The Colorado Avalanche made wise use of their available cap space by re-signing two key blueliners.
The Avs re-upped defensemen Brett Kulak and Brent Burns on five and one-year deals, respectively.
Let’s start with the bigger signing. Kulak inked a five-year, $22.5 million deal. The contract carries a $4.5 million cap hit. Most notably, the contract comes with a no-trade clause in the first three years.
The deal is a solid one for Colorado. While it may seem like an overpay for the Avs, the reality is that finding a good, defensive defenseman with shutdown capabilities is hard to find on the free-agent or trade market.
Even if such blueliners were available, the organization would be hard-pressed to find one under $5 million per season.
And that precisely explains the term on this deal. The wisest thing would have been to sign Kulak to a three-year deal. But that would have driven up the AAV. So, the Avs add a couple of extra years to keep the cap hit down.
As for Burns, he was a good fit with Colorado this season. The ageless wonder played in all 82 games and will have a shot at setting the all-time record for most consecutive games played in a season.
Burns got another one-year, incentive-laden deal, with targets that he should reach barring a major injury. The 41-year-old should continue roaming the ice like a cranky grizzly bear with a fantastic shot.
The signings pretty much wrap up the major business Colorado had to take care of this season. Even with the departure of Valeri Nichushkin, the Avs have one of the deepest lineups in the NHL.
Avalanche still have two UFAs to re-sign
The Kulak and Burns contracts pretty much wrap up the major free agents for Colorado. However, two other UFAs remain on the docket.
First, depth forward Joel Kiviranta remains unsigned. Unless the Avalanche plan to give Gavin Brindley a full-time role next season, Kiviranta should be back. Nichushkin’s departure opened up a roster spot, one that will likely fall in the bottom six.
Second, Nick Blankenburg, another trade deadline acquisition, remains unsigned. With the cap space available, the Avalanche should have no trouble re-upping the 28-year-old. Blankenburg plays both sides of the ice and could easily stick around as the team’s seventh defenseman next season.
Those signings may take a back seat to the 2026 NHL Draft. The Avalanche don’t have a pick in the first round, but will be very active on Day 2, in rounds 2 through 7.
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