Team: 2023-24 Colorado Avalanche

Initial Creation Date: Jun. 21, 2023

Published: Jun. 21, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Trade 1: Lindholm for Newhook and 23 1st + on draft night.
Avs solve 2C prior to free agency and use their 2 best assets that aren't NHL D's. Looked at Toews for Lindholm, but CGY's depth at D didn't make sense without making the deal bigger. Avs would need confirmation that Lindholm was willing to extend in COL during the '23-'24 season.

Trade 2: Toews for Krebs ++
Krebs is the main target here to replace the loss of Newhook at 3C. Toews extension talks lead the Avs to a place where he doesn't fit long term, especially with the addition of Lindholm. Olofsson retained gives the Avs some additional offense in the short term and can be hidden defensively with Val and Lindholm. But could swap out Olofsson and next years 1st with other young forward prospects if needed.

Trade 3: Peeke for '24 1st (COL)
Avs use a late 1st to add a young defensemen with term. Peeke helps fill out the depth on the right side and could potentially slide up to 2nd pair next year if Manson is moved for additional cap space.

Trade 4: Francouz for Picks
Used the Georgiev trade as a framework. Avs get a collection of picks from a team looking to use Franky in a tandem pairing. Georgiev showed he can be a true number 1 and with Johansson not going back overseas, they can bring in a cheaper 2nd option to hold the spot until Annunen is ready.

RFA's:
Byram - Avs gamble that Byram is a legit Top pairing guy and sign him to a deal that could turn into a huge steal. Or a massive anchor on the cap.
Meyers - Gets the LOC deal as he should continue to develop into a solid 2way player. Ideally he finds a way to convert his underlying metrics into actual offensive production and overplays this contract. Worst case scenario, he provides a solid presence on the 4th line but lacks finishing touch. Which should be just fine on a contract just over 1 million.
Malgin - 1 year QO. Sticks with the team as a depth forward/scratch. When in the lineup, we need to see if he can continue to score at a similar pace to last season before giving more term/money in the future.
Annunen/Merkley - 1 year QO's to stay with the organization and continue to develop in the AHL.
Puljujarvi - Won't be QO'd by Carolina. 1 year deal to rebuild his game. Will get waived by April 1st for Kovalenko if there are not signs of life by then.
Ranta - Avs make the QO to keep his rights, but he doesn't sign as he is going back to Europe.

UFA's:
Cogs - 1 year deal at or around 1 mil. Glue guy in the lockerroom, MacK loves him. Not much more that needs to be said. Good guy to have around at his price point.
OEL - 2 year deal with the Avs to rebuild his value if possible. All depends on the medical on him. And he needs a couple solid puck movers ahead of him to keep him on the 3rd pair. Avs have the ability to shelter him as needed.
Donato - This could be any depth wing at around 1.5 mil or less. But Donato is a good option that can put up 30+ points on a 3rd line.

Reserve List:
Kovalenko - Eligible for 1 year ELC. Give him the max to come over at end of KHL season and join the Avs roster. Gets to double dip before getting a new contract next summer.
Behrens - Signs ELC at end of DU season to join the Eagles.

Future:
On an 87.5M cap next summer, Avs have 11.3M to extend Lindholm, Krebs, Kovalenko, and 3-4 other skaters to get to 20-21. Probably have to move Manson next summer to make it all work unless there is more bad news on the Landy front.

1.

2.

3.

4.