MHH Roundtable: Summer Restocking

4 months ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images


Is the roster opening night ready now? Now that the dust has settled from the two-week frenzy of the draft and free agency, here we take stock of where the Colorado Avalanche stand today in advance of the 2024-25 season.
Initial thoughts on Colorado’s nine-pick draft class?
Jess: I don’t mind their draft class at all personally. They certainly did a good job restocking their pipeline by actually slecting nine players in this draft, specifically their goalie pipeline since that position in their prospect pool had certainly thinned out a bit. As for any players that specifically caught my eye, I am excited to see both Tory Pitner and Jake Fisher play at the University of Denver this upcoming season.
Ezra: Interesting strategy to go after three goalies and a bunch of skaters who will develop in either college or Russia rather than Loveland. I think it makes a lot of sense given their track record there. Other than goalie Ilya Nabokov this entire class look like long term projects, so to get excited in the short term we’ll need to see Nabokov build on his playoff success in the KHL and make the jump to North America after his contract is up at the end of next season.
Jackie: It was nice to finally see a robust draft class even if it seems like they chose seven of the same guy from the USHL. I would have preferred more variety and investment in the talent pool from Sweden and Finland which has proven to yield a higher rate of success. Taking three goaltenders with nine picks isn’t that odd to me when they had only drafted one goaltender since 2019 prior to this with no goalie remaining on their reserve list or on Entry Level Contract. I like that it seems there’s a clear strategic plan with the Nabokov pick even if it’s disappointing to not add a first rounder to the prospect pool with the first rounder already missing for next year too. Thus, Cal Ritchie is not only now the team’s top prospect for the foreseeable future, he’s (spoiler alert) the best asset under 25 under years of age in the entire organization.
Eddie: I am a huge fan of Colorado’s work at the draft this year. They understood their position as a goalie prospect-poor organization and tried to tackle that by throwing as many darts at the goalie board as possible. What I liked most was that they were calculated picks. Ilya Nabokov is touted as one of the best goalies in the KHL and was one of, if not the, best goalie in this year’s class. Combine that with the fact that he is 21-years old and is on track to be in the NHL sooner than most top picks from the crease would. I liked the other two goaltenders they selected, especially Pavel Francouz’s favorite, Louka Cloutier, who has a longer path to the NHL but one that is still very much open. On the skater side, the Avs got a handful of picks that were slated to go much earlier than they did. Christian Humphreys and Tory Pitner are two of my biggest potential steals from this class and both will be going to prestigious NCAA programs in the coming years, which should springboard their development. Definitely a draft class with some guys to watch.
Did GM Chris MacFarland do enough in free agency?
Jess: If we’re talking about what MacFarland has been able to do so far in free agency, for my money, yes, he’s done enough. So far, I’m perfectly content with what MacFarland has been able to pull off given this team’s current cap situation. It’s not exactly a secret that the big signing that I think everyone wanted to see get done was Jonathan Drouin re-signing. Not only was MacFarland able to keep him, he was able to get him on a contract that seems incredibly team friendly in my opinion, especially after seeing what other wingers were getting on the open market. It was just a phenomenal piece of business and I was, and still am, thrilled by that move. All of their fringe moves so far have been really solid, too. I’m a huge fan of the Erik Brännström signing specifically, that’s just such a good low risk, high upside bet on a player that was clearly in need of a change of scenary. Given his play style and attributes, he should be a perfect fit in Colorado and I’m really interested to see how he does.
Ezra: Given the significant limitations on his freedom to wheel and deal this year, I think he did a really nice job. Brannstrom and Parker Kelly both seem like guys who can benefit being away from the toxicity of the Ottawa Senators, and the one year deal for Drouin means he can give him a better extension next offseason when the Nichushkin and Landeskog situations are sorted out. It’s good work, even if it doesn’t feel particularly exciting. Calvin de Haan will be good when healthy, too. So, for 50ish games.
Jackie: Free agency is a trap so having to largely sit it out because of cap issues isn’t a concern. It’s just more when the reality hits of the marginal improvements brought in on buriable contracts it is a little less than exciting. Finding a way to bring Drouin back was an important accomplishment and there should be fewer land mines on the roster than last summer’s shopping spree brought in.
Eddie: I think to this point he has done exactly what we wanted from him. He re-signed Jonathan Drouin, to a team-friendly deal at that, added some competition at the bottom of the defensive core, and added some quality depth pieces to the forward core. MacFarland’s triumph thus far is acquiring multiple solid NHL players without having to ship anyone from his roster out to make cap space. The Avs, in theory, have all their lineup spots filled and have about four million dollars left to play with. That’s just good business. Especially because the players they got for cheap are good NHLers. If all goes according to plan the Avs will have gotten incredible value out of the guys they’ve signed so far this offseason and there could be even more to come.
What additional moves would you like to see in the two months before training camp?
Jess: The one think I would like to see them do, simply for roster depth purposes more than anything would be to go get a true-blue NHL fourth-line center. I know they signed Parker Kelly and he currently is listed as a center on the Avs’ roster, and they have guys like Chris Wagner that can play at that position as well. But, if they are able to add an established NHL fourth-line center to their roster, that makes them all the more deeper as a team, and having a lot of depth is a great problem to have!
Ezra: I’m torn because I do want to see young guys like Cal Ritchie and Jean-Luc Foudy get an actual chance to make the roster, but it does seem like the team needs to fill that 4C spot like Jess mentioned and probably add another veteran reclamation project on the wing. Even if they decide Ritchie is ready to make the jump, they should bring in a depth center so he doesn’t get stuck in a fourth line role.
Jackie: The organization has to sign another goalie because a NHL squad can’t go into training camp with three signed goaltenders and Trent Miner isn’t a NHL option. What remains to be seen is if that’s a NHL backup or third goaltender type. Otherwise, seems there are enough veteran roster filler types around so things should be set heading into training camp if internal options will be given a chance.
Eddie: The Avs can go a lot of different ways with the remainder of their offseason. As I previously mentioned they do have all of their lineup spots filled, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t still room for improvement. Areas of improvement are fourth-line center, third goaltender, and middle-six winger. The fourth line center is something that needs to be improved but I can see it being put off until the deadline. There aren’t any great candidates for the job on the market currently and Jared Bednar plays his fourth line so little they can easily stick a winger who can adapt to the position there as a stopgap. The other two holes are ones that absolutely need to be addressed as insurance options. Colorado needs to have a winger that can move up to the top six in case of injury or for added lineup flexibility, especially with the Landeskog questions. With the four million dollars the Avalanche have left Dominik Kubalik and Daniel Sprong are my personal favorites for that hole.
Is this roster as it stands currently still a contender?
Jess: I absolutely still think they’re a contender. While I think they’ll be not as good as they have been, just with the uncertainty around players like Nichushkin and Landeskog, their superstar talent that has arguably set them apart and helped to make them contenders for so long is still intact. As long as players like MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Makar still play in Colorado, this team will probabaly always be in conversations as Cup contenders.
Jackie: I agree you can’t count out elite players doing special things and as long as that trio is still here the Avalanche have a chance. But to me this roster has taken a clear step back, the 2022 team is long gone and there’s just enough salary cap space to replace lost depth much less improve on it. If Val Nichushkin doesn’t return to the team and contribute for the rest of the year when he does, Colorado might even be on the bubble to make the playoffs.
Ezra: Of course it’s not as good as 2022, but that’s not the question — This team is as good as the best teams in the West. Dallas and Winnipeg got worse, Nashville and Vancouver haven’t proven anything, and Edmonton just got to the final on the back of one stud player and a streaky goalie - Colorado has three studs and a streaky goalie! So, you know, that’s better! The forward corps looks solid with either Gabe or Val in the lineup, great with both, and thin with neither. Which of those guys they’ll have is the biggest question mark in the NHL right now. Beyond that though, defense is also a question mark to me - can Makar and Toews return to their true shutdown form from 2022? Can Girard and Manson do the same? And who between De Haan, Brannstrom, and Malinski will step up and make that third duo a quality pair? I think Cale, Toews, Girard, and Brannstrom will excel this season and make the whole group look great.
Eddie: Yes. I’ll only be the millionth person to say this but a team with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen will always be a contender. To expand on that they now have some impressive center depth behind MacKinnon with Casey Mittelstadt and Ross Colton, I’m assuming he’s not getting moved at this point, and still has one of the best D cores in the league, that probably got better this offseason. The team’s holes are minor and can easily be fixed now or at the deadline. Add in the potential of a Gabriel Landeskog returning and we might be in for a quite fun season of Avalanche hockey. My big hope this season is they split time between the goaltenders better than last year. It was clear that Georgiev couldn’t handle that workload in the regular season and now they have seen enough quality from Justus Annunen to give him more ice. I’m thinking a 50/30 game split between the two. ...

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