For all we know, the Colorado Avalanche have finished building their team for the 2024-25 season. Free agent signings and extending expiring contracts have the Avalanche near the cap limit, and we could see this same roster until the trade deadline. Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin could also join the lineup when available. The team is ready to compete for another Stanley Cup, but are they good enough for another deep run?
Last season, general manager Chris MacFarland was ready to make calls at the trade deadline to fill in any gaps. In a perfect world, he wouldn’t need to wait until the deadline to make those calls this season. Still, the Avalanche are constrained by the salary cap and may need to wait until the Landeskog and Nichushkin situations are resolved and more funds become available. Players will get injured, have cold stretches or won’t click with the team, so changes must be made. Here are three positions the Avalanche will need to improve by the trade deadline.
Fourth-Line Center
The Avalanche have talent and depth at center. Nathan MacKinnon, Casey Mittelstadt, and Ross Colton are a great one-two-three punch, but unfortunately, it fades out after that. Chris Wagner, who I have starting the season on the fourth line, is an option, but there aren’t any other veteran players behind him who are NHL-ready. Barring any injuries or he can’t play at the expected level, changes will have to be made. Who can fill that fourth-line spot and excel?
We saw last playoffs how important bottom-six players are to the lineup. In a perfect world, the Avs will find a player who is excellent at taking face-offs and can kill penalties. Steven Lorentz from the Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers is available. He is 6-foot-4, 216 pounds, and can play center and left wing. He won’t give them a ton of offence, but he logged 12.57 hits-per-60, which would be the most on the team. He is big, can skate well and can kill penalties. He could be a perfect fourth-liner who can be switched out occasionally.
Middle-Six Forward
This position could be filled by the return of Landeskog and Nichushkin, but their timelines are still unknown. Ideally, Nikolai Kovalenko fills that spot and utilizes his speed and willingness to hit and play physically despite his size and gels in a top-six role. Thankfully, the team has a few months to try different line combinations to see who best fits various roles. This was similar to Jonathan Drouin last season. It took him a while to find his rhythm, and he moved up and down the lineup, but when he found his game, he was a lock on the top line with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. That’s why re-signing him was such a priority this offseason.
Finding a middle-six player is trickier than finding the right fourth-line center. In most cases, acquiring a fourth-line center will be very affordable. You can sign one as a free agent for a low cost or look for trades involving American Hockey League (AHL) players or low-value draft picks (rounds five, six, seven). Most of the time, signing them as free agents is the best option. A solid middle-six player who can immediately impact the team will always revolve around a trade or be signed on day one of free agency. Trades like those will cost a pretty penny, often high-round draft picks and either starting players or high-end prospects, which the Avalanche won’t part with.
Depth/Third Goaltender
It was either another goaltender or defenseman for this final positional need to address this offseason. However, I am confident that newly acquired Erik Brannstrom and Sam Malinski will fill the defensive hole. However, I am hesitant about the team’s goaltending. I am happy to admit that Alexandar Georgiev proved me wrong in the playoffs. Still, he must impress after last season’s performance, which was a significant letdown from his first season with the team. I’m looking forward to seeing more of Justus Annunen as he grows as a backup, but he lacks experience and could use this season as another stepping stone in his career.
Looking at the AHL Colorado Eagles, Kevin Mandolese, who was just acquired, and Trent Miner are good but not “ideal” third-string goaltenders, especially Miner, who is looking to hold the starting position and shine this season. Martin Jones, Kevin Lankinen, and Anti Raanta are all experienced goalies who are unsigned and can be moved between the AHL and NHL as needed.
The Avalanche have some positions to fill this season to get them over the hump. Free agency has done enough to fill out the roster ahead of training camp and for the start of the season, but there is more room for improvement, and training camp might reveal the holes that still need to be filled. Chris MacFarland and Joe Sakic will need to make the necessary adjustments to lead the team to another successful playoff run, either before the season starts or make any last-minute moves come the trade deadline.
