July 2 was a much quieter day for the NHL after the free-agent frenzy of the day before. The Colorado Avalanche, for their part, did not make any waves on Thursday. That was to be expected.
As the dust settles, the situation now looks interesting. The Avs have just a little over $400K in cap space. That’s all right, as there isn’t any pressing need to be cap-compliant now. The roster is pretty much set, and there aren’t any other free agents on the docket.
But that situation does not preclude the Avalanche from potentially having to make another cap-clearing move.
As it stands, Colorado has 13 forwards, 7 defensemen, and 2 goalies on the official roster. That’s fantastic. The Avs will even be able to carry a couple of extra bodies for the entire season. But if there is a need to clear up some space, there are two ways to go about it.
Joe Sakic added a quick failsafe to his roster this season. He signed Vinnie Hinostroza to a two-way contract. As such, he would be the likeliest candidate to go down to the AHL. Granted, Hinostroza would still need to clear waivers. But that seems like a given.
The only catch is that under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) rules, the Avs wouldn’t be able to call him back up for 10 days. So, the calculus there could depend on the team’s specific needs.
But there could be a tougher move on the horizon.
Avalanche may have to make cap-clearing trade
The less favorable option would be to trade someone to clear cap space. This wouldn’t be the sort of cap-dump move to bring in another player. This would be the sort of move necessary just to remain cap-compliant.
Under such circumstances, a potential forward like Nic Roy or Artturi Lehkonen may be on the move. They each have one year left on their current deals. As such, they may become victims of a cap crunch situation.
To be fair, there doesn’t seem to be any risk of a cap crunch at this time. So, it seems the Avalanche will roll through the whole season in 2026-27, dangerously close to the cap ceiling.
But even if it’s just $400K in space, that margin should accrue into deadline space. PuckPedia projects the Avs would have about $2 million in cap space by next year’s deadline. It may not be a lot, but at least it’s something.
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