NHL Rumors Heat Up: Are the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers Poised for Game-Changing Moves?
Here’s the thing about the Colorado Avalanche heading into next season: they’re sitting on roughly $8.7 million in salary cap space with 18 players locked in, but the real puzzle lies with six key pending unrestricted free agents. Not all of them will stick around, and some could demand a price that makes you blink twice. Take Brock Nelson, for example—the Avs traded away their top prospect Calum Ritchie just to acquire him, and while the center market is thin this offseason, it’s far from guaranteed he’ll stay put. Minnesota’s hometown pull looms large, especially given he turned down a hefty $7.5 million per year deal from the Islanders. Then there’s Jonathan Drouin, whose injury woes keep piling up; he might only return if he’s willing to sign a modest short-term contract. Ryan Lindgren’s current $4.5 million price tag might be a stretch for Colorado, while Joel Kiviranta’s 16-goal season came with some unsustainable shooting percentages, making overpaying for him a risk. Jimmy Vesey didn’t feature in the playoffs but remains a potentially cheap depth piece, and Erik Johnson’s future hinges on whether he wants another season at near league minimum salary. These weigh heavily on GM decisions as the offseason heat builds — and the cap clock’s ticking. LEARN MORE
Notes on six Colorado Avalanche pending UFAs
Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette: The Colorado Avalanche have a $8.7 million in projected salary cap space for next season with 18 players under contract. They have six pending UFAs, all won’t be back, and some won’t come cheap.
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