 fifth-round pick. He had never won before, despite coming close as recently as 2020 with the Dallas Stars, and it appeared as though he might miss the playoffs entirely after starting the year with the San Jose Sharks.

Instead, he’s now a Stanley Cup champion, and when asked last week explained how it made him want to come back again next season. Speaking with Peter Baugh of The Athletic:

I really think it was a privilege to play for this team, and I still think that hopefully that can be an option moving forward, to be honest. It just felt right, and it was just enjoyable to play the game…When you win, you really get a feeling of some strong confidence, and you start thinking about doing it again and wanting to do it again and doing it with the guys on the team you feel strongly about.

He’ll now get that chance, returning to the defending champs on a reasonably priced one-year deal. The Avalanche are trying to sign some bigger names as well but getting Cogliano back gives them an experienced, versatile, bottom-six option that can be trusted in the most important situations of a game. The veteran forward has long been deployed in a checking role but also managed to add three goals and six points in 16 postseason games this year, including two game-winners.

Not only that but he underwent a hand surgery after the Western Conference Finals against the Edmonton Oilers and still managed to make it back in time to play in five games of the championship series. That kind of commitment is exactly what Cogliano has shown throughout his entire career, playing the first ten seasons without missing a single game and only seeing his iron man streak break due to a suspension in 2018.

The Avalanche will be able to rely on him as they try to complete a title defense, though the roster may not look the same. Even after his deal, the team still has nine roster players scheduled for unrestricted free agency.

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