Aarif Deen
Joe Sakic noted on Friday that he’d like to sign two forwards to fill out his lineup. That sounds, to me, like he wants to bring in someone who can play in the top six and a depth piece. With a shade under $6 million remaining in cap space, here are some of the forwards the Avalanche could target for either of those roles.
Eeli Tolvanen, LW, RW, Age: 27
Eeli Tolvanen is the youngest of the group of forwards that could help fill a middle-six role with offensive upside. He didn’t quite reach that next step with the Seattle Kraken, albeit nobody really has on that team in recent years.
Tolvanen has a 23-goal season under his belt and maxed out at 41 points in 2023-24. He plays on the power play and penalty kill. He’s at that age where there could still be something to unlock. Sakic had a history in the past of identifying talents like Valeri Nichushkin and Andre Burakovsky and helping them unlock their game.
Oliver Bjorkstrand RW, Age: 31
Bjorkstrand is the same age as Nichushkin and was also taken in the 2013 NHL Draft. In his most recent season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bjorkstrand had 12 goals and 32 points. His career high is much greater than that and he registered between 44 and 59 points in each of the last five seasons before this one.
Michael Bunting, LW, RW, Age: 30
When I asked Sakic about Zachary L’Heureux on Friday, he mentioned that L’Heureux provides an element that the Avs could’ve used in the playoffs this past season. It’s likely that edge he plays he — the pest-like game that often got him in trouble in years past, but could also be cleaned up and utilized more efficiently.
I’m sure you see where I’m going with this one.
Bunting has a little bit of that in him, albeit it’s calmed down in recent years. In his best NHL season, he was riding shotgun with talents like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto and compiled more than 60 points.
Jaden Schwartz, LW, Age: 34
This could be a safer player for the Avs, but it also makes the team a little older than they’d probably want to be. Schwartz had 26 points in 50 games this past season with the Kraken. He had 26 goals and 39 points in the season before that, which was only the second time in his career that he had reached 80 or more games.