Late June and early July are always fun times to be a hockey fan. While the ice rinks are melted and the players are on vacation, it’s the busiest time of the year for front offices trying to solidify their ranks and rosters. Between the draft, free agency, firing/hirings, and trades, a huge amount of change can happen in a very short period of time.

This summer was no different, and the Colorado Avalanche lineup has already gone through an impressive number of iterations within the last few weeks.  While exciting, keeping track of who’s here, who’s gone, and who’s still somehow associated with the organization can be difficult.

But not to worry! BSN Avalanche has your back.  Here’s a rundown and recap of the changes so far, position by position.

Forwards

Subtractions:

• Ryan O’Reilly (Trade)
• Jamie McGinn (Trade)
• Danny Briere (Free Agent)
• Mitchell Heard (Not Qualified)
• Tomas Vincour (Not Qualified)

Additions:

• Carl Soderberg (Trade)
• Mikhail Grigorenko (Trade)
• JT Compher (Trade)
• Blake Comeau (Free Agent)
• Mikko Rantanen (Draft, 1st Round)
• AJ Greer (Draft, 2nd Round)
• Jean-Christophe Beaudin (Draft, 3rd Round)
• Gustav Olhaver (Draft, 7th Round)

RFAs Yet to Sign: 

• Mikhail Grigorenko
• Joey Hishon
• Freddie Hamilton
• Andrew Agozzino (Arbitration)

The biggest news for the Avalanche forward corps is that Ryan O’Reilly is no longer a part of this team’s core. Shortly before the draft, he and Jamie McGinn were traded to Buffalo in return for forwards Mikhail Grigorenko and JT Compher, defenseman Nikita Zadorov, and a 2015 2nd round pick.

In order to preemptively help fill the void O’Reilly left at center, Sakic returned Boston’s 2016 6th round pick for the opportunity to convince UFA-to-be Carl Soderberg to sign with the Avs.  Soderberg did indeed sign a 5 year, $23.75 million contract with the team that carries a cap hit of $4.75 until 2020.  In a press conference afterwards, it was confirmed that he’s penciled in between Landeskog and MacKinnon to start the year.

To replace McGinn, the versatile Blake Comeau was signed on July 1 and is expected to play in the bottom 6.  He has a $2.4 million cap hit for the next three seasons.

Danny Briere was not offered a contract by the Avs and became a UFA on July 1.  Likewise, 2012 2nd round pick Mitchell Heard and Tomas Vincour were not extended qualifying offers. They too became free agents on the 1st.

Although they haven’t officially signed their new contracts, Mikhail Grigorenko, Joey Hishon, and Freddie Hamilton were all given qualifying offers.  That means that the Avalanche still have their rights and are presumably working on a contract extension with each, although all three can hypothetically be poached with an offer sheet until the ink is dry.

Andrew Agozzino was also given a qualifying offer, but he elected for salary arbitration.  Unless he and the Avalanche reach an agreement before his scheduled time, an independent third party will decide his next contract. Arbitration meetings are very damaging to the relationship between players and their teams, so typically, both sides come to a mutual arrangement well before the deadline.  However, if a middle ground can’t be found, the process does offer closure.  Hearings will be held between July 20th and August 4th this year.

At the draft, the Avs loaded up on big forwards, including taking Mikko Rantanen at #10.  AJ Greer from BU, Jean-Christophe Beaudin from Rouyn-Noranda of the QMJHL, and Gustav Olhaver of Sweden (and soon to be Seattle Thunderbird of the WHL) followed.  Each bring size and skill to a weak forward pipeline.

Defensemen

Subtractions:

• Jan Hejda (Free Agent)
• Ryan Wilson (Free Agent)
• Bruno Gervais (Free Agent)
• Markus Lauridsen (Not Qualified)
• Jonas Holos (Expired Rights)

Additions:

• Nikita Zadorov (Trade)
• Francois Beauchemin (Free Agent)
• Nicolas Meloche (Draft, 2nd Round)
• Andrei Mironov (Draft, 4th Round)
• Sergei Boikov (Draft, 6th Round)

RFAs Yet to Sign:  

• Stefan Elliott
• Mat Clark (Arbitration)

Of these names, Nikita Zadorov is undoubtedly the biggest addition.  The young, left-shooting blueliner was the primary piece coming back from the O’Reilly trade.  With any luck, the 6′-5″, smooth skating 20-year-old with over 60 games of NHL experience will establish himself as a member of the Avalanche core by the end of training camp.  Look for him to play alongside Tyson Barrie on the 2nd pairing next year.

The top pairing anchored by Erik Johnson also saw a left side shakeup.  The reliable but aging veteran Jan Hejda wasn’t re-signed, making room for 35-year-old Francois Beauchemin, formerly of Anaheim.  He agreed to a 3-year deal carrying a $4.5 million cap hit that runs until he’s 38.  Even though this is a risk, if he can provide even one season of high-end play, it buys time for defensive prospects like Chris Bigras and Duncan Siemens to mature into Top 4 ready players.

Unfortunately, Ryan Wilson also saw his time expire with the Avs.  After a few very promising seasons, injuries derailed his career.  Over the past 3 years, Wilson only suited up for the Avs 47 times, becoming a near permanent fixture on the LTIR.  Hopefully a change of location will help him get back on track.

AHL defensemen Bruno Gervais and Markus Lauridsen were also let go, and old friend Jonas Holøs – who departed for Europe shortly after the 2010-11 season – finally saw his North American rights expire.

At the draft, the Avs used their 2nd round pick on the right-shooting Nicolas Meloche of the QMJHL. They spent their next pick on a forward, but decided to go Russian or go home with the selection of left-shooting KHL blueliner Andrei Mironov and QMJHL’s Sergei Boikov in the 4th and 6th rounds, respectively.  Although the Avalanche defensive pipeline was healthy, these prospects will only add to the future depth at that position.

The Avs also extended qualifying offers to both Stefan Elliott and Mat Clark.  Talks with Elliott are ongoing, but Clark elected for salary arbitration.  Once signed, both are likely to start the year in the AHL. There, they will be joined by both Bigras and Mason Geetsen, who were signed to Entry Level Contracts earlier this year.

Goaltenders

Subtractions:  None

Additions:  None

RFAs Yet to Sign: 

• Calvin Pickard
• Sami Aittokallio (Signed in Europe)

There wasn’t much movement on the goaltending front.  Although the battle between Reto Berra and Calvin Pickard for the backup spot next year is shaping up to be a doozy, the Avalanche thus far have declined to bring in another goalie, young or otherwise.

The only significant development was the news that former 2010 3rd rounder Sami Aittokallio opted to play in his native Finland next year. Since he was extended a qualifying offer from the Avs, they will retain his North American rights, but he won’t count towards their 50 contract limit or the salary cap.

Pickard is also an RFA in need of a new contract, but unlike his draft mate, he’s almost guaranteed to stay stateside.  Look for that deal to be announced fairly soon.

Front Office/Coaching 

Subtractions:  

• Andre Tourigny (Assistant Coach)
• Mario Duhamel (Video Coach)

Additions:  

• Chris MacFarland (Assistant GM)
• Alan Hepple (Promoted to Director of Amateur Scouting)

Perhaps the most exciting move off the ice was the addition of Chris MacFarland as Assistant GM.  He’ll be serving as Sakic’s right hand man when it comes to pro talent scouting and signings.  As a noted stats guy from the Columbus organization, he’s also likely to help further the Avs new in-house analysis.

The other big news is that defensive coach Andre Tourigny and video coach Mario Duhamel decided to leave the organization.  Tourigny was reportedly looking for a head coaching job, but has since signed on with the Ottawa Senators as an assistant.  Duhamel wanted the chance to get back behind a bench, and at the time of this writing, his landing spot has not been reported.

This leaves two coaching vacancies for the Avs.  Patrick Roy has stated that he’s in no hurry to hire their replacement. The team recently promoted Alan Hepple, the long-time second in command of Amateur Scouting, to the head job vacated by Rick Pracey in October, so it’s unclear if the coaching spots will be filled from inside or outside the organization.  Based on Roy’s history, he’ll likely look to his old stompin’ grounds of the QMJHL, but anything can happen at this point.