The Colorado Avalanche have some pending Free Agents this offseason, I will dive in and play arm-chair GM deciding who we should keep, who we shall let go and identify a possible replacement.
Let’s start with the Colorado Avalanche’s Restricted Free Agents.
For those of you who don’t know, a Restricted Free Agent is someone who completed the NHL Entry Level deal, but don’t have enough service time to be a UFA. Their team has all of the rights to them; however there is a possibility of an offer sheet from another team. An offer sheet is a contract offer with some baggage attached to it. See Cap Friendly for more info on that.
The Avalanche shouldn’t have to deal with an offer sheet on one of their own players.
Restricted Free Agents
Alexander Kerfoot: He will be given a contract. He will likely be given a qualifying offer and head to arbitration.
J.T. Compher: He will also more than likely be given a qualifying offer, but I think the Avalanche should do something else with number 37. I think they should give him a long term contract. A team friendly contract, but one that buys out J.T.’s remaining arbitration years. I’m thinking something like 6 or 7 years at 4-5 million per year. Compher is a major part of this core.
Mikko Rantanen: The Avalanche need to pay this man. I wouldn’t be surprised if its somewhere around $10 million per year. In a perfect world he’d get somewhere around 8 million for 8 years, but I believe that the Cap is going to keep rising so he will take advantage of that. It’s weird to think Rantanen will get $4 million more per year than Nathan Mackinnon, but the Avs will reward Nate when his time is here.
Sven Andrighetto: I like Andrighetto, but, I do not think that Sven Ten will be on the Avalanche next season. We just don’t have much room for it as it is, and if we sign one or two big name forwards, he just doesn’t have a place on this roster.
Vladislav Kamenev: This kid had one hell of a year. Not the good kind. I would love to see what he can do on the ice, but he’s just never on the ice due to his injury history. I hope the Avs give him a QO and we can finally see Kamenev on the ice.
Ryan Graves: The Avs will tender a QO to Graves,. Hopefully he can have a strong offseason and training camp and make this Avalanche team.
Nikita Zadorov: Z is a much more important piece to this team than most people think. I would love for Sakic and Company to give him a long term deal, but it won’t happen for a couple of reasons. One reason is they don’t have to give him one right now, as they still have control over him. Another reason is he has been inconsistent at times and there’s no reason to throw money at inconsistency, so we will see.
Unrestricted Free Agents:
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Colin Wilson: I believe the Avalanche should re-sign Colin Wilson. Obviously if he’s asking for more money than he’s worth, then I’d let him walk. But i think on a short contract, in both term and dollars, Wilson is an important role player on this team, especially if they plan on a deep run in next year’s playoffs
Derick Brassard: The Colorado Avalanche aquired Brassard at the trade deadline this past season, and Brassard had a decent campaign with the Avs. He scored in his first game, and had other good moments, but overall he didn’t make much of a difference. I think a guy like Kevin Hayes would make a huge difference on this team as a second line center, only if the price is right. The Avalanche do not need to overspend on a guy like Hayes.
Gabriel Bourque: I’ve done a complete 180 on Bourque. Halfway through the season I thought he had no place anywhere near this hockey club. Boy did he prove me wrong. Bourque is one of those guys you need on your team. He is a high energy guy that kills penalties and eats up minutes on the fourth line. He’s a must sign for the Avalanche, especially because of his small price tag.
Patrik Nemeth: Solid player, just not on this Avalanche team. The Avs have a surplus of defenseman. However, if Mark Barberio was also a free agent, I would definitely prefer Nemeth, but there’s just not room for him anymore, especially if Connor Timmins can get healthy and the possibility of the Avs drafting Bowen Byram 4th overall.
Semyon Varlamov: Varly time has come to an end in Colorado. He got us through a lot of dark years and managed to help us to the playoffs the past two seasons along with the 2013-14 campaign. Phillip Grubauer is the future of this team, and Varly will have a far too expensive contract for a backup.
The Avalanche have a few goalies in the system to back up Grubauer, but if they have to look at the Free Agent pool, I’d say maybe Ryan Miller or Brian Elliot as a veteran guy who wants to play for a contender.
How would you rank the above players in necessity of the Colorado Avalanche moving forward?