Breaking down the Colorado Avalanche ahead of NHL Free Agency.
Pending free agents
Unrestricted: 13 | Restricted: 6 | See full list
[teamleaders league=”nhl” team=”col” season=”2013″]
Avalanche overview
The Avalanche returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2013-14 after missing out for three consecutive seasons, and although they bowed out in a Game 7 loss to the Minnesota Wild in the first round, the team looks primed to build on that experience and return to the post-season for many years to come.
The Central Division champs boast a solid young core up front, including Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Ryan O’Reilly, all of whom are in their early 20s. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov, 26, is a Vezina Trophy finalist while 26-year-old Erik Johnson, 27-year-old Nick Holden and 22-year-old Tyson Barrie form a solid young defensive unit in front of him.
The Avs are already young, fast and talented with even more prospects on the way in the likes of Joey Hishon, Duncan Siemens and Chris Bigras. An injection of some veteran depth on the third and fourth line may be enough to push them over the top.
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| Click player positions to see depth chart | ||
Areas to address
Colorado general manager Greg Sherman has done such a great job of accumulating talent and developing a young, skilled team that he hasn’t left himself with much work left to do this off-season. He can likely focus the majority of his efforts on re-signing Paul Stastny, who scored 25 goals and 60 points in 71 games last season. Failing that, he’ll likely turn to the free agent market to sign veteran depth forwards to manageable, short-term contracts in order to fill out his lines.
If Sherman does have some money to spend from losing Stastny, he could also utilize it by bringing in another top-four defenceman to help take some of the load off a group that allowed an average of 32.7 shots per game in 2013-14, the sixth-highest number in the league.
Possible signing targets
Paul Stastny (C): The Avs would certainly like to re-sign Stastny, although they may not be able to compete with the offers he will attract on the open market.
Anton Stralman (D): The breakout Rangers defender would look great on a top pairing with Erik Johnson.
