Joe Sakic has made a habit of finding value in this part of free agency, and the Avalanche may have another chance to do it again with a low-cost forward who can help fill out the lineup.
The name that jumps out first is Jonathan Drouin. After the St.
Louis Blues bought out the second and final year of his contract, he hit the market with $1.33 million owed in each of the next two seasons under the buyout terms. For Colorado, the fit is easy to see.
Drouin already has chemistry with Nathan MacKinnon from two seasons together, a stretch that produced 56 points in a full season and then 37 in 43 games the next year. At minimum, he could be a useful regular-season depth piece and, later, a trade chip at the deadline.
There’s even a path where he ends up as a 13th or 14th forward in the playoffs. The catch is obvious: he would almost certainly have to accept a deal well below what other teams could offer.
Patrik Laine is the most interesting swing of the group. The former No. 2 overall pick has never quite settled into one NHL home, but the goal-scoring has never really disappeared.
From 2021-22 to 2025-26, he scored 74 goals in 186 games, which works out to 33 goals per 82 games. That production has come at a steady clip, not just from one hot season.
This past year, though, he played only five games for the Montreal Canadiens and had one assist while carrying a cap hit of nearly $9 million, and Montreal moved on. On a show-me contract, he could be a real offensive boost for the Avs, especially on the power play.
The issue is the same one that has followed him before: Jared Bednar wants commitment on the defensive side, and that is not optional. Laine is also another right-shot forward, which is less than ideal, but his power-play value is hard to ignore, even if it means working on the second unit or replacing Martin Necas in a different look.
Philipp Kurashev might be the closest thing here to the kind of reclamation project Colorado has had success with before. He’s 26, a left-handed center or winger, and has spent his career on Chicago and San Jose teams that were mostly stuck at the bottom.
He had 20 points in 43 games in 2025-26, and he also kills penalties. His best offensive season came in 2023-24, when he posted 54 points, though he hasn’t reached that level again since.
The appeal for Colorado is straightforward: a cheap player with some versatility who could still grow in the right environment. If Bednar can get him locked in defensively, there should be chances for him to contribute at the other end.
Kurashev made $1.2 million last season, so whatever he’s looking for now probably isn’t much.
In Other News...
Avalanche Just Got Linked To A Center Fans Will Debate
With free agency about to open, Colorados center group is already looking crowded enough to make any outside addition a real conversation starter. The Avalanche have Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Nicolas Roy and Fyodor Svechkov in the middle, which is why any reported interest in another veteran pivot immediately invites a debate about fit, role and price.
Boone Jenner brings the sort of experience and faceoff reliability teams tend to covet when the market starts moving, and the idea of him landing in Denver is easy to understand from a hockey sense. The tougher part is the business side, since the Avalanche would likely be looking for something more manageable than his previous deal, and there is still no official move on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Just Added Another Proven Piece To An Already Loaded Roster
A familiar Western Conference name is headed to Denver, as the Avalanche are reportedly adding another experienced forward on a multi-year deal that fits both the roster and the salary cap picture. The move brings a former first-round pick who has already logged time with the Kraken and Blues into a lineup that has spent years building around proven pieces, and it gives Colorado another veteran option to slot into an attack that rarely lacks for talent.
The contract is said to run three years with an average annual value of $3.25 million, a notable shift for a player coming off a richer previous deal. Theres also a local angle here, since he once skated at Colorado College and had long been mentioned as a possible fit in town, which only adds to the sense that this was one of those quiet targets the Avalanche had in mind for a while. [Read more 🡒]
Predators Just Pulled Another Familiar Face From Colorado
The Nashville Predators have added another name familiar to Avalanche circles, signing defenseman Jack Ahcan to a two-year, two-way contract as part of their ongoing roster transition. Ahcan is a player Colorado fans will remember from both the Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles, and he also brings NHL experience from his time with Boston.
For Colorado, the move is a small but noticeable reminder of how often familiar depth pieces can move on when front offices reshape the margins of a roster. Predators general manager Chris MacFarland knows Ahcan from his time in Colorado, which gives the signing a layer of familiarity even as Nashville continues sorting out its blue-line picture. [Read more 🡒]