![May 13, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates his goal with center Martin Necas (88) and center Brock Nelson (11) and ]center Nazem Kadri (91) and defenseman Brent Burns (84) in the third period against the Minnesota Wild in game five of the second round of the 2026 Stanely Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_4789,h_2693/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ReutersImages/mmsport/108/01kwgc9hrde1mpcymh46.jpg "May 13, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates his goal with center Martin Necas (88) and center Brock Nelson (11) and ]center Nazem Kadri (91) and defenseman Brent Burns (84) in the third period against the Minnesota Wild in game five of the second round of the 2026 Stanely Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images")
Following the first day of 2026 NHL free agency, the Colorado Avalanche both lost some players and brought a couple new ones along for the ride. Along with the previous moves of trading Valeri Nichushkin and Jack Drury, the Avalanche lost another forward in Joel Kiviranta, who signed back with the Dallas Stars, whom he started his career with.
In another move, depth forward and primarily AHLer Ivan Ivan signed with the Boston Bruins.
Incoming were forwards Jaden Schwartz, Fyodor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux and Adam Beckman and Vinnie Hinostroza, as well as the return of Brent Burns and Brett Kulak and additions of Domenick Fensor and Noah Juulsen.
With all of that in mind, here’s a look at how the depth chart could end up looking like.
Avalanche additions mainly depth moves
On the top line, there might be a switch here and there with the departure of Nichushkin. While he was primarily on the second line, having the ability to put him on top was nice when it was needed. However, that top line will more permanently look like: Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Necas.
That line is pretty standard for the Avalanche as Lehkonen and MacKinnon are almost always inseperable, and Necas has done great on the top line, too.
On the second line are Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, and Gabriel Landeskog. Let’s be honest here: Jared Bednar loves to interchange these top two lines here and there. But just having this group as your top-six is almost just unfair. Nichushkin’s physicality is going to be greatly missed, though.
Fun fact: The Avalanche’s second line is the oldest line on the team. I’m not sure how much that will matter, but it could be fun to monitor as the 2026-27 season goes on.
On the third line are newly acquired Jaden Schwartz joining Nicolas Roy and Logan O’Connor. Personally, I would consider moving Kadri down to 3C sometimes if Bednar thinks the team needs a spark.
The fourth line sees just one player return. Parker Kelly is a player Bednar really likes. It will be interesting to see how he fares on the left wing with Svechkov centering the line and L’Heureux on the right.
Who knows? There very well could be competition for some of those lower spots. Maybe Kelly is a better fit at center. Unless the Avalanche can untap some potential in Svechkov to be the long-term 4C, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kelly getting a look there.
The team has some talented players on their AHL team, with TJ Hughes being someone who could get a look in training camp. He can play center and right wing. Maybe someone else that I haven’t mentioned could be a surprise add to the NHL roster.
The team announced their development camp roster a couple of days ago, and the players on that roster will get a chance to make themselves known to the coaches. We’ll see if anything comes out of that, with things getting underway in a short time from now.
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