With Joe Sakic temporarily taking over the GM role for the Colorado Avalanche, the question now becomes, who will become the eventually full-time GM?
Avalanche fans shouldn’t expect a long, drawn-out search for the team’s next GM. The answer could very well lie in former Avalanche Andrew Cogliano.
When news broke of Chris MacFarland’s departure, my knee-jerk reaction was Cogliano. Several others have echoed that sentiment, including insider Elliotte Friedman. In Wednesday’s edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the notable insider mused about Cogliano becoming the heir apparent to Sakic.
Now, it’s worth noting that Cogliano doesn’t have a ton of front-office experience at this point. That’s why Cogliano could be going through a type of on-the-job training process to eventually take over.
That situation won’t likely happen this summer. Cogliano will surely be in the thick of the NHL Draft dealings, free agency, and several other issues related to the hockey ops side of the equation.
Perhaps the biggest situation with which Cogliano could cut his teeth is the Cale Makar extension.
That said, it seems like the path is clear for the Avalanche to mold Cogliano in Sakic’s image. That isn’t to say that Cogliano would be some kind of sock puppet for Sakic. This assessment aims to show that the organization wants to maintain a certain way of doing things. And instead of bringing in an outside and hoping they can fit into the situation, the organization wants to take someone already familiar with the situation and make a seamless transition.
Having Sakic back as Avalanche GM could actually be a good thing
It may seem interesting that Sakic is now back in a job he relinquished a few seasons ago. But it could actually be a blessing in disguise.
This offseason, a potentially transformational situation could be unfolding. That’s the Cale Makar extension.
If there’s anyone who’s ideally suited to handle the situation, it’s Sakic. Now, that isn’t to say that MacFarland couldn’t have handled it. But you have to think that, given the scope of Makar’s next contract, the entire upper brass was going to be involved.
Instead of handing Makar a blank check, which the organization could most certainly do, the Avalanche will want to balance paying Makar and ensuring a competitive roster for years to come.
That’s something that will now fall on Sakic’s shoulders. He’s the guy who can do it. With Makar potentially blowing up the market, the Avalanche will want to be careful with how they manage their cap situation moving forward.
That’s a conversation that Sakic can tackle on his own. In fact, there’s a chance the Makar extension could be done even faster now. By taking care of matters himself, Sakic will likely only report to ownership. That situation could easily cut out some steps along the way, making the process much smoother.
It remains to be seen just how the Avalanche’s offseason unfolds from here on out, as there are some very interesting decisions looming.
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