Avalanche Rumors: 3 Lower-Cost Free Agent Fits This Summer

The Colorado Avalanche had their season come to a premature end with a 6-game defeat at the hands of the Dallas Stars last month. It'll be an intriguing offseason as the team figures out what to do going forward without a lot of cap space to work with.

Of course, the completely uncertain futures of Gabriel Landeskog (who has missed the last two complete seasons) and Valeri Nichushkin (who's suspended for six months) and the over $13 million combined salary between the two makes it that much more confounding about what the Avs can do this summer.

But Corey Masisak of The Denver Post expresses some confidence that the team can come up with some cost-effective solutions on the free agent market once again, as they did with Zach Parise and Jonathan Drouin this year. He proposed three "bargain-hunting" options:

Alex Wennberg

Although he scored a big overtime winner for the New York Rangers in the Conference Final last week, Wennberg overall contributed only seven points in 35 games since coming over to the Blueshirts at the trade deadline. It's likely he won't be back in NY, and also likely that he hurt his bargaining power a bit for his free agency. He could be a nice pickup as a defensive forward and penalty killer to add for the Avs.

Jack Roslovic

Another Rangers deadline acquisition and former first-round NHL pick, free agent forward Roslovic, after a disappointing year, is likely in for a cut in his $4 million AAV on his next contract, but perhaps the Avs can find a way to bring that 20-goal scorer back out of him that he showed back in 2022 with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Alexander Barabanov

Turning 30 this month, the Russian forward is unlikely to be back with the rebuilding San Jose Sharks, and after a season that went south this past year (due to injuries and underperformance), his $2.5 million cap hit of the past couple of years is unlikely to get much of a bump at all in free agency this summer. He has shown the ability to be a contributor, however, with a nice surrounding cast, something the Avalanche can provide him with.