Team: 2017-18 Colorado Avalanche

Initial Creation Date: Jan. 19, 2017

Published: Jan. 20, 2017

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

A more extreme approach to fixing the Avalanche. The Avs need to get younger and faster up and down their roster. Speed and skill up front will be key, while they should target strong skaters who are smart and can suppress shots on the back end.
The rebuild is center around Nathan MacKinnon. Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost are a couple very good in-house prospects, but aside from them and AHLers Chris Bigras, JT Compher and AJ Greer, the rest of the farm is pretty dry. They restock with forwards Julien Gauthier and Jake DeBrusk, and former Avs draft pick Kyle Wood on defense, as well as top pick Nico Hischier and several other draft choices.
The Avs also move on from Semyon Varlamov, taking Kari Lehtonen's contract back from Dallas.
Most importantly, the Avs completely reshape their blueline. Erik Johnson sticks around, as he's been the lone constant on defense over the last several years, and his hefty contract will be tough to move. Tyson Barrie nets the Avs a young, fast, and skilled forward in Duclair and some other pieces. Slavin and Carlo are two huge additions, and will play major roles right away.
All the proposed trades are based on some sort of rumors. Carolina is reportedly talking internally about the possibility of moving one of their young defensemen for a top forward like Duchene. The Landeskog-to-Boston rumors have been floating around for a while, and there are some whispers that Carlo's name has been back in the conversation from Boston's side recently. Arizona has been rumored to be open to moving Duclair, and they're in need of a RD who can create offense.
Note: Colorado will likely need to overpay a depth veteran or two on 1-year deals in order to reach the cap floor.

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