The Colorado Avalanche are always going to have championship aspirations. At least so long as Nathan MacKinnon is still playing hockey in the NHL. The Avalanche fell short of those expectations in the second round in six games to a very good Dallas Stars team. Colorado also had to do so while missing a few key players here and there. Still, the Avs fell short and enter a critical offseason that should dictate where the franchise goes in the MacKinnon era. We’re going to take a look at priorities for the Avalanche this offseason.
Avalanche offseason 2024
Sign Mikko Rantanen to a contract extension
This should happen swiftly after the calendar flips in July. Rantanen is entering the final year of his contract, a six-year, $55 million deal he signed back in 2019. That was a bridge to a bigger deal; his salary cap hit on the current one is $9.25M. Colorado has positioned itself well to get this deal done with ease. And Rantanen will be well worth whatever the contract entails. He’s coming off a second straight 100-plus point season. Over the past two seasons combined, Rantanen has 97 goals and 209 points in 162 games. He’s the perfect running mate for MacKinnon and the Avs should keep that duo together for the rest of their careers.
So what does this deal look like? Chances are it’ll be close to what MacKinnon’s deal is. In 2022, MacKinnon signed an eight-year, $100.8 million deal with Colorado. He’s with the franchise through 2030-31 and is still just 28 years old. Rantanen is a year younger and has been one of the most productive forwards in the NHL since 2021-22. Rantanen’s deal should be in the neighborhood of $11-12 million for the max amount of years.
What do Avs do with Gabriel Landeskog?
Landeskog remains Colorado’s captain but hasn’t played in an NHL game since 2022. Landeskog has major knee issues that have kept him off the ice for basically two full seasons. Back in 2021, Landeskog signed an eight-year, $56 million deal with the Avalanche to remain captain through 2029. Now, it’s unclear if he’ll ever play a game in the NHL again.
If Landeskog retires, he would be leaving a ton of money on the table. The Avalanche could continue to put him on long-term injured reserve until he gets better. You’d think its going to be the 2024-25 season or never again at this point. Colorado could buy out Landeskog’s contract, which would mean they’re paying him for a long time. The Avs have struggled in the playoff since winning it all in 2022 while Landeskog was healthy. Not having their captain on the ice didn’t make an impact much in the regular season, but was felt against the Stars in the second round. We saw what happened last postseason in an upset loss to the expansion Seattle Kraken in the first round.
The Avalanche either need Landeskog to play or need to move on and make MacKinnon captain. It’ll be a tough decision either way but having Landeskog on the books while not being able to play isn’t ideal. So some sort of resolution needs to take place. That could be Landeskog hanging up the skates. It makes sense to make MacKinnon captain and try and add some more leadership and toughness via trade or free agency.
And what about Valeri Nichushkin?
Same deal, what should the Avs do about Nichushkin? He played in eight games this postseason and was the leading goal-scorer before being placed into the NHL’s Player Assistance Program. While it’s great Nichushkin is getting the help he needs, he also let the team down big time by not being on the ice for the final three games of the second round. The Avalanche can’t have that type of situation looming going into next season. Hopefully Nichushkin gets the help he needs and can get back on the ice and be a top-6 forward. The Avalanche should get more clarity on that situation this offseason, and whether or not a decision needs to be made on his future with the team.
Nichushkin, like Landeskog, is signed long term, inking an eight-year, $49 million contract back in 2022. Nichushkin only played 54 games during the regular season but was almost a PPG player at 53 points. It’s another tough situation where you need the player on the ice but also fully committed. Colorado can’t go into next season with these question marks around Landeskog and Nichushkin. Does that mean you wait and see how he responds to the assistance program? That makes a lot of sense. Let him get better over the offseason and hope he goes into 2024-25 with a new lease on his career. If he isn’t 100% and committed by training camp, you need to make a tough decision.
Extension for Alexandar Georgiev?
Georgiev was brought in from the New York Rangers via free agency in 2022. That was right after the Avs had won the Cup with goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who left to go to the Washington Capitals. Georgiev has led the NHL in wins the past two seasons but his numbers regressed big time in 2023-24. He finished with a .897 SV% and GAA just north of 3.00. Those are below backup level numbers. Even the season before, Georgiev won 40 games but had a .918 SV% and 2.53 goals-against average. Slightly better numbers but also not elite.
Georgiev, because of the wins, will likely command a big-ish contract. It won’t be anything close to what Juuse Saros should get on the open market. It shouldn’t be in the realm of Jets G Connor Hellebuyck, who signed a seven-year, $59.5 million deal before the start of the 2023-24 season. So it should be a bit below Hellebuyck’s AAV, something around $6-7 million per season. If that’s the case and the Avs commit long-term, they can’t have Georgiev perform at the level he did this past season. He also wasn’t much better in the postseason.
The Avs have the luxury of going into next season with Georgiev on an expiring deal. They can wait and see how he performs before making a decision on his future. Goaltending is voodoo and the carousel at the position is ever-spinning. Colorado can let Georgiev walk and roll with Justus Annunen, who showed promise in a limited sample in 2023-24. He appeared in 14 games with an 8-4-1 record, .928 SV% and 2.25 GAA with two shutouts. Annunen could be in more of a split in 2024-25 with Georgiev and then the torch can be passed. There’s also plenty of options via the trade market and free agency.
It feels like an upgrade might be needed, so perhaps someone is brought in to backup or serve as a 1B option to Georgiev. Annunen is still 24 years old and has two years before hitting restricted free agency. At this point, the Avs can go into next season and wait and see on Georgiev. Expect Colorado to explore options, however, and perhaps sign a veteran to serve as backup.
Who stays and who goes?
Aside from those two under contract, the Avs have seven other forwards under contracts for 2024-25. One of those is Nikolai Kovalenko, who played a few games in the postseason. It’s unclear if he’ll be in the mix to hold a roster spot going into 2024-25. But he’s not a RFA until after next season. Other than that, you’ve got MacKinnon, Rantanen, Artturi Lehkonen, Miles Wood and Ross Colton. Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Manson and Sam Girard make up the top-4 defense.
Sean Walker, Jack Johnson and Caleb Jones are all free agents. Casey Mittelstadt was brought in before the deadline and is a RFA. He should get a bridge deal and serve as a decent, young middle-six center. Aside from Mittelstadt, Andrew Cogliano, Jonathan Drouin, Brandon Duhaime, Joel Kiviranta and Yakov Trenin are all free agents. Zach Parise announced his retirement from the NHL after the Avs were eliminated. So Colorado has an interesting situation this offseason in terms of players they can add. That gets even more interesting depending on what happens with Landeskog and Nichushkin.
Mittelstadt makes sense to bridge since he’s still young and can be a cheap middle-six center. The bridge is important because Mittelstadt isn’t great in the dot and wasn’t extremely productive in a short span for Colorado. But with a full training camp and more time to get familiar with his teammates and the system, you’d think he can fit in.
Drouin also makes sense to bring back. He had a career-high 56 points in 79 games in his first season with Colorado. Drouin also shouldn’t command a lot of term/money, which is good when you’re paying MacKinnon and Rantanen over $20 million per season. Duhaime, Kiviranta and Trenin aren’t needs and should at least test free agency. The Avs may not bring any of them back and try to fill the bottom-six with more physicality and speed. Depth became an issue for obvious reasons.
If Mittelstadt projects more as a third-line center, the Avs could explore the market for a second-line center behind MacKinnon. That makes a lot of sense and there are some options in free agency. Chandler Stephenson should be highly sought after in the free agent market. Sean Monahan could also be a good option after a successful stint with Winnipeg after leaving the Habs. You look to the 2022 Cup team and Nazem Kadri’s absence is felt the past few seasons.
