Avalanche Face Tough Choices as Artturi Lehkonen Comes Out Hot

Heading into this season, the biggest task for the Colorado Avalanche was to extend Cale Makar before the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) took place. This was done with a massive eight-year contract extension worth $163.2 million that will run through the 2034-35 season, though one player still eligible for an extension didn’t get one: Lehkonen.

Well, starting the 2026-27 season with three goals and one assist for four points is surely a decent way to begin.

Entering his 10th NHL season, Lehkonen is in the final year of his five-year, $22.5 million contract with the Avalanche, which he signed in the summer of 2022 after helping them win the Stanley Cup.

Since he was traded to the team, Lehkonen has been nothing but clutch for the Avalanche in big moments. From sending the team to the Stanley Cup Finals as the Western Conference Finals overtime winner against the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 to scoring the game-winning goal to clinch the Stanley Cup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

So it was a bit confusing and shocking to see no contract extension made this past offseason, despite the cap continuing to rise and Lehkonen's importance to the team. Despite the injuries Lehkonen has faced with the team, he still managed to finish with over 20 goals and 40 points three times in the four full seasons he has been with the team.

He isn’t a player who cheats on offense, looking to hang around the blueline and wait for an outlet pass for a breakaway. He crashes the net for loose puck rebounds and battles along the boards to keep the offense going, looking to generate any chance he can, either with his stick or his body.

His time in the top-six has been paired with Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and, at times, Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson, and now Nazem Kadri. He has been a staple in the top-six with a plethora of combinations, and with his work on the power play, you can see his importance to the team in this window of championship opportunity.

So it's no wonder you would think Lehkonen would bet on himself having a healthy season and look to capitalize on the rising cap in hopes of getting one more large contract, while only being 31 years old on a championship-caliber team. There is a major issue at hand: whether the Avalanche would cough up the pay that Lehkonen might be asking for.

Avalanche Still In Cap Crunch Despite The Cap Rising

Artturi Lehkonen (62) Noah Hanifin (15) Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Despite the cap projected to jump to $113 million this offseason, the Avalanche will once again be tight on cap space when it comes to re-signing players. Even after moving off players this past offseason, like Ross Colton and Valeri Nichushkin, to free up cap space, the Avalanche are projected to have just over $12 million in cap space this summer.

The Avalanche will have Lehkonen, Nicolas Roy, Brent Burns, and Scott Wedgewood as unrestricted free agents this summer. Rookie T.J. Hughes will be a restricted free agent this summer to re-sign.

The Avalanche can be put into a situation this summer where, if Lehkonen stays healthy this season and breaks out and sets new career highs, they might be in trouble, either trying to lowball Lehkonen into taking less or fear losing Nicolas Roy for nothing, as you will still need to re-sign Wedgewood, Hughes, and potentially Burns again if he doesn't retire.

We have seen this past summer that, with the cap continuing to shoot up to the moon and the newest CBA kicking in, players are looking to capitalize on it, and the Avalanche have two players, Lehkonen and Roy, who, barring a bad season, could look to capitalize on this very change.

This team isn’t in a position to sell players for cap space; it's trying to win the Stanley Cup, but push might come to shove this offseason if a prior deal isn’t done beforehand.

Add us as a preferred source on Google