Higher Salary Cap Doesn’t Fix Avalanche’s Offseason Deficit

From potential coaching staff changes to roster moves, the Colorado Avalanche are going to have to make some tough choices this summer as they reflect on getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals. Thankfully for them, the salary cap will be increasing by $8.5 million for 2026-27. The cap will be $104 million, while the floor will be $76.9 million.

With that nice chunk of change added, the Avalanche now has $2.979 million to work with. Not the number many expected, considering the cap increase. The main issue is that few contracts are coming off the books, which raises questions about what they plan to do this summer if they want to shake up the roster.

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All contract info provided by PuckPedia

Now, this isn’t a “predicting the Colorado Avalanche’s 2026 Offseason Moves” piece or what I think they should do; I am working on that, but I’m still working out some signings and trades to look over. This is more of a thought I want to put in people’s heads about what people on social media and insiders think will happen to this roster.

The Avalanche are set to have five unrestricted free agents come July 1st: Joel Kiviranta, Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, Jack Ahcan, and Nick Blankenburg. They have two restricted free agents in Jack Drury and Zakhar Bardakov.

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Every single player who was brought up about why the Avalanche lost to the Knights is under contract. Nazem Kadri still has three seasons left at his new $5.6 million cap hit that the Flames retained. Martin Necas’ new eight-year $92 million contract kicks in. Sam Malinski’s new four-year $19 million contract also kicks in.

Sam Malinski’s Rise: Why the Avalanche Rewarded Him With a Four-Year Extension Sam Malinski earned every cent of this contract extension

Outside of players’ contracts running out, the only other cap relief they are receiving is Josh Manson’s cap hit going from $4.5 million to $3.95 million with his new two-year $7.9 million contract extension. The money looks better each season, following as the cap will go up, but if you look past this summer, you see why.

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This season, Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton, Nicolas Roy, and Cale Makar are in the last year of their contract. Now, Makar is the least worrisome, and many insiders have speculated that the team’s focus is on getting an extension done this summer. Still, if you want to retool this team and pick and choose where management thinks they can get better, trades will need to come with their cap situation.

What Sam Malinski’s New Deal Means for Cale Makar and the Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche have cleared one major hurdle, but others remain.

The 2026 NHL Entry Draft is scheduled for June 26 and 27, with the Avalanche focusing mainly on Day 2, as they have no draft picks until the fourth round. So the Avalanche will have some time to scout some later-round players before they decide where to make some space for the roster this free agency.

Avalanche Prospect Shock: Mikhail Gulyayev Signs KHL Extension Through 2028 Mikhail Gulyayev’s new two-year KHL extension with Avangard Omsk pushes his long-awaited NHL arrival with the Colorado Avalanche back to at least 2028-29, extending uncertainty around the 2023 first-round pick’s development path.