Aarif Deen
It was always going to be difficult for the Colorado Avalanche to truly asses what they had in their roster. For most of thr 2025-26 season, they were the best team in the league and felt like an inevitable Stanley Cup finalist.
But then the Western Conference Final happened. The Avs were outplayed and outmatched, they were injured and mentally defeated. Their Cinderella run ended in four games, in a week’s worth of failure, and erased everything that came before it.
That one week was always going to make it a difficult off-season. But the departure of general manager Chris MacFarland made things slightly more uncomfortable. Now, the Avs have Joe Sakic back in the GM chair with almost nearly the same roster as the one that lost to Vegas.
they had to move some players to make the numbers work, but, so far, it doesn’t feel much different than their 2025 summer moves.
My thoughts on the off-season thus far:
1. The similarities to 2025 are pretty strong here. The Avalanche added a lot leading up to the deadline that year, most of which were pieces that were going to be part of the plan moving foward. They used in-season trades to help build for the next year.
In the off-season. They moved Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood. They didn’t re-sign Ryan Lindgren. They made slightly less notable additions in Brent Burns and later Victor Olofsson.
I’d say the Valeri Nichushkin trade made this summer a bit different. But before that it was mostly the same. They traded Jack Drury and Ross Colton to clear cap space, replacing them with draft picks and young forwards Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.
On defense, they re-signed Brent Burns and deadline acquisition Brett Kulak. They also added Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy up front and they’ll remain full-time heading into next year.
2. Ultimately, it’s a weaker team than the one that finished the playoffs, but it’s, on paper, likely better than the team that played the first 60 games last year and was No. 1 in the league. Having a full season of Kadri and Roy, along with a back-to-form Gabe Landeskog, a better defense core with a full-time Kulak, and (hopefully) both goalies healthy on the first day will all help.
3. The biggest wildcard is that final piece of the top six. You have to hope that Jaden Schwartz fits like a glove and can be that leader, scorer, defensive stalwart, and PK guy all at the same time. The Avs spent years needing guys like Jonathan Drouin and Evan Rodrigues to fill in on the top six when Landeskog was out.
Basically, not having Nichushkin could hurt them if Schwartz doesn’t do well and nobody else steps up.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Schwartz when the signing was first announced. It wasn’t the sexiest name on the market. But when I read into Sakic’s comments about him, it seems like they’re trying to make sure it’s also a good fit in terms of leadership, locker room presence, and all the other things that the front office has worked on correcting over the last 24 months. They’ve done an admirable job at that and I’m sure Schwartz could be the next good fit.
4. I’ll admit, I also didn’t love that both Kulak and Burns were re-signed when it was first announced. But over time, I’ve started to understand more why they did it. Kulak had to be done. He was a good fit and you just can’t risk trying someone else and regretting it if the fit isn’t as strong. I do wish it was a slightly less AAV and a touch less term, but he’s a good player, he knows his role, and he was great after the Avalanche acquired him.
Burns had to be done, simply because of the ability to pay him performance bonuses. In the end, Burns is likely going to make roughly $3 million this season. But his cap hit will only be $850,000 with some if not all, of the rest getting carried over to next season’s cap as a bonus overage. You probably can’t do much better than Burns at a cap hit below a million.
5. I went into the offseason believing that the Avs needed to get younger where they can. They didn’t get younger on the blueline, they didn’t get younger in the top six. At least one of those would’ve been nice if possible.
But, I do like what Sakic did with some of the young players he brought in. You’re not always going to hit on projects, but Svechkov, L’Heureux, and to a lesser extent, Fabian Lysell, are good bets. They’re all 23-year-olds who were drafted in the first round in 2021. So at some point, they had some level of promise to be full-time NHLers. Sakic is banking on one or two of them stepping up this year.
I’m intrigued most by the L’Heureux gamble. This is a player who has stepped over the line in the past, but he’s got the right attributes to be one of those Zach Benson or Brad Marchand-lite type of players. For the longtime Avs fans, I’ll never forget the performance T.J. Galiardi had during the 2010 series against the San Jose Sharks. He was slowly developing into one of those players, but he wound up taking a giant step backwards the following season. You need L’Heureux to be that guy.
The Colorado Avalanche were never going to have an easy time evaluating what they had.
For most of the 2025-26 season, they looked like the NHL’s best team and felt like an inevitable Stanley Cup finalist.
Then the Western Conference Final happened.
The Avs were outplayed, outmatched, banged up, and mentally defeated. Their Cinderella run ended in four games — one miserable week that erased much of the goodwill they built over the previous seven months.
That stretch was always going to shape the offseason.
Then general manager Chris MacFarland departed, creating even more uncertainty. Joe Sakic is back in the GM’s chair, inheriting a roster that, while altered around the edges, still resembles the one that lost to Vegas.
Colorado had to move some players to make the salary cap work, but so far, this offseason doesn’t feel all that different from what it did a year ago.
Here are my thoughts on what Sakic has done so far.
1. This offseason looks a lot like last year’s.
The similarities are hard to ignore.
The Avalanche made several additions before the 2025 trade deadline, many of whom were viewed as pieces for both that playoff run and beyond. In a lot of ways, they used in-season trades to help build the following year’s roster.
Last summer, they moved Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood, didn’t re-sign Ryan Lindgren, and replaced those departures with more modest additions like Brent Burns and, later, Victor Olofsson.
This summer became a little different once Valeri Nichushkin was traded, but before that, the blueprint looked familiar. Jack Drury and Ross Colton were moved to clear cap space, opening the door for younger forwards Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux, who were acquired in the Drury trade.
On defense, the Avalanche re-signed Burns and trade-deadline pickup Brett Kulak. Up front, they’ll get full seasons from Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy after both arrived late last year.
2. The roster is weaker than it was in May but probably better than it was in January.
On paper, this isn’t as strong a team as the one that finished the playoffs.
But it probably is better than the team that played the first 60 games of last season and spent much of that stretch sitting atop the NHL standings.
A full season of Kadri and Roy should help. A healthy Gabe Landeskog from Day 1 should help. A full year of Kulak on the blue line should help. And if both goaltenders are healthy to start the season, that’s another major boost.
There’s enough here to believe this team can again be one of the league’s best during the regular season.
3. Everything hinges on the final top-six spot.
The biggest wildcard is Jaden Schwartz.
Colorado needs him to seamlessly replace many of the things Nichushkin brought to the lineup: Secondary scoring, defensive reliability, penalty killing, and playoff experience. And, on top of that, Schwartz’ leadership is an added attribute.
That’s asking a lot. But it’s not out of the realm of possibilities, especially given the step back Nichushkin had in production last season.
The Avalanche spent years patching together their top six with players like Jonathan Drouin and Evan Rodrigues while Landeskog was unavailable. Now they’re hoping Schwartz can solidify that spot instead of merely filling it.
If he fits, Colorado should be fine.
If he doesn’t, losing Nichushkin becomes a much bigger issue unless someone else steps into that role.
I wasn’t sold on the signing at first. Schwartz wasn’t exactly the flashiest name available.
But after listening to Sakic explain the move, it became clear this wasn’t just about production. The Avalanche wanted another player who fit their culture, leadership group, and locker room.
Over the last two years, the front office has put a heavy emphasis on building the right environment. They’ve done a good job of it, and it’s easy to see why they believe Schwartz will fit into that equation.
4. I’ve come around on Burns and Kulak.
I’ll admit, I wasn’t thrilled when both re-signings were announced.
I’ve changed my mind.
Kulak was the easier decision. He fit in immediately after arriving in Colorado, understood his role, and played well. Could the contract have come in with slightly fewer terms or a lower AAV? Sure. But replacing a player who already fits isn’t always worth the gamble.
Burns makes even more sense because of the contract structure.
He’ll likely earn around $3 million this season, but thanks to performance bonuses, his cap hit is just $850,000, with much of the remaining cost potentially pushed into next year’s bonus overage.
At that cap number, you’re probably not finding a better value than Burns.
If the Avalanche had more cap space, I would’ve liked to see Kulak and Mario Ferraro fill out the last two spots on the left side. But that’s not realistic with this cap picture.
5. I still wish they got younger.
Going into the offseason, I thought Colorado needed to get younger wherever possible.
That didn’t happen in the top six.
It didn’t happen on defense.
It would’ve been nice if Sakic had managed to accomplish one of those goals.
That said, I do like the younger players he targeted.
Svechkov, L’Heureux, and, to a lesser extent, Fabian Lysell are all worthwhile bets. They’re 23-year-old first-round picks from the 2021 draft who, at one point, were projected to become everyday NHL players.
Not every reclamation project works.
Sakic doesn’t need all three to hit. If one or two become regular contributors, the gamble pays off.
The player I’m most intrigued by is L’Heureux.
He’s crossed the line at times throughout his career, but he also has the traits to become one of those irritating, in-your-face players every contender loves having. Someone in the mold of Zach Benson or a lighter version of Brad Marchand.
For longtime Avalanche fans, T.J. Galiardi showed flashes of becoming that kind of player during the 2010 playoff series against San Jose before his development stalled.
Colorado needs L’Heureux to take the path Galiardi never did. If he becomes that relentless, agitating middle-six winger, this could end up being one of the more underrated moves of the offseason. Especially given the two-year term and low AAV he’s already signed for.