Since the beginning of the 2025-26 season, the Colorado Avalanche had been efficiently locking down key depth pieces with tidy contract extensions. First was Scott Wedgewood and Gavin Brindley, then Sam Malinski once the calendar flipped to 2026. But depth center Jack Drury was left out of the flurry of signings and rumor has it was because he turned down all offers from the Avalanche. So where does the situation go from here?
As an upcoming Restricted Free Agent with arbitration rights, there’s no
exact urgency to get this contract finished before the July 1st opening of the new league year and free agency. However, with comparables and cap inflated salaries going higher every day there’s always a financial incentive to get things done once a desire to retain a player has been identified. Now staring down the fact Drury could file arbitration in a matter of weeks, a decision needs to be made soon especially since the Avalanche again face a salary cap crunch with only less than $3 million currently in cap space for the 2026-27 season.
Signed in July of 2024, Drury inked a two-year $1.725M per year extension with the Carolina Hurricanes, leaving him with one RFA year before Unrestricted Free Agency. This season Drury posted a career high in goals with 10 and matched his personal best 27 points in Colorado. Thec26-year-old increased his time on ice to over 14 minutes a night and was an astonishing 58.10% on face-offs. Clearly Drury is a valuable player and one the Avalanche would like back, but at what cost?
Some projections still have Drury at just under $3 million per year on a three-year deal, which sounds reasonable but after trading for another depth center in Nic Roy back in March, who still has another year on his contract at $3 million, the Avalanche can’t afford another contract at that price tag for a fourth line player. Minnesota’s Michael McCarron also just recently upped the ante after signing a six-year $3.3 million per year contract after scoring 17 points this past season. Every day the comparables just keep rising and will be tough to keep the price tag down especially with arbitration as leverage.
With the Stanley Cup Finals just concluding, the league is kicking back into gear with moves ahead of the June 26th NHL entry draft. Will returning GM Joe Sakic make his first transaction concerning Drury, either a signing or trade? As the Avalanche only have four defensemen signed for the upcoming season, and in reality really do need to rebuild their defense core, will Drury help them land one of those much-needed pieces on the back end? It could be accomplished either via return from a trade or due to freed up cap space. Or is Drury worth the price and cuts should be made elsewhere?
What would you do with the Drury situation? Let us know in the comments below.
