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Deen’s View: With Coyle and Wood Gone, Avalanche’s Main Focus Should Shift to Defense (+)
The Avalanche didn’t want to trade Charlie Coyle. They liked having a strong core down the middle that rivals the best teams in the league.
But an opportunity to clear cap space came, and general manager Chris MacFarland plucked one of his centers off a roster that he really wanted to bring back.
“We believed in that group tremendously, and it still stings, I’m not gonna lie,” MacFarland said, speaking at Ball Arena during the first round of the decentralized NHL Draft.
Coyle is under contract for one more year at $5.25 million. Shedding his cap, along with Miles Wood’s $2.5 million, gives the Avs room to maneuver. Both are heading to Columbus.
Colorado has almost $9 million in cap space now, with quite a few bottom six roles to fill out and some questions on defense. Will they go out and find a replacement for Coyle?
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