By Jordan Long
NHL free agency starts on July 1st. The Colorado Avalanche have the most money to spend on free agents in the NHL with a projected $37 million to use this offseason.
The Avalanche first need to sign forward Mikko Rantanen. That could cost them anywhere from $6 to $8 million a year. Once this is completed, Colorado would still have $29 to $31 million left to improve the team, more than enough to bring in a few free agents.
Colorado may want to look at goaltenders and a backup for Philipp Grubauer since all signs point to allowing Semyon Varlamov to test free agency. The only goaltender behind Grubauer who is under contract is Pavel Francouz. He is going to make $950,000 this season. Francouz appeared in 2 games last season going 0-2 with a goals against average of 1.97 and a save percentage of .943. This is not a bad sample size but most of the season Francouz was in the American Hockey league with the Colorado Eagles. There he posted a record of 27-17-3 with a goals against average of 2.68 and a save percentage of .918.
It is possible Colorado will look at goaltenders who are veterans. These could include Sergei Bobrovsky and Calvin Pickard. Bobrovsky went 37-24-1 for the Blue Jackets. He is the top goaltender in free agency and might not want to be a backup. Pickard makes the most sense. He has been a backup in Colorado from 2014 to 2017. In those years Pickard was 28-44-6 with a 2.77 goals against average. He could help the Avalanche when Grubauer has a night off.
Every team needs to upgrade their offense. Colorado should look at forwards to make the offense even more dangerous. There are plenty for them to pick from including Gustav Nyquist and Wayne Simmonds. Nyquist played for the Detroit Red Wings before being traded to the San Jose Sharks. This past season he scored 22 goals and 38 assists for a total of 60 points. Nyquist helped San Jose advance all the way to the Western Conference Finals. In the playoffs Nyquist totaled 1 goal and 10 assists. Those totals might help the Avalanche advance further than the 2nd-round.
Simmonds started the year with Philadelphia before being traded to Nashville. He was better in Philadelphia scoring 16 goals and adding 11 assists. He was a disappointment in Nashville with 1 goal and 2 assists. In the playoffs, he suited up in 2 games for Nashville and didn’t’ record a point. Who knows what he will do if Colorado decides to sign him to a contract.
Colorado has plenty of options when free agency begins. They must decide what is best for them to make the team even better to advance further than the 2nd-round in the playoffs. General Manager Joe Sakic will add who he feels is a fit for the team but not break the bank for top names July 1st.
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