5 moves the Colorado Avalanche should make this offseason

According to general manager JoeSakic, the Colorado Avalanche plan to be aggressive this offseason. Here are five bold moves that could help turn them into Stanley Cup contenders.

The Colorado Avalanche are on the cusp of greatness after making the two past Stanley Cup Playoffs. They’ve improved each year. Most importantly, the Avalanche have the hardest part of building a contender down pat – they’ve got enough star power to overpower most teams.

However, Colorado isn’t content with where they are right now. General Manager Joe Sakic said in his exit interview with the media that he hopes to add to his roster. When Sakic says he’s going to do something, it tends to get done. So his words should be taken at face value.

The Avalanche have the cap space to make big things happen as well. Few teams enter the summer with more cap space than them. The Avalanche, according to CapFriendly, could have as much as $35 million of cap space, depending on what the salary cap ceiling for next season is.

Mikko Rantanen, Nikita Zadorov, and Alexander Kerfoot are the only RFAs they need to worry about, and only the first should get a huge deal. Even after factoring all the extension plus a re-signing of Colin Wilson, Colorado will still have about $20 million to play with, give or take a few million.

With a deep free agency class, the Avalanche should have plenty of options to add to their roster. Expect them to be active in the trade market as well, as they have some intriguing pieces. Nobody ever signs anyone to offer sheets, but the Avalanche could go that route as well.

It should be a very exciting summer in Colorado. The Avalanche are arguably the most interesting team in the NHL right now. Let’s take a look at five bold moves they should make to pry open their Stanley Cup window for the foreseeable future.