Avalanche Under Immense Pressure to Fix Roster

The Colorado Avalanche are under immense pressure. The organization went all-in once again at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline after parting with superstar forward Mikko Rantanen earlier in the season. The moves resulted in a first-round loss to Rantanen and the Dallas Stars, leaving the Avs scrambling.

With free agency about to begin, the Avalanche face the most pressure of any team in the NHL. The Western Conference is up for grabs right now. The Stars and Edmonton Oilers run the conference, but the field of challengers is large already and still growing. Armed with a bit of salary cap space, the Avs must have a perfect offseason to get themselves back in Stanley Cup contention.

There are a few holes in the Colorado lineup that must be filled. The biggest is adding to their top-nine forward group. They shipped out Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, giving them salary cap flexibility but also depriving them of two strong additions on their third and fourth lines. Top-six forward Jonathan Drouin is set to test the market as well. With about $9 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, the Avs have to be strategic in addressing their roster deficiencies.

The free agent class has some options the Avs could target. Middle-six wingers like Andrei Kuzmenko, Andrew Mangiapane, Robby Fabbri, and Christian Dvorak are just a few names that Colorado could target and sign for reasonable salary cap hits.

They have to do all this while maintaining their status as Stanley Cup contenders. With Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews serving as anchors for the roster, they need more talent surrounding the core to make a legitimate run in 2026. It's why the Avs are the team facing the most pressure as the free agency window is about to open.