The Colorado Avalanche, for all the accolades won this year, did not finish the season with a Stanley Cup win. Instead, the team was swept in the Western Conference Final by the Vegas Golden Knights, and general manager Chris MacFarland, who had sat in that role since just after the team's last Cup win in 2022, left for the captain's chair in Nashville for the Predators.
Now, with the draft just a day away and offseason fully in swing, Joe Sakic, Avalanche President of Hockey Operations, has stepped back into the gm role temporarily. In just the past week, Sakic has made a variety of moves to shed salary from the cap as the Avs look to re-gear and retool the roster in his interim tenure as general manager of the Avalanche.
Moving out:
The biggest name that the Avalanche no longer will have on their roster is forward Valeri Nichuskin, as the big Russian winger was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets for three draft picks spread out over the next three years, Columbus' second round pick this year. The move clears 6.125 million dollars off the Avs books and removes something of a question mark from the roster. Nichuskin's spot in the lineup over the past three seasons has been in flux, due to both on and off-ice issues. This last season Nichuskin stayed on the right side of the Johnny Law and the NHLPA, however his production dipped slightly from his usual point per game pace.
Along with "Big Nuke" getting traded, the Avalanche moved on from forwards Ross Colton and Jack Drury. Colton struggled to find consistent deployment in Colorado's middle six, especially after the trade deadline additions of Nic Roy and Nazem Kadri. He was sent along with AHL goaltender Isak Posch to the Predators in exchange for a third round pick in the next two drafts and the NHL rights to Magnus Chrona, a former fifth round pick of the Lightning.
Drury was sent alongside prospect Chase Bradley and a 2029 third round pick to rejoin former Avs GM Chris MacFarland in Nashville, netting Colorado forwards Zachary L'Hereux and Pyodor Svechkov.
Making the climb again
The plan under Sakic for the moment seems to be to create as much cap space as possible in anticipation of Cale Makar's next contract. While the Avalanche could also be clearing space in anticipation of netting a big fish this offseason, the top of the market is center Dylan Larkin. Larkin's three team trade list, did not, however, include Colorado, and the Avs, even after sending out three of their top forwards for a bevy of futures, likely don't have the resources that Steve Yzerman would be looking for in return for a center of Larkin's caliber.
The move would also certainly mean moving on from Brock Nelson, who fits much the same role on the Avalanche. Nelson did center the fourth line below Larkin for Team USA at the Olympics as the Americans went on to win Gold. With the additions of L'Hereux and Svechkov, and the bevy of draft picks recouped by Sakic in the last weeks, the Avs are clearly betting on their veteran leadership to help bring some younger, cheaper players up to speed as they gear up for next season.