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The Colorado Avalanche made a significant number of offseason moves over the summer, some of which received a lot of notice, much of which did not. Many of their actions represent a substantial shift towards investing in the franchise’s future. From their minor league affiliations to player and coach acquisitions, it’s been a summer of change. Will their moves payoff?
THE GOOD
1. The Colorado Avalanche signed Nathan MacKinnon to a seven year contract that goes through the 2022-23 season. With an average annual value of $6.3, if Nathan MacKinnon develops into the type of player many hope, this could be a steal.
2. Tyson Barrie eventually agreed to a last-second deal extending into his first year of free agency. Signed to four years at $22 million, Barrie will have ample time to improve his defensive game and expand his offensive prowess.
3. The Avalanche extended Mikhail Grigorenko and Andreas Martinsen to reasonably priced one-year deals. The contracts allow the organization time to evaluate their growth and the players have a chance to prove they are worth bigger contracts next year.
4. Calvin Pickard agreed to a modest two-year contract worth $2 million. He owns the role as Semyon Varlamov’s back up and no longer has to worry about returning to San Antonio. Could he earn a more substantial payday with exceptional play this season? Will he have an opportunity to compete for the starting position? Stay tuned.
5. Colorado now has Tyson Barrie, Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Carl Soderberg and Semyon Varlamov locked up for the next three years. They will also have cap room to spare next year when some other contracts end. Just imagine this core with room to sign a free agent or two next year. Woohoo! Sunglasses, anyone?
6. The Avalanche quietly signed 11 players on the first day of free agency, the most of any NHL team. Some of the players signed will help fill out the San Antonio Rampage roster while others will compete for roles in Colorado, particularly on the defensive end of the ice. The best part? The players were signed for one and two year contracts at reasonable rates. No big long term contracts to aging veterans that could weigh the team down for years and block spots for the young guns.
7. Colorado extended a number of entry level contracts to prospects like J.T. Compher, A.J. Greer, Anton Lindholm, Sergei Boikov and Julien Nantel (who actually signed in March). As the prospect pool continues to improve, so does the team depth and the level of competition for starting roles.
8. The Avalanche selected Tyson Jost with their first round pick, at the number 10 spot. While many thought the team might go with a defenseman, Jost brings speed and an impressive attitude to the forward position, something Colorado definitely needs.
9. Colorado bought out Brad Stuart’s contract. While he may still have some hockey left, neither his contract nor his play warranted additional time with the Avalanche. Buying him out opened up valuable contract space the team could have used last year and might need again.
10. The team hired recent Calder Cup champion coach Jared Bednar to be the new Avalanche head coach. Bednar boasts a track record of success in the AHL and ECHL levels, utilizes speed and agility effectively, and knows how to develop young players. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the NHL game and the current roster.
11. Prior to hiring Bednar, Colorado already acquired his defensive coach, Nolan Pratt, from the AHL champions Lake Erie Monsters. For those who recently started following the Avalanche, Pratt was a member of Colorado’s 2001 Stanley Cup winning team. After a 20-year career as a defenseman, he spent the last five years learning the ropes coaching in the AHL.
12. According to CapFriendly, Colorado has used only 44 of the 50 contracts allowed by the NHL. Even if they sign a few more players, they will have the flexibility to add position guys should injuries occur, unlike last year, when they were forced to release a perfectly good fourth line center to help out the injury-riddled defense. Very good.
13. Starting on Saturday, Colorado will host their first Rookie Showcase, welcoming prospects from the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, as well as their own young guns. Watching how players adapt in real-time game situations has to improve evaluations over just observing them in drills.
14. During a tumultuous offseason, the Colorado Avalanche have been surprisingly forthcoming, considering their tight-lipped history. And while no one may ever know the inside details on some of the summer’s movements, having the organization release information and interviews with prospects and players is a refreshing change. Enjoy it will it lasts, people!
15. The San Antonio Rampage also hired a new head coach, Eric Veilleux, after an extensive 10-week search conducted by Avalanche GM Joe Sakic and Colorado Assistant GM Craig Billington. Veilleux spent the last two years with the AHL Norfolk Admirals after an extensive career coaching in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His teams made the postseason all nine years he coached, including making the President’s Cup final three times and winning the Memorial Cup once. He was also named the QMJHL coach of the year for 2013-14.
16. The San Antonio Rampage roster experienced a substantial overhaul that included the release of team captain Ben Street, who signed with the Detroit Red Wings, the trade of Reto Berra that sent him to the Florida Panthers, Joey Hishon left the NHL to play for the KHL in Finland, and Nate Guenin signed with the Anaheim Ducks, just to name a few. Depending on which players make the big club, there could be as few as six returning members from last year’s Rampage roster. There should be plenty of opportunity for the new prospects to show their stuff this year.
17. The Avalanche, along with Spurs Sports & Entertainment, invested in upgrading the Rampage practice facility at the Northwoods Ice Center. The renovations included adding a dedicated fitness center, coaches’ offices, a trainer’s office and treatment room, all as part of the 5,000 square foot addition. The original practice site was 1,000 square feet. Hopefully the investment will bring big dividends on the ice for the Rampage as well as to the development of the young players.
18. The Colorado Avalanche changed their ECHL affiliate to the Colorado Eagles, ending their connection with the Ft. Wayne Komets. The Eagles play at the Budweiser Events Center, just north of Loveland, so interested Avalanche fans can easily check out some of the young prospects. Also, the Eagles seem eager to work with the NHL club and already had coaches involved with the summer development camp. Good move all the way around.
Whew, that’s a lot of change for what was supposed to be down time. Welcome to the new!
THE BAD
1. Colorado managed to lose Shawn Matthias to the Winnipeg Jets and Mikkel Boedker to the San Jose Sharks. People may debate the value of adding them to the team for a failed playoff push, but the Avalanche made offers to both men for the upcoming season and lost out to more enticing offers.
2. As most everyone knows, Patrick Roy resigned with only six weeks remaining until the start of training camp. He really put the front office in a bad position as most coach hirings had already taken place in May and June. Just bad.
3. Jack Skille has not yet been offered a contract by the Avalanche. Perhaps they believe they have the same grit and determination in some of the new guys but Skille sure did provide some much needed energy on the Mitchell/McLeod line. There’s still time to sign him….
4. Tyson Barrie contract negotiations continued all the way through the arbitration hearing and resulted in a settlement at the last possible moment. While that may have been the only way to get a deal done, the hearing process is notoriously difficult for player/team relations. Bad, in fact. Hopefully the contract length of four years indicates there wasn’t too much damage done. Hope, hope, hope.
THE UGLY
1. It bears repeating, Roy releasing his resignation to Canadian media through a press release was not his best move.
2. Nick Holden was traded to the NY Rangers for a fourth round pick in next year’s draft. Holden could very well prove to be a quality depth guy for a team that won’t be expecting him to play first line minutes. While a fourth round pick is not quite a bag of beans, it’s close.
3. The Avalanche traded veteran goaltender Reto Berra to the Florida Panthers for forward Rocco Grimaldi. While Grimaldi may be a nice addition to the team, he has only played 20 NHL games. Unfortunately, a little over a week after Berra was traded, the Panthers signed goaltender James Reimer to a five-year deal. So while one could argue whether the Berra experiment panned out in Colorado, there’s no arguing the future for Berra looks ugly.
4. There were a LOT of offseason trade rumors involving Avalanche players ranging from team captain Gabriel Landeskog to Barrie to Matt Duchene to John Mitchell. None of those trades happened. But will the rumors impact how any of the players view the Avalanche? Hopefully not.
WHAT TO WATCH
1. The Avalanche Rookie Showcase starts this Saturday, Sept. 17, at 2 pm at the Westminster Promenade.
2. The World Cup of Hockey officially starts this Saturday, September 17. If you haven’t caught any of the warm-up games, try to catch a repeat of a couple. The intensity of these matchups surprised everyone and is only likely to increase.
3. Avalanche rookie training camp officially starts Friday morning, Sept. 16, down at Family Sports Center. They are scheduled to hit the ice at 9:15.
4. Check out the rookie roster which is available on BSN. Some big names will be attending including Mikko Rantanen, Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras; some hot newcomers like J.T. Compher and A.J. Greer; and some fun surprises like Chase Marchand and Jeffrey Truchon-Viel – both of whom attended the summer development camp.
