With the salary cap staying flat this upcoming season at $81.5 million due to economic concerns from the COVID-19 pandemic, the first day of free agency around the league could be a little slower than normal with the current supply exceeding demand.
"We'll have a little bit of flexibility and we're going to try and use that smartly. Whether it's free agency or where we are more comfortable taking our time and seeing what trades are out there,"
said Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic on Tuesday
.
Some of the unrestricted free agents on Colorado's 2019-20 roster include forwards Vladislav Namestnikov, Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson, defenseman Kevin Connauton and goaltender Michael Hutchinson. While it is possible that some of those players could return to Denver for next season, the Avs' focus is expected to be on signing their own restricted free agents.
The Avalanche submitted nine qualifying offers
to retain the negotiating rights of all of their RFAs prior to the deadline for it on Wednesday. Many of those players have the option to go to arbitration as well, which after all is said and done could eat into most of the team's remaining cap space.
"When you look at it, we have a lot of RFA guys that we got to take care of, a lot of guys with [arbitration] rights," Sakic said. "We know the arb numbers once they all come in, we're really not going to have a lot of room under the (salary) cap."
Colorado also needs to consider future spending with several other key players' deals up in the coming seasons. Captain Gabriel Landeskog and 2020 Calder Trophy-winner Cale Makar are due for new contracts following this upcoming campaign and now-perennial MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon's current contract is set to expire not long after at the conclusion of 2022-23 season.
With considerations for the present and future, Sakic's patient approach to the offseason makes sense. However, there could still be a flurry of activity for the Avs at the start of the 2020 signing period if the right player is available and it's a good fit for the club.
"It's going to be a long offseason, there is no pressure to do anything right away," Sakic said. "We can wait and make sure that we get the right player for us to try and help our team."
