Avalanche Wrap-Up: Colton’s Arbitration Date Set, Late-Round Steal Hanzel

It was a remarkably slow week for the Colorado Avalanche, as there was no real action or movement by the team. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t have anything to talk about.

We looked to the future a little bit, as I had a good chat with 6th round pick Jeremy Hanzel’s head coach, and we now know when a new contract with Ross Colton needs to be finalized.

Here’s a look back at what you might have missed the previous two weeks at CHN, and a peak at what’s coming.

Monday

The Avalanche and Ross Colton will be headed to arbitration…maybe. Like many other players around the league, Colton is taking advantage of one of the few negotiation tools that restricted free agents have, but we’ll see if it actually gets that far. And now we know when that new contract needs to be completed.

Jeremy Hanzel went undrafted twice, but he couldn’t slip through the draft a third time. After talking to his coach in the WHL, Hanzel himself, and a scout, it’s easy to understand why he wasn’t going to go undrafted again.

Tuesday

Nikolai Kovalenko spoke to the media in Russia, and discussed a variety of subjects, including playing for Igor Larionov, his breakout year, and yes, the Avalanche.

Wednesday

Alex Newhook had some interesting things to say in his first interview in Montreal, but I don’t know what else you’d expect him to say when talking about joining a new team.

We did one mailbag, and discussed whether or not Ryan Johansen can handle the 2C role, who will play on the PK, and more.

Thursday

Six bargain UFA’s that would make sense for Colorado to add in free agency.

Friday

Another mailbag with all the questions we received. Can Jonathan Drouin survive without MacKinnon? Should somewhere else were the “C” this year? And more.

Saturday

Former Avalanche forward Alex Galchenyuk is in some trouble, and it sounds worse with each detail that comes out.

A Look Ahead to Next Week

• It’s film room time, as we’ll take a deeper dive into the new additions and see where they can bring to Colorado.
• Looking into that Drouin deal a little more…can he actually help the team?
• This team still has some holes to fill…what are those holes exactly?

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