Aarif Deen
The Colorado Avalanche have had an eventful offseason, but most of the movement has come around the edges of the roster.
The biggest departure was a trade that sent Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets, while Ross Colton and Jack Drury were both traded to Nashville in separate deals. Colorado also moved on from unrestricted free agent Joel Kiviranta, who signed with the Dallas Stars.
On the smaller side, Zakhar Bardakov received a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent before ultimately returning to the KHL. None of those moves qualify as franchise-altering, but they’re notable pieces of a busy summer.
What’s more intriguing is the possibility that the Avalanche explored something much bigger.
Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman shared an interesting note on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast, linking Colorado to what could have been a blockbuster pursuit of Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck.
“By the way, I had a couple of teams say to me they wondered if Colorado took a shot at Connor Hellebuyck,” Friedman said. “I don’t know how that could work, I don’t know what they would offer, and I’m not sure that Winnipeg would want to see that. But there were a couple of teams that were like, they kind of suspected that the Avalanche considered it.”
Friedman stopped short of confirming any negotiations, but he’s also not known for casually tossing out rumors without at least some belief that there’s smoke behind them. The fact that multiple front offices connected Colorado to Hellebuyck is notable in itself.
Whether it was realistic is another question.
Hellebuyck carries an $8.5 million cap hit, while Avalanche starter Mackenzie Blackwood is at $5.25 million. Any deal likely would have required significant additional salary to move out, with Blackwood potentially part of the framework. But even then, the Avalanche don’t have much in terms of notable assets to trade.
Still, the idea of pairing Hellebuyck with Colorado’s championship core is fascinating, even if it ultimately remained only a suspicion around the league rather than a completed pursuit.