from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,
It’s a big week for each of the league’s 31 teams but more so for the few teams like the Avs who are just a piece or two away from becoming fully stocked for a Stanley Cup run.
As NHL Network analyst Brian Lawton told me, it’s “go time” for the Avalanche this week.
Colorado enters the week with 15 big-league players under contract and sitting approximately $21.5 million under the salary cap of $81.5 million. Two significant restricted free agents need to be resigned in winger Andre Burakovsky and defenseman Ryan Graves, but beyond that the core of the team is in place.
If Colorado general manager Joe Sakic is given the money to spend, three significant areas will likely be improved: Goaltending, depth-forward toughness and top-six forward scoring.
The latter position is not necessarily what Colorado needs, but something it can get. The Avs could make a huge free-agent splash with Taylor Hall, the top available scoring forward who is reportedly considering a one-term contract with a Cup contender before going through post-COVID-19 free agency next offseason and signing a much bigger deal.
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