How the Salary Cap Shaped the Colorado Avalanche's Entire Offseason
There were hard decisions addressed so far in the Colorado Avalanche’s offseason, but there are more coming.
Every trade the Avalanche made, every depth signing and every pick, led to the same place. The salary cap.
While Colorado seems to be set up well for the 2026-27 season in terms of the cap, strategic decisions had to be made.
The Avalanche are coming off a season where they won the Presidents’ Trophy. With 121 points, Colorado entered the postseason as a favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Vegas ended that quest.
After being swept, the Avalanche had to face some hard decisions, starting with the fact that one of the best players on their roster was going to be eligible for a contract extension. That was going to force decisions.
The Avs window was open, and it remains so, but there are realities coming quickly. The salary cap had to be addressed and affected every decision they made.
Clearing the Deck
On June 16, the offseason began for Colorado. Ross Colton and Isak Posch were traded to Nashville in exchange for goaltender Magnus Chrona and third-round picks in 2026 and 2027.
Then in a move that shocked a few, Valeri Nichushkin was dealt for a package of draft picks.
That trade said the most about what Joe Sakic had to do. The trade to Columbus wasn’t because they wanted or needed draft picks, they needed cap space.
Then came Jack Drury. He is one of the best faceoff men in hockey at 58 percent. The date was June 28. Drury was moved for two forwards, Fyodor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux. The bottom line here when examining this trade was money. Drury was more expensive than the two put together.
In 12 days of the offseason, Sakic showed his hand. Math was winning.
Spending What Was Left
After the moves, Sakic had to be strategic in how he moved forward in free agency. Jaden Schwartz wasn’t going to take Nichushkin’s place. He was an add that didn’t break the bank. He brought veteran presence on a budget.
Cost-controlled moves also included Noah Juulsen, who added some depth defensively. Ivan Ivan was swapped for Fabian Lysell - again money was talking.
Every dollar was being accounted for in the moves. These weren’t luxury signings. They were hopefully, strategic moves meant to free up cap space and also add depth.
According to puckpedia.com, Colorado currently sits with $429,159 in cap space against a $104 million ceiling. That includes Cale Makar’s current contract of $9 million. That is going to change significantly next season.
A Reckoning Is Coming
No one needs to worry about 2026-27, the team is under the cap and safe. Makar and Artturi Lehkonen are under contract. The core of Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Martin Necas is taken care of and intact.
Make no mistake, this team is built to compete right now. Whether or not the team is better than it was when it was swept by the Vegas Golden Knights is debatable.
Looking forward, Makar becomes a UFA after this season. The extension that is so highly anticipated won’t affect the cap until 2027-28. Whatever that number may be will certainly dwarf his current $9 million hit.
Then at the very same time, Lehkonen also becomes a UFA. Add to that Brock Nelson, Nicolas Roy, Svechkov, L’Heureux and Lysell all will need new deals as well.
Sakic has already publicly stated that extension talks are happening and expected to be completed. Those talks could decide the future of this organization into the next decade.
Every single move made this offseason, every subtraction, every addition, it was all in preparation for the reckoning coming.
Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NHL, NCAA and WNBA. Laura covers the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Avalanche and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com