At this point, any needs the Colorado Avalanche have right now could very well still be their needs when the trade deadline rolls around.
As we saw last season, GM Chris MacFarland isn’t afraid to get aggressive at the trade deadline to improve his team. In a perfect world, he wouldn’t have to wait that long, but the salary cap situation might force him to be patient. Of course, one of these needs might be filled internally with either an injured player or a suspended player, but we won’t know if that’s the case for a few months.
For now, these are Colorado’s three greatest positional needs heading into training camp.
1. Fourth Line Center
Having this above what will be number two is a little strange, but it’s really just because the number two might be filled internally.
It’s not just that they don’t have a fourth line center, but that their center depth after Nathan MacKinnon, Casey Mittelsadt, and Ross Colton dries up really quickly. Chris Wagner is fine, but there’s not even really anyone behind him that you’d feel comfortable with at the NHL level.
While some needs might not be filled right away, this feels like a spot that a need that could get taken care of either through free agency (*cough* Steven Lorentz *cough*) or the waiver wire at the end of training camp. Teams always try to sneak a fringe player down at that point, and there might be someone that fills this need. In a perfect world, it would be a good face-off guy who can kill penalties, but let’s not get greedy.
2. Middle Six Forward
This could be Gabriel Landeskog. It could also be Valeri Nichushkin. Or if the stars perfectly align, it could be Nikolai Kovalenko.
It could also be none of the above, which is why it’s something they may need to prioritize. The tricky part about this spot is that, unlike a fourth line center, they’re not likely to find someone that costs zero assets to acquire to fill this role between now and the trade deadline. If they really need a middle six forward, they’re probably have to trade for them. That will cost real assets, which the Avalanche are kind of short on at the moment.
The start of the season is the perfect time to test out what internal options they might have, but if this isn’t figured out in the first few months of the season, it could easily move to the top of this list.
3. Third Goaltender
I wavered here between this and a 5th defenseman, but I’ve got more faith in Erik Brannstrom than most. I also just don’t have a ton of faith in Colorado’s goaltending at the moment.
I don’t know how I feel about Alexandar Georgiev. After his first year, I thought the Avalanche had found their #1. After last year, I’m far from convinced. I’ve been burned by young goaltenders before. Justus Annunen was great in his NHL starts, but now teams have plenty of video on him at this level. It could go either way.
Kevin Mandolese and Trent Miner are not ideal third goaltenders. Kevin Lankinen and Martin Jones are not signed yet. Lankinen would be tough to sneak into the AHL, but it could easily be done with Jones. A third goaltender with a fair bit of NHL experience is necessary, in my opinion.
