Jaden Schwartz arrives in Colorado with a simple question hanging over his first season with the Avalanche: where does he fit?
That’s the issue worth watching more than anything else after Colorado added the 34-year-old winger on a three-year deal in unrestricted free agency. Schwartz spent the past five seasons with the Seattle Kraken, where offense was hard to come by for their forwards, but there’s still reason to believe he can give the Avalanche more than he showed last season.
The uncertainty isn’t really about whether he can help. It’s about how Colorado uses him.
One possibility is straightforward enough: Schwartz could step right into the second-line job that belonged to Valeri Nichushkin. In that setup, he’d bring veteran experience to a group with Brock Nelson and Gabriel Landeskog, and he’d get the kind of offensive platform that could make the signing look sharp in a hurry.
But Colorado has other ways to arrange things.
The Avalanche could push either Nazem Kadri or Nic Roy into that second-line spot instead, which would send Schwartz to the third line. In that scenario, he’d likely skate with a veteran center and one of the team’s younger forwards, a role that would change both his usage and his output.
That’s not the only variable, either. Schwartz also figures to have a regular spot on the penalty kill, which should add to his ice time and give him another chance to influence games beyond scoring. There’s also the question of whether he gets a look on the second power play unit.
For a player Colorado brought in to be more than just a name on the depth chart, the details matter here. Who he plays with, how many minutes he gets and how often he shows up on special teams will shape whether he becomes the kind of quiet success story that stands out over the course of the season.
In Other News...
Avalanche May Have Found An Under The Radar Blue Line Option
Domenick Fensores arrival gives Colorado another low-risk blue line add to keep an eye on as the organization sorts through its depth chart. The 24-year-old left defenseman comes over after a productive season with the Chicago Wolves, where he set career highs in goals, assists and points while also getting a long playoff run in 18 games, and he already has a little NHL experience from a one-game stint with Carolina.
For the Avalanche, the immediate plan is straightforward: Fensore is expected to land with the Colorado Eagles in 2026-27 and continue developing in the system. What makes him interesting is the profile, a left-shot defender who has already shown he can produce at the AHL level and who now gets another chance to push for more after a steady climb through the minors. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Suddenly Face A Cale Makar Debate Fans Never Expected
The idea of the Avalanche even having a Cale Makar discussion sounds out of place until you remember how quickly the organization has surprised people before. Adrian Hernandez, an editing contributor for Mile High Hockey, raised the possibility in a recent piece, noting that Makars standing in contract talks gives him real leverage and makes the situation worth watching as the calendar keeps moving.
September 15 looms as the key date for unrestricted free agents who want eight-year deals before the maximum drops to seven years, which adds another layer of pressure to the conversation. Nobody is saying a Makar trade is likely, but the fact that it cant be completely dismissed says plenty about how unusual the Avalanches recent decision-making has already been. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Were Right To Move On From Casey Mittelstadt
Colorado had plenty of reason to keep looking when Casey Mittelstadt never quite settled into the top-six center role the Avalanche wanted from him. The move to send him to Boston reflected a clear organizational judgment: if he was not going to fill that spot, there was little sense in forcing the fit.
Mittelstadt has since settled in as a middle-six winger for the Bruins, where he posted 15 goals and 42 points in 71 games last season. The next question is whether Boston treats that as a sign of a larger breakout or a reason to commit long term, with talk already circulating about a four-year, $26 million extension that would test how much the Bruins believe in the player they inherited. [Read more 🡒]