The Colorado Avalanche did something that very few contending teams do. This past weekend, the Avalanche added nine new prospects to the organizational prospect pipeline. That’s no easy task, especially with draft picks generally becoming scarce for top teams.
But that wasn’t the case for the Avalanche. Surprisingly, the Avs were able to round up various draft picks, including one second-rounder and one third-rounder, to complement the lot of late-round selections.
That situation should give the Avalanche the sort of prospect pipeline that most contending teams don’t really have.
That organizational depth serves two purposes. The first is that the club will have up-and-coming players to fill key roles down the line. Since the Avalanche didn’t bring in any true high-end prospects, at least at this point anyway, the chances of them becoming superstars are a bit slim.
But then again, you never know.
The second issue here is that player development will be crucial. If these prospects emerge as serviceable NHLers, the Avs can use them as trade chips when needed.
It’s worth pointing out that the Avalanche are shifting towards an important trend that many haven’t quite embraced yet.
The death of NHL free agency means Avalanche stocking up on prospects
This summer is the first year we’ve seen the true death of NHL free agency. The UFA class is quite thin as all of the high-end players potentially hitting free agency have already signed. For instance, the sign-and-trade deals of Darren Raddysh and Alex Tuch highlight just how much teams want to get deals done before actually letting a player walk.
It’s also worth pointing out that teams have more cap space as the cap ceiling rises. As such, it’s never been easier for teams to keep their own impending UFAs. That wasn’t possible during the flat-cap era.
In fact, I would venture to say that if Mikko Rantanen had been a UFA this summer, and not last, the Avalanche would have been able to keep him.
That’s why this year is so much different. And it’s also part of the reason why so many teams are turning to player development via the draft to ensure they replenish their stockpile. It’s about having players who could eventually make the NHL. And it’s also about having pieces to utilize on the trade market.
Ultimately, this draft could have been an interesting one for Colorado. It could have yielded one of the deepest teams ever, enough ammo to continue loading up.
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