The Avalanche played Game 1 of their first-round series vs. Nashville a year ago on May 3, beginning their 20-game run to the Stanley Cup. The one-year anniversary of that game was after Colorado had already been eliminated by Seattle in seven games this year.
After an unusually short offseason — even for a champion — and a turbulent 2022-23 season filled with injuries, it’s time for Colorado to reset.
The same core will be back for the 2023-24 season, with Nathan MacKinnon’s new contract extension going into effect and making him the highest-paid player in the NHL. But general manager Chris MacFarland and team president Joe Sakic have an opportunity to overhaul their depth if they so wish. Here’s a look at where the Avs stand.
Who’s under contract next season?
Colorado has $69.5125 million in contracts on the books for 13 players. Those contracts would eat 83.4% of the Avalanche’s cap space if the league salary cap only increases by $1 million, as has been projected. The 2022-23 cap was $82.5 million.
Those circumstances leave the Avs tight against the cap with 10 spots to fill in order to complete a 23-man roster. Navigating the cap becomes especially tricky if they don’t have a definitive conclusion about captain Gabriel Landeskog’s health by free agency. Landeskog (knee) still faces a long road to recovery, so if he needs to miss another full season, it would behoove the Avalanche to figure that out by July — because if he is out, MacFarland has an extra $7 million in cap space to work with by keeping Landeskog on long-term injured reserve.
Here are the 13 contracts on the books for the 2023-24 season as of this weekend.
| Player | Cap hit* | Contract expires |
|---|---|---|
| Nathan MacKinnon, C | $12.6 million | 2031 |
| Mikko Rantanen, W | $9.25 million | 2025 |
| Cale Makar, D | $9 million | 2027 |
| Gabriel Landeskog, W | $7 million^ | 2029 |
| Valeri Nichushkin, W | $6.125 million | 2030 |
| Sam Girard, D | $5 million | 2027 |
| Josh Manson, D | $4.5 million | 2026 |
| Artturi Lehkonen, W | $4.5 million | 2027 |
| Devon Toews, D | $4.1 million | 2024 |
| Alexandar Georgiev, G | $3.4 million | 2025 |
| Pavel Francouz, G | $2 million | 2024 |
| Logan O’Connor, W | $1.05 million | 2025 |
| Kurtis MacDermid, W/D | $987,500 | 2024 |
*Cap hit figures via CapFriendly | ^ Colorado to exceed the NHL salary cap by Landeskog’s cap hit if he is on LTIR. | Chart excludes players on two-way deals who have recently changed between NHL and AHL, such as Brad Hunt and Ben Meyers.
Who is entering free agency?
The Avalanche have 11 players on expiring contracts who can enter some form of free agency this offseason.
Three of them — Bo Byram, Alex Newhook and Denis Malgin — are restricted free agents, meaning they remain under team control as their entry-level deals end.
A number of pending unrestricted free agents are likely due to land contracts that exceed their expiring deals with the Avalanche, most notably forwards J.T. Compher and Evan Rodrigues.
| Player | 2022-23 cap hit* | Type of FA, age |
|---|---|---|
| Erik Johnson, D | $6 million | Unrestricted, 35 |
| J.T. Compher, C | $3.5 million | Unrestricted, 28 |
| Lars Eller, C | $3.5 million^ | Unrestricted, 34 |
| Evan Rodrigues, W | $2 million | Unrestricted, 29 |
| Andrew Cogliano, W | $1.25 million | Unrestricted, 35 |
| Darren Helm, C | $1.25 million | Unrestricted, 36 |
| Jack Johnson, D | $950,000 | Unrestricted, 36 |
| Alex Newhook, W/C | $908,333 | Restricted, 22 |
| Bo Byram, D | $894,167 | Restricted, 21 |
| Matt Nieto, W | $850,000 | Unrestricted, 30 |
| Denis Malgin, W | $750,000 | Restricted (arbitration eligible), 26 |
*Cap hit figures via CapFriendly | ^ 31% of Eller’s contract retained by Washington
How many draft picks do the Avs have?
The Avs have a first-round pick then a long break. After selecting late in the opening round (pick number is TBD.), Colorado won’t have another opportunity to build its prospect pool until the fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.
Colorado doesn’t have a second-round pick in 2023, ’24 or ’25. The organization also doesn’t have third-round picks this year or next. But in a deep draft class, holding onto even a late first-round pick could turn out to be fruitful.
Key dates
May 8: NHL draft lottery
June 28-29: NHL draft
July 1: NHL free agency
