2 Colorado Avalanche Players Seeking to Take a Step in 2026-27 Season
As we head into the Fourth of July weekend, it's never too early to look ahead to the upcoming NHL season. Regarding the Colorado Avalanche, they will be seeking to bounce back after being swept in the Western Conference Final. That said, the hope is that certain players take a step in 2026-27 in the Mile High City.
When looking at the current roster, two players in particular hope to be those guys for the Avalanche this season. One of them had a career year, while the other one navigated his first full NHL season. Can these two guys be huge assets for the Avalanche in 2026-27?
Sam Malinski Building Off Breakout Season
After playing 26 games in 2023-24 and 76 in 2024-25, Sam Malinski had himself a career year in his second full NHL season in the Burgundy and Blue. After playing in all 82 games, Malinski tallied eight goals, 32 assists, and 40 points. Furthermore, he finished with a plus-43, while averaging a career-high 17:37 of ice time for head coach Jared Bednar.
Before his breakout 2025-26 season, Malinski had 10 points in 2023-24 and 15 points in 2024-25. What helped Malinski break out was that the whole Avalanche team was rolling in the regular season last season. They went wire-to-wire as the Presidents’ Trophy winners, and everyone's numbers were up.
Furthermore, Bednar put a ton of faith in Malinski to eat up minutes as part of the third defensive pairing. While he only had eight goals, some of them were highlight-reel plays. His scoring and playmaking touch came at the right time, especially in a contract year.
On January 26, Malinski signed a four-year, $19 million extension. The new deal will pay him $4.75 million annually through the 2029-30 season. He will be an unrestricted free agent (UFA) when he is 31, ahead of the 2030-31 season.
The hope for Malinski and the Avalanche is that he continues his upward trajectory of success this upcoming season. It'll be huge if he can build on the career season and carry that into his new extension, which kicked in on July 1. If he can reach another 40-point season, that'll be a huge boost for the Avalanche.
Gavin Brindley Hoping for a Better Sophomore Season
Regarding forward Gavin Brindley, the hope is that he has a better sophomore season after an up-and-down rookie campaign. During the 2025-26 season, Brindley had six goals and 13 points in 56 games. However, it's hard to get any footing when he only averaged 9:33 of ice time when he was in the NHL.
Brindley did have four game-winning goals, one coming in overtime for the Avalanche last season. Despite the shooting percentage only being 9.7%, he did show flashes of a scoring touch. There were some shots where he came up snake-bitten. If there was some puck luck, he could have finished with 10 goals last season for the Avalanche.
Even with the play numbers from last season, Brindley did sign a two-year, $1.75 million deal, which will carry through the 2027-28 season. The 21-year-old will be 24 when the contract ends, making him a restricted free agent (RFA). The deal will also pay him $875,000 annually over the next two seasons. During the first year of his deal, it does include him making $200,00 if he plays in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Colorado Eagles.
However, the second year of the deal will pay him the same, regardless of whether he is in the NHL or AHL. Brindley has shown in his time between the Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets organizations that he can be a scorer and playmaker. He just needs more runway to showcase his talents, along with more ice time than just a tad over 9 and a half minutes a night.
It'll be interesting to see how the season goes for both Malinski and Brindley. Either way, the hope is that they take another step with the Avalanche as the team looks to get over the hump and make it back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2022.
Zach Martin is originally from Northeast Ohio, but has resided in South Carolina since 2016. He has been a credentialed hockey writer with The Hockey Writers since 2023 as the Carolina Hurricanes beat writer, where he has written player profiles, storylines, game recaps, general pieces and more. Zach had the opportunity to attend the 2026 Stanley Cup Final as credentialed media covering the Carolina Hurricanes. He's written about ESPN's Mike Monaco, along with player exclusives over the last couple of years. Zach has also covered games for the World Juniors, IIHF World Championships, and the 2026 Winter Olympics. He has also covered the Colorado Avalanche and some other NHL teams at large over his time with THW.