Summer Synopsis: Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche have continued to thrive as one of the NHL’s premier teams. Their stars are simply too good, and have proven capable of lifting up a lineup that’s otherwise lackluster. That’s proven a beneficial silver lining this summer, as Colorado’s been forced to focus on rebuilding their minor league following a long list of departures. That holdup, a prevailing cap crunch, and looming extensions have left staff hires as Colorado’s most impactful NHL additions, though a few high-upside signings could provide a kick as Colorado gears up for yet another run to the playoffs

Draft

2-38: G Ilya Nabokov, Metallurg (KHL)
3-76: F William Zellers, Shattuck (High School Prep)
5-132: G Louka Cloutier, Chicago (USHL)
5-137: G Ivan Yunin, Omskie (MHL)
5-161: F Maxmilian Curran, Tri-City (WHL)
6-185: D Tory Pitner, Youngstown (USHL)
7-215: F Christian Humphreys, USA U18 (NTDP)

The Colorado Avalanche entered the 2024 Draft with just three picks – but managed to add four more with a pair of nifty trades. Colorado first traded their first-round pick to Utah for a second and third-round pick this year – as well as a second-rounder next year – and then flipped the latter pick to the Buffalo Sabres for a later third and fifth-rounder. That gave them much more draft action, though all coming on the second day.

Still, the Avs looked to be putting their picks to good work when they made standout Russian goalie Ilya Nabokov the top goalie in this year’s class. Nabokov, 21, was overlooked in each of the last two drafts, but commanded respect this year with a standout performance as the starter for Magnitogorsk Metallurg of the KHL. He posted 23 wins and a .930 save percentage in 43 games – the seventh-best save percentage in the league and tied for the highest from a U21 goalie since Ilya Samsonov in 2017. Nabokov has one year left as Metallurg’s starter before his contract expires next summer – and could quickly find a role in Colorado’s goaltending ranks with another strong year.

But after Nabokov, the Avalanche draft got flipped a bit upside-down. They nabbed speedy and undersized winger William Zellers with their next pick, taking him much higher than expected, even after his 111 points in 54 games with Shattuck St. Mary’s. Zellers is expected to spend next season with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, which should provide a great proving ground to see where his value truly sits. But even with promising setting ahead, Zellers seemed like the lesser pick to Colorado’s seventh-round steal of Christian Humphreys, who stood tall as this year’s iteration of shoot-first NTDP forward. He managed 58 points in 52 games on the season, including 23 points, while showing a strong ability to make and finish plays around the slot. Defenseman Tory Pitner was similarly ranked above Zellers by many public outlets, on the back of strong neutral zone defending; albeit with a bit of an awkward skating stance.

But perhaps the upside-down class speaks to how well Colorado drafted – shooting for the stars with high-upside Zellers early, without missing out on clear-fallers later on. Either way, the Avalanche made sure to balance things out in the fifth round, when they selected Louka Cloutier – one of the draft’s youngest goalies – and Ivan Yunin – who could quickly challenge KHL ice time in a goalie-poor Omsk system. The duo were joined by Maxmilian Curran, a hard-nosed forward who’s still finding his defining traits. Each of the trio have road-blocks between them and the pros, but could quickly prove capable with a bit more development.

Even with questions around all seven prospects, the Avalanche are emerging from the Draft plenty happy. They reinforced their goaltending room – to the best of their ability, at least – and added a quartet of very different, but very distinct, North American prospects. It’s a class that won’t change the face of the franchise, but should properly support Colorado’s all-or-nothing approach.

Trade Acquisitions

G Kevin Mandolese (from Ottawa)

Colorado’s only trade acquisition was the lowly acquisition of goaltender Kevin Mandolese, who Colorado acquired from Ottawa alongside a 2026 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2026 sixth-rounder. Mandolese was a sixth-round draft pick in 2018 and made his move to the pros in 2021, joining a long rotation of Belleville Senators goaltenders. The crowded room has pushed Mandolese to the ECHL for parts of the three seasons since, though he’s slowly fighting into a more prominent AHL role, and even played in three NHL games in the 2022-23 campaign. Mandolese posted one win and a .916 in those outings, otherwise carrying 28 wins and an .896 through 66 career AHL games. He’s likely set for the Colorado Eagles backup role while Nabokov wraps up his time overseas, though his addition could be a sign that prospect Justus Annunen may final win out the NHL backup role.

UFA Signings

F Jere Innala (one-year, $870K)*
F Chase Bradley (two-years, $872.5K)*
F Joel Kiviranta (one-year, $775K)*
F Jonathan Drouin (one-year, $2.5MM)
F Parker Kelly (two-year, $1.6MM)
F T.J. Tynan (one-year, $775K)*
F Matthew Phillips (one-year, $775K)*
D Calle Rosen (one-year, $775K)*
D Calvin de Haan (one-year, $800K)
D Jacob MacDonald (two-year, $1.6MM)*
D Erik Brannstrom (one-year, $900K)
D Wyatt Aamodt (one-year, $775K)*
D Oliver Kylington (one-year, $1MM)

* denotes two-way contract

The bulk of Colorado’s action this summer reinforced their minor league depth. After all, eight of their 12 free agent signees inked two-way deals. The few one-way additions could bring major lineup ramifications, though. They’re led by Jonathan Drouin, who finally looked comfortable in an NHL role in his first year with the Avalanche last season. He posted a career-high 56 points while averaging a career-high 18 minutes of ice time through 79 games – showing that he can still reach new heights even 10 years into his career. There was never much question about whether Drouin would re-sign or not and his new deal gives him a near-$1.75MM raise to repeat his strong play next year.

While Drouin digs his feet into Colorado’s top-end, new veteran additions Calvin de Haan, Erik Brannstrom, and Oliver Kylington will battle for the blue-line spots vacated by Bowen Byram and Sean Walker. Brannstrom carries the initial advantage, if for no other reason than the fact that he was the only one of the three to play all of last season. He managed a career-high 20 points but continued to fall behind where his 15^th-overall draft precedent places his expectations. De Haan also played big minutes last year, stepping into 59 games for Tampa Bay, but his measly 10 points weren’t enough to dodge routine healthy scratches. Still, he’s done more than Kylington – who stepped away from hockey for one-and-a-half seasons for personal matters, before returning in the second half of this year. He played 33 NHL games upon his return, though managing just eight points and third-pair minutes. Each of the three defenders offers their own upside – Brannstrom a boom-or-bust signing, de Haan a reliable depth veteran, and Kylington motivated after absence. But they’ll have to hit the ground running if they want to land a roster spot.

The NHL storylines run a bit dry after the trio of defense additions – though Parker Kelly’s one-way deal seems to indicate he’s a lock for the NHL. That’s great news for Kelly, who spent the last three seasons growing into a bigger and bigger role in Ottawa’s bottom six. That culminated in 18 points across 80 games this season – Kelly’s first full year in the NHL. A one-way deal pushes Kelly into competition for minutes with players like Logan O’Connor, Nikolai Kovalenko, and Artturi Lehkonen – while depth signees Joel Kiviranta and Matthew Phillips try to use the AHL as a platform to jump over them all.

RFA Re-Signings

F Casey Mittelstadt (three-years, $17.2MM)
F Jason Polin (one-year, $775K)*
G Kevin Mandolese (one-year, $775K)*

* denotes two-way contract

Colorado’s biggest chore this summer was re-signing new second-line center Casey Mittelstadt – the return in the deal that sent Byram to the Sabres. Mittelstadt was everything that Colorado could have hoped for in his 29 games with the team, between the regular and post season. He scored 19 points and held strongly as the team’s second-line center, even through daunting playoff deployment. He held onto the momentum from a career-year in 2022-23, when Mittelstadt posted 59 points in 82 games with Buffalo, and seems poised to understudy Nathan MacKinnon for the foreseeable future. It’s not often that a team gets to sign that level of upside at the age of 25 – and the Avalanche opted for the bridge route, buying Mittelstadt’s first year of UFA eligibility with a deal that walks him to his prime. He’ll get a chance for a raise before entering his 30s, while Colorado will save a much-needed dime ahead of re-signing Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar, and MacKinnon  over the next three summers.

Departures

F DJ Busdeker (signed with Augsburger, DEL)
F Alex Beaucage (unqualified, signed with Laval, AHL)
F Gianni Fairbrother (unqualified, unrestricted free agent)
F Brandon Duhaime (Washington, two-years, $3.7MM)
F Fredrik Olofsson (signed with Zug, NL)
F Riley Tufte (Boston, one-year, $775K)*
F Vladislav Kamenev (unrestricted free agent)
F Yakov Trenin (Minnesota, four-year, $14MM)
F Zach Parise (retirement)
D Brad Hunt (signed with Hershey, AHL)
D Caleb Jones (Los Angeles, one-year, $775K)*
D Corey Schueneman (St. Louis, one-year, $775K)*
D Jack Johnson (Columbus, one-year, $775K)
D Nate Clurman (Pittsburgh, one-year, $775K)*
D Sean Walker (Carolina, five-year, $18MM)
D Spencer Smallman (Washington, one-year, $775K)*
G Ivan Zhigalov (unsigned draft pick, signed with Orsk, VHL)
G Arvid Holm (unrestricted free agent)
G Ivan Prosvetov (unsigned, signed three-years with CSKA, KHL)
G Pavel Francouz (retirement)

Colorado’s list of departures makes their minor-league focus this summer much clearer. They overturned the majority of their AHL blue line, adding to it departures of depth forward and goaltenders. They’ve managed to fill most of those holes with either prospects or recent signees, but the holes left by Walker, Trenin, and Duhaime will each be much tougher to fill. The trio were all midseason trade acquisitions, with clear lineup roles planned out for them. Duhaime settled in as a strong fourth-line bruiser – the same role Trenin came to earn after not finding much of a scoring touch. Walker’s spot was a bit more meaningful, as he stepped into the second-pair hole left by Byram. Walker posted seven points across 18 regular season games in Colorado, but fell apart in the postseason, going without any scoring through Colorado’s 11 games. It’s his spot that one of Brannstrom, de Haan, or Kylington will look to improve upon – with the others battling for Colorado’s seventh-defender role.

The departures otherwise don’t leave too lasting of an impact on the NHL lineup. Parise and Prosvetov’s retirements forced the team to fill menial NHL roles, but the emergence of Drouin and Annunen should prove plenty of filler.

Salary Cap Outlook

The Avalanche are approaching training camp with just over $2MM in cap space. That keeps them from making any more hefty additions, but it could be just enough to add one more veteran deal. The Avalanche will be favorites to sign professional try-outs as a result? And could end up the beneficiary of a veteran free agent like James van Riemsdyk. Fans shouldn’t hope for much more, though, as the Avs look to keep plenty of buffer built into their cap space.

Key Questions

When Will Landeskog Return? There is perhaps no bigger question in the NHL than when, and how, Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will return to the lineup. He’s expected to be ready early into the 2024-25 campaign, after missing the last two seasons with a knee injury. He’s as premier of a player as a team could ask for, scoring at a point-per-game pace all the way up to his injury – which cut his 2021-22 campaign after 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games. That level of offense will be hard to maintain through two missed years, but Landeskog’s spot on an improved top-six could be enough to spark a quick return. Even that presents issues, though, as Drouin ressurected Colorado’s role of second-line scorer last season, and may not perform the same in a cut role. It seems the answer will come down to how Landeskog bounces back when he’s finally back on the ice.

What Will The Defense Look Like? Colorado made an intentional push to improve their defense depth with their Deadline acquisition of Walker. But now, five months later, the Avalanche are back to questioning their bottom pair. We’ve touched on the battle between Brannstrom, de Haan, and Kylington – but the issue comes from each of the three being left-handed. In fact, minor-leaguer Sam Malinski is Colorado’s only righty behind Makar and Josh Manson. That’s a major annoyance, if nothing else, and will undercut how important the looming battle for blue-line minutes is. Each of the three new additions have played off-handed at one point or another but never commanded much of a right-sided role. Will that change in training camp, or will Colorado need to pursue another right-shot defender as the Deadline approaches?

Images courtesy of USA Today Sports.