3 moves the Colorado Avalanche need to make after playoff elimination

Vladislav Namestnikov #90 of the Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Vladislav Namestnikov #90 of the Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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colorado avalanche
Ryan Graves #27 of the Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Colorado Avalanche have a wide open Stanley Cup window. Here are three moves that could help them win now.

The Colorado Avalanche had one heck of a season. They nearly won the regular season Central Division title, narrowly losing out to the St. Louis Blues. For the second straight season, the Avalanche made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But for the second straight season, they fell short in Game 7.

Let’s be clear. The Avalanche don’t need to make any significant changes. But armed with $22 million of cap space, Colorado has enough room to improve their roster.

The Avalanche shouldn’t take their apparently wide open Stanley Cup window for granted. Just look at the Winnipeg Jets. Everyone thought their window was wide open after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018. They haven’t won a postseason series since. The time for the Avalanche to win is now.

For that to happen, the Avalanche need to make some moves this offseason. Here are three moves they should make.

3. Extensions

The Avalanche have quite a few restricted free agents to deal with. Ryan Graves, Nikita Zadorov, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky, and Tyson Jost all need new contracts. Using Evolving Hockey‘s contract tool, those players combined are projected to sign for $16.224 million. It’s quite likely all of them will be returning, though Zadorov and Jost could be trade bait.

On top of that, Logan O’Connor, A.J. Greer, Sheldon Dries, and Hunter Miksa will need new deals, though none of them will likely won’t be regular  roster players for the Avalanche. I can’t see any of them making over $1 million a year.

But the one extension the Avalanche should be worried about this season is Cale Makar. He still has a year left on his entry-level contract, but the Avalanche are eligible to sign him to a new contract this offseason. Makar is going to command a pretty penny in a year. His price is likely only going to increase from here on out. It might be best to start talking to him now about a long-term extension. If they can sign him to one, that would be a great move for the Avalanche.