One of the common offseason themes is looking at “bad” offseason contracts. Such contracts are generally negative as they pay players a high salary for non-existent production.
In the Colorado Avalanche’s case, the organization lacks such contracts. As Harman Dayal pointed out in a recent piece in The Athletic, the Avs are devoid of contracts that would fall under an unfavorable light.
The closest thing that the Avalanche have to a bad contract, as Dayal pointed out, is Gabriel Landeskog. Based solely on his offensive production, his $7 million cap hit is outrageous. But Dayal rightfully points out that Landeskog isn’t worth just his offensive production. He brings so many intangibles as the team’s heart-and-soul captain.
Beyond that, the Avalanche don’t have anchors weighing them down. That’s partly the result of savvy cap management and knowing which players fit within the team’s system and ethos. One of the crucial points of bad contracts is making reactionary moves aimed at propping up teams with dwindling competitive windows.
There are also moves in which GMs panic and overpay players in hopes of maintaining a positive public image.
That wasn’t the case under Joe Sakic’s first administration. That philosophy continued under Chris MacFarland’s regime, and it will likely continue under the Sakic 2.0 administration.
Since the Avalanche don’t have bad contracts, so-called, it will be more crucial than ever to maximize the nearly $7 million in cap space. That allotment will have to cover the remaining holes on the blueline and the bottom six.
That said, the team could tread carefully, potentially looking for in-house options to fill such voids. The Avalanche have good enough pieces in the AHL who could come up and fill depth roles for much of the regular season.
Come NHL trade deadline time, the Avalanche will go about their usual depth hunting. There will invariably be useful pieces at reasonable prices. That’s why it may just be a matter of patience this summer and heading into next season.
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