It’s “go time” for the Avalanche and Taylor Hall could be in the mix.
The 25th selection in the first round of the NHL draft Tuesday won’t make the Avalanche better next season, so it likely will get traded for an already developed asset. And when free agency begins Friday, expect the Avs to be all in on at least three players who can join a team on the verge of something big.
It’s a big week for each of the league’s 31 teams but more so for the few teams like the Avs who are just a piece or two away from becoming fully stocked for a Stanley Cup run.
As NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton told me, it’s “go time” for the Avalanche this week.
Colorado enters the week with 15 big- league players under contract and sitting approximately $ 21.5 million under the salary cap of $ 81.5 million. Two significant restricted free agents need to be resigned in winger Andre Burakovsky and defenseman Ryan Graves, but beyond that the core of the team is in place.
If Colorado general manager Joe Sakic is given the money to spend, three significant areas will likely be improved: Goaltending, depth- forward toughness and top- six forward scoring.
The latter position is not necessarily what Colorado needs, but something it can get. The
Avs could make a huge freeagent splash with Taylor Hall, the top available scoring forward who is reportedly considering a one- term contract with a Cup contender before going through post- COVID- 19 free agency next offseason and signing a much bigger deal.
Hall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 draft, has never played on a great team. He would seemingly fit in well as a second- line winger with the Avs, who would then not have to worry about re- signing inconsistent RFA Valeri Nichushkin.
The Avs considered trading for Hall, then with the New Jersey Devils, before the Feb. 22 trade deadline. But they can now get him for nothing Friday, six weeks after Hall’s Arizona Coyotes were crushed by Colorado in a five- game first- round series.
As for the upcoming draft, Lawton believes Sakic will trade the 25th pick Tuesday — possibly in a package to acquire a goalie such as Vegas’ Marc- Andre Fleury — or focus on signing a free- agent goalie. The Avs aren’t too excited about the 25th pick because that 18- year- old will carry a significant development curve and no chance to step into the NHL anytime soon.
“I do think they will look at trading the pick,” said Lawton, the former NHL forward, player agent, and Tampa Bay executive. “I’ve talked to a bunch of different GMs and they’re all talking about ( No. 25) in both directions.”
He added: “I clearly think that it’s ‘ go time’ for the Avalanche and ( Sakic) recognizes they are officially in a window where they can win every year. They could be having a Stanley Cup party right now. They’re not that far away from it, that’s for sure.”
Upon returning from the Edmonton playoff bubble after losing Game 7 in the Western Conference semifinals for the second consecutive year, Sakic and Avs coach Jared Bednar both told me they like their top- two goalies and expect Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz to be the tandem next season.
Grubauer is under contract at $ 3.3 million next season and Francouz’s two- year extension worth $ 4 million kicks in whenever 2020- 21 begins. Grubauer and Francouz both missed time to injuries in the regular season and neither were healthy when Colorado’s season was on the line in the playoffs.
“I don’t feel as strongly as Joe does about his goaltenders,” Lawton said. “These guys, neither one of them feels ( like a No. 1). I just feel like you could potentially do better and you have to look at ( improving), not only in the UFA market but a trade.
“There’s a lot of guys who are going to be available — as many as 13 goaltenders — and I would say as many as eight or nine of them, whether it’s through trade or the UFA market, would be upgrades for the Avalanche. I’d be surprised if Joe — Joe’s not the type of guy who would ever say, ‘ Hey, yeah, I’m looking upgrade’ — but I’ll be more surprised if a few weeks from now we’re not talking about an upgrade at the goaltending position.”