We are in the thick of the 2025 NHL preseason and teams are still trying to figure out who fits well on all four of their lines. That includes the Colorado Avalanche. While their top two lines are intact, with Valeri Nichushkin, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Necas on top and Gabriel Landeskog, Brock Nelson, and Artturi Lehkonen on line #2, there are questions along the bottom two lines.
Enter former first-round pick Jack Roslovic.
Roslovic unfortunately has not lived up to his first-round status from back in 2015, surpassing 20 goals just twice in his career, we won’t be expecting him to be a high-priced player, despite his apparent demands. He reportedly is seeking a multi-year deal, which teams are obviously hesitant on (otherwise, he’d probably have a contract at this point in the offseason).
However, at some point, he might decide that enough is enough and he could get tired of waiting on a deal that likely won’t be heading his way. Perhaps the Avalanche can persuade him to take a PTO deal (professional tryout deal), which is very cost efficient. If he did well, they could explore a different contract with him.
Roslovic has missed some games due to injury but also had been inactive sometimes, which indicates again how unexciting the former first-round pick has been. However, it doesn’t mean that he’s a waste of a roster spot. It isn’t new for teams to switch in different players on the fourth line to fit matchups.
Last season, Roslovic had a shooting percentage of 10%, and seemed to have the most success right up close in the crease. Though the fourth line isn’t necessarily known for making a ton of scoring chances, why not give Roslovic a chance to change that narrative even if just temporarily? Again, we’re not expecting him to play a huge role.
Ultimately, it would be a low-risk, solid move to fill out some depth. Per Daily Faceoff, Parker Kelly, Zakhar Bardakov, and Joel Kiviranta make up the fourth line right now, but the team is still figuring out what the best combination is.
Two reasons why Roslovic might be interested in signing a PTO offer with the Avalanche are that he didn’t get an offer that he had previously hoped for, and the Avalanche are viewed as a team that has Stanley Cup aspirations. They have some work to do and a couple of hurdles to overcome, but it’s a winning organization that could interest the 28 year old.
If the Avalanche were interested in him, I would think, based off of his previous faceoff percentages each year, he’d be on the fourth line as a winger. He has only passed 50 percent at the faceoff circle one time in his career, which was this past year with the Carolina Hurricanes (54.1%). That would leave room for someone like Bardakov or Joel Kiviranta to take those attempts at the dot. They’re not great options, but I supposes players improve each year, so why not explore any option they can?