The Colorado Avalanche look mostly set as summer rolls on, and that’s exactly why their biggest mistake this season could be so easy to make.
With the roster nearly filled out after the trades and free-agent additions, there aren’t many obvious camp battles left. A couple of spots on the fourth line and the bottom of the defense pairings still appear open, but for the most part, the lineup is taking shape fast.
That kind of stability can be a trap.
When a team has veteran options everywhere, it becomes tempting to lean on the known quantities and let the younger players wait their turn. The Avalanche aren’t being accused of shutting the door on prospects, but the pull toward experience is always there - especially for a club that expects to contend.
That’s why Colorado has to make room for its younger players at the NHL level. The coaching staff needs to find ways to get them into games this season, not just keep them parked on the outside looking in. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, hopefully, will be on the ice for every game next season, but the rest of the lineup has to be managed with more balance.
That balance matters because the Avs looked worn down by the time they reached the Western Conference Final this spring. Even with extra days off between series, the injuries piled up and the group was running on fumes.
So the lesson is clear: the veterans need more rest during the season, and the younger players need real opportunities to step in and contribute.
Colorado’s offseason additions point in that direction. Bringing in Fyodor Svehckov, Zachary L’Heureux, and Vinnie Hinostroza adds the kind of bottom-six depth that can help a coaching staff spread the workload around.
Those aren’t headline-grabbing moves, but they matter because they give Jared Bednar more flexibility. If the Avalanche are cruising with a 6-1 lead in the third period, the third and fourth lines can take more of the ice time, sparing the top players from unnecessary wear.
The same logic applies on defense. Noah Juulsen gives Colorado a dependable seventh defenseman, and the AHL should provide help when injuries inevitably hit.
That’s the real point here: depth isn’t just nice to have this season, it’s essential. With the 2026-27 season set to be the first 84-game campaign in 32 years, the need to manage bodies and lean on the full roster will only grow.
In Other News...
Avalanche Suddenly Face A Cap Squeeze They May Not Escape
Colorados cap picture is getting tighter in a hurry, and the next season on the books already comes with a built-in drag. The Avalanche are set to carry roughly $2.3 million in dead cap space into 2026-27, a hit that stems from bonus overages and will sit there before the roster is even finalized. With the clubs current structure leaving only about $404,000 in room once those overages are factored in, there is not much margin for error.
Brent Burns contract is the reason the accounting has turned so awkward, and the timing makes the squeeze even more uncomfortable for Colorado. The bonus overage mechanism pushed part of last seasons payments onto this years cap, and the new waiver rules only make roster management less flexible, since paper transactions are no longer the easy escape hatch they once were. If the Avalanche need to create space, the choices may not be pleasant. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Prospects Are Running Out Of Time To Truly Stick
The Avalanches prospect pipeline has reached a point where upside alone is no longer enough. Nikita Prishchepov, Sean Behrens and Gavin Brindley are all at different stages of the same test, with each trying to turn flashes in the AHL or brief looks in Denver into something more permanent as the organization continues sorting out who can actually help at the NHL level.
Prishchepov and Behrens both have had their development interrupted by injuries, which has made every healthy stretch matter a little more. Brindley is in a different spot, with NHL experience already on his rsum and a path that could open further down the road, but the Avalanche still need to see more consistency before any of these three can be viewed as true fixtures rather than names with potential. [Read more 🡒]