Avalanche may have a hidden ace up their sleeve this offseason
Photo credit: Colorado Hockey Now
With just 16 days left until the start of the 2025 Free Agency period, the Colorado Avalanche face some tough choices as they look to clear salary cap space in order to retain their pending unrestricted free agents and their one restricted free agent.
The Avalanche committed a significant chunk of their cap space to re-signing Brock Nelson and strengthening their top-six forward group, a move that now raises questions about what kind of deal defenseman Sam Malinski might command.
Avs may have a hidden ace up their sleeve.
Stefano Rubino from Yahoo Sports writes that Elliotte Friedman shared some valuable insight on the latest episode of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, shedding light on the Avs' current cap situation and how it may impact their next moves this offseason.
"They don't have a lot of cap room, but they've gotta sign Sam Malinski, who's a very solid, young defenseman. But other than that, they don't have a lot of business they necessarily have to do.» -Friedman
Last season, Malinski appeared in 76 games, tallying five goals and then assists for a total of 15 goals, including one on the power play. It was a notable step forward in terms of confidence and consistency, especially when compared to the 2023-24 campaign, where he played just 24 games and frequently rotated in and out of the lineup.
"Outside of the Cale Makar and Devon Toews pairing, the defensive pairings underwent numerous changes throughout the season, and Malinski had eight different defense partners this past season. The pairing he spent the most time with was Samuel Girard, with 307.7 minutes of ice time in 64 games, the third-largest ice time outside of the Girard-Josh Manson pair and the Toews-Makar pairing." -Rubino
Friedman went on to highlight how the Avalanche find themselves in a complicated position, largely because of the swirling rumours and ongoing speculation surrounding the team.
«The one thing I've heard: they traded for Lindgren, who's probably gonna go to market. I've heard they wouldn't mind another defenseman with a bit of jam or edge to them, but I've heard they're not - just because other people may look at them and say, 'they're too tight to the cap, they gotta make a move,' I'm not convinced they think that." -Friedman
Now 26 years old, he's coming off a two-year, $1.7 million deal that carried an $850,000 annual cap hit. As he enters the offseason as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights, a raise is expected, but the real question is: how big should that bump be?
"The Avalanche could offer him the remainder of their current salary cap, which is $1.2 million. If Malinski requests a higher salary, the team would need to move other contracts to create additional cap space, as well as make other adjustments to their defense. Given that he is only 26, there is potential for his growth and development, as well as an increase in productivity. A 2-3 year deal could be beneficial for both the Avalanche and Malinski, especially as the salary cap continues to rise and the team addresses its other cap issues." -Rubino
He might opt for arbitration if he feels that Avalanche's offer falls short of his value, but going that route carries its own risks and could complicate negotiation further.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 17 | 27 ANSWERS Avalanche may have a hidden ace up their sleeve this offseason Do you think the Avalanche need to re-sign Sam Malinski? | ||
| yes | 22 | 81.5 % |
| no | 5 | 18.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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