It’s been a busy offseason already as the Colorado Avalanche saw their season end just one month ago. With a copious amount of trades made and the draft now behind us, focus turns to free agency to make the final moves that will shape the 2026-27 roster.
Final thoughts on the Chris MacFarland departure?
Adrian: It’s a little bittersweet, and I’ll do my best not to go full on ‘what have you done for me lately’. With that said, I am a little frustrated with MacFarland taking on a whole new pocketbook
after expending much of the youth and exuberance of this Avalanche team to fill various roles during a cup window.
Jackie: It doesn’t bother me as a business decision that he made, but make no mistake, the timing is not a coincidence. MacFarland knew Colorado’s assets and salary cap space were gone, and he didn’t even have to provide any kind of accountability before skipping town. The moves he made looked flashy in the spirit of “going for it,” but many are turning sour. It was the right time to get out while MacFarland is still highly regarded and he doesn’t have to face any consequences for the decisions he made.
Jess: It’s a business at the end of the day. I’m happy for him that he got a new role in Nashville to take on, and despite the ups and downs that have been had with him as the general manager, he helped this team win a Cup in 2022, and I’ll always be thankful for that.
Matthew: I won’t fault MacFarland for taking a role that expands his ability to shape a franchise. He played a pivotal role in shaping the Avs’ 2022 Stanley Cup championship roster, and he deserves credit in that capacity. As the general manager, his teams were always in a position to win, certainly none more than this most recent one. However, there is a difference between regular season success and playoff success, and MacFarland’s tenure deserves equal parts credit and scrutiny for that reason alone. Being successful in the regular season is certainly nothing to turn one’s nose up at, but playoff success plays a big role in defining a legacy. Over time, MacFarland’s legacy may wind up being one of unrealized potential for being unable to add at least one more championship during this era of Avs hockey.
How do you evaluate the trades Colorado has made thus far?
Adrian: It didn’t take long for MacFarland and Sakic to make a deal, although I’m pretty surprised that it was Ross Colton. I reported that Rosco was not pleased about being scratched, but he responded well once he got time in the playoffs. Makes me wonder if there was a divide among Sakic, MacFarland, and Bednar on certain guys.
Don’t even get me started on the Val Nichushkin trade. We all decided “yeah it’s cool as long as you flip those picks,” just to watch Sakic make the picks he got in the exchange. With two forwards and a defender yet to be signed. I’m scratching my head a bit.
Jackie: First off, making two deals with MacFarland is pretty comical, and I think Sakic got the better end of both deals, as it was expected Ross Colton and Jack Drury wouldn’t return. Getting rid of Val Nichushkin isn’t a move I support, however. Just to re-sign Brett Kulak and Brent Burns is not good enough of a reason, and I highly doubt anywhere near a comparable forward is brought in to replace Val with the remaining salary cap space.
The acquisition of three former 2021 first-round picks is an interesting strategy as they are all 23 years old and are on favorable contract terms to Colorado. The issue is none of them are established NHL players, and it really begs the question of if there’s enough commitment from the organization and Jared Bednar specifically to get one or all of these players across the finish line to regular Avalanche player status even after they’ve been developed elsewhere. It’s pretty disappointing to see them move out the NHL-ready young players who have spent years in the system, such as Ivan Ivan, to suddenly employ this strategy. Fyodor Svechkov might have the best chance to contribute of the bunch as he’s played over 100 NHL games and has a solid defensive foundation, but if the way Colorado views young players doesn’t change, there isn’t much chance it’s going to work.
Jess: I’ll be completely and totally honest, I haven’t paid that much attention to the trades so far. The Colton one wasn’t all that surprising to me, though. That one felt like it was potentially coming for a good bit now. Like Jackie, I was surprised he was the first to be dealt.
Matthew: It’s ironic that the first trade partner that Sakic danced with was MacFarland to unload both Ross Colton and Jack Drury. The Colton trade felt like one of those “fresh start” moves, while Drury was certainly one where Sakic felt uncomfortable re-signing him (and after seeing what he signed for in Nashville, it’s hard to fault Sakic on this one). I was sad to see Nichushkin go; as the saying goes, there are some things bigger than hockey, and keeping Nuke in the fold as a vote of confidence for overcoming his personal struggles should have been one of those things that kept him in an Avs sweater. Could the return have been better for him? Maybe, but this move is one that, I feel, is a wake-up call to the rest of the locker room to not get too comfortable heading into this season.
First impressions on the nine-pick 2026 draft class?
Jackie: Overall I give their draft a B. In general it was a less galaxy brain outing than usual, and this system desperately needed a skill infusion. I wasn’t wild about trading up for the least skilled player of the bunch, but the organization has themselves a project in defenseman Cole Tuminaro. Of course, now time and commitment are the next steps.
Jess: I feel like it’s always difficult to judge a draft class, especially when a team is picking so late, like Colorado, as those players are more than likely a few years off from making an immediate impact, but I’m happy that they actually made the picks and got some more players into their pipeline.
Adrian: I think they did well at the draft, but it’s hard for me to dive too deep when most of the names we see are either years away or future trade fodder. Oh, and please let’s get back to a normal “centralized” draft, please, and thank you.
Matthew: I wasn’t able to follow the draft this year. The fact that the Avs somehow managed to come away with nine picks is pretty remarkable in and of itself. Even a mid to late round draft pick has a chance to make the show; perhaps one of these picks is one that can defy the odds!
What is on your free agency wish list?
Jackie: July 1st is almost as detrimental as the trade deadline with respect to bad decisions, so the goal should be to not make a big splash but acquire some value finds later on. It feels as if the moves are largely made already, however, with probably a $3 million or so forward incoming for the top six and a league minimum defenseman. I just hope they aren’t given term or are too washed up.
Adrian: I am with Jackie, get younger or do nothing. It’s time for this team to know they won’t get a shake-up and to lean into the next-man-up identity. Should be a great time to go young, unproven, and affordable with enough elite talent to win games and foster some growth in the newly minted NHLers.
Jess: Don’t do anything flashy, don’t make a splash, and don’t spend a stupid amount of money on free agents. It should be easy not to do that, as you don’t need to do any of that; Colorado’s core players are locked down for this coming season, if not past that, so depth players are really what you need to worry about, and they typically don’t cost a lot anyway. Though with the cap rising, we’ll see how that affects those contracts. It’s not a free agency-related wish specifically, but as Cale Makar is eligible to officially sign an extension on July 1, my big wish for that free agency day is that the Avs can get a Makar extension done early this summer when July 1 hits later this week.
Matthew: This year’s free agent class is pretty thin, and not having much cap room after re-signing Brent Burns and Brett Kulak doesn’t allow for frivolous spending on Sakic’s part. In his media availability before the draft, he did say that he wanted to sign at least two more forwards and another defenseman. Sign an additional middle-six forward if a decently priced option is out there, but the only defenseman to sign should be Cale Makar on July 1. That’s my only wish, because going into another season where the Avs may be forced to repeat the Rantanen situation would be nothing short of a colossal front office failure.
