Avalanche fans have little reason to lose sleep over offer sheets right now.
That’s the big takeaway as the conversation around restricted free agents heats up again, especially after the Philadelphia Flyers tacked one on Leo Carlsson and the Ducks matched it to keep him in Anaheim. It’s the kind of move that naturally gets fans looking around their own roster and wondering who might be next.
For Colorado, the answer is basically nobody.
The Avalanche don’t have a meaningful RFA situation to worry about in the upcoming offseason, and the list stays tiny beyond that. In 2028-29, the only two players scheduled to reach restricted free agency are newly acquired forwards Fyodor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux, both of whom are under contract for the next two seasons.
Right now, both are projected into depth roles on a roster that leans heavily on its top end. L’Heureux is listed as the fourth-line left wing, while Svechkov is penciled in as the fourth-line center.
And for an offer sheet to even trigger compensation this offseason, the contract would need to carry an AAV of $1,540,741 or more. The full chart of numbers exists, but the practical point is simple: Colorado’s current RFA picture is extremely manageable.
Neither Svechkov nor L’Heureux is producing like the kind of player who forces a team into a bidding war. We’re not talking about 30-goal scorers here, and they may not even get to 15. That doesn’t make them unimportant, but it does make the odds of an offer-sheet situation pretty slim.
Svechkov carries a $1.25 million AAV, while L’Heureux is at $875k, just barely above the league minimum. For either player to become an offer-sheet target, it would take a huge season.
The career numbers back that up. Svechkov has 12 goals and 22 assists in 122 NHL games. L’Heureux has nine goals and 11 assists in 87 games.
So while the offer-sheet chatter is loud around the league, Colorado’s future restricted free-agent concerns are light. The Avalanche also already dealt with one RFA this offseason in Jack Drury, sending him to the Nashville Predators, who then signed him to a five-year extension worth $4.5 million annually. In the end, that made the decision straightforward for Colorado.
In Other News...
Former Avalanche First Round Pick Is Suddenly Back In Focus
Justin Barron is getting another chance to settle in on a blue line, with Nashville bringing back the former Avalanche first-round pick on a one-year deal. After arriving from Montreal, Barron skated in 52 games for the Predators last season, and the contract gives him a fresh runway to carve out a more permanent role on a roster that still seems to be sorting out its defensive picture.
For Colorado fans, Barrons name still carries a little extra weight because of where he came from and how his career has unfolded since leaving Denver. He has now played 208 NHL games across three teams, but the playoff stage remains one thing he has not reached yet, which leaves his next step in Nashville worth watching as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Offseason Overhaul Left One Huge Cup Question Unanswered
Colorado spent the offseason trying to redraw the edges of a roster that has been built to contend, moving on from several familiar middle-six pieces and bringing in veteran winger Jaden Schwartz as part of the reset. The goal was clear enough: add some experience, get a little younger in spots, and give the lineup a different look without losing the identity that has kept the Avalanche in the title mix.
What still hangs over the whole exercise is whether those changes actually solve the teams biggest playoff problem. The projected fourth line should bring more bite and a little more physical edge, which matters for a club that has been pushed around at times when the games get heavy, but the real test will come once the new mix is asked to hold up over a full season and into the spring. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Fans May Hate How The Alex Newhook Trade Looks Now
The Alex Newhook trade has aged into one of those deals that can make a fan base wince a little harder with each passing month. Montreal got the forward from Colorado for draft picks and a defenseman, and Newhook has kept trending up while giving the Canadiens useful playoff production and a contract that looks especially friendly as he heads into the final season of his deal at a modest cap hit.
Colorado, meanwhile, is still waiting for its side of the return to really show up in a meaningful way. One pick became Mikhail Gulyayev, a defenseman whose path to North America is still a long one, and another was moved along in a separate chain that eventually led elsewhere, which leaves the Avalanche with plenty of reason to wonder whether the full value of the trade will ever arrive in time to matter. [Read more 🡒]