Colorado Avalanche have no cap space remaining, but “what if”….

The Colorado Avalanche have done amazing things already and are only six games into the 2023-2024 regular season. They are on an NHL record 15-game road winning streak (extending from the end of last season), with Logan O’Connor scoring shorthanded goals in three consecutive games, and Alexandar Georgiev going 6-0-0 to start the regular season. While all are amazing accomplishments, resting on your laurels is a recipe for disaster. The Avalanche will continue to stay hungry, just as much as fans want them to do the impossible more and more. The most impossible thing for the Avalanche to do right now? Sign another current free agent to a championship-type team.

Rumors keep swirling around many of the current free agents, including the likes of the dynamic duo of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who were the focus of the Chicago Blackhawks roster that led to their dynasty. Many Avalanche fans want to see one of these individuals end up in the burgundy and blue, but the Colorado Avalanche have used every bit of available salary cap to structure the current roster and have already used a bit of the expected salary cap increase next season to secure the services of Devon Toews for an additional seven years. But we still ask the question, “What if the Avs had a little more money to improve the roster?

Where would you go with it? Would you go for the short-term, veteran with a few Stanley Cup titles? What about the veteran player close to retirement who deserves that last opportunity to chase down his first title similar to Ray Borque? How about the first-round draft pick that hasn’t panned out and might be a steal for not a lot of money over the next couple of years? What plan does the most good, overall, for the way this Colorado Avalanche team is currently structured?

The Avalanche have shown tremendous success in rehabilitating players who have been discarded from their former teams over the last few years. Nazem Kadri was the bad boy of the hockey world for his antics in Toronto but became a beloved player during his tenure with the Avs. Valeri Nichushkin was the 10th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars but never connected with the Stars. The Avs signed him to a 1-year $850,000 contract which turned into a new two-year contract worth $5 million, and eventually earned him his current eight-year contract.

Could the Avs do that again with Jonathan Drouin? It is certainly not out of the question. There is a player that the Avs could target with a similar journey. Jesse Puljujarvi is only 25 years old and was a 4th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. He spent some years in Edmonton, skating with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, but never matched the expectations of where he was drafted for the Oilers. Last season he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Patrik Puistola. Puljujarvi had offseason double hip surgery and is expected to be able to return to play in November, perhaps a reason he currently remains a free agent.

While the expectations for Puljujarvi might be minimal at the moment, it may be the best time for the Avs to strike on a young player and present him with an opportunity to grow. A minimum contract and bottom-six forward expectations, and perhaps a start in the AHL may be the path to a successful return to the NHL for such a high draft pick-caliber player. Would you take the opportunity if you had the money available? Or would you go with a more expensive, but possibly more dependable veteran player?