With Ehlers Reportedly in Sight, Avalanche Smartly Play the Waiting Game

Free agency wasn’t as chaotic as last year, and for the Avalanche, it was for the better.

Colorado has spent years building its team through the trade market for good reason. Because the contracts handed out on July 1 are often for a touch too much, or for a little too long. And you rarely ever get a needle mover.

The Vegas Golden Knights landed the big fish in Mitch Marner. But to make space for him, they’re losing top blueliner Alex Pietrangelo to LTIR while trading Nic Roy to Toronto in the Marner sign-and-trade, and Nic Hague to Nashville for two other depth pieces.

Read More: Jonathan Drouin Lands Big Two-Year Contract With Islanders

Aside from Marner, almost every other big free agent opted to re-sign with his club. You can thank the Florida Panthers for ultimately eliminating a lot of the intrigue. Florida didn’t just re-sign the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Sam Bennett. They also landed deals with Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand at the eleventh hour.

Without them, without Brock Boeser, who re-signed in Vancouver, or Ivan Provorov, who opted to stay with Columbus, the market ultimately lost almost all the talent at the top.

The Rangers signed Vladislav Gavrikov, arguably the best UFA defenseman remaining, but they traded K’Andre Miller to make the money work.

The last remaining high-profile player left is Nikolaj Ehlers. And, the Avs are reportedly interested. It would explain why they did basically nothing (Parker Kelly extension aside). It would also explain why they haven’t yet resorted to making trades.

Read More: Report: Avalanche One of Many Teams Interested in Nikolaj Ehlers

It seems like general manager Chris MacFarland identified his target, and was willing to risk losing out on the next tier of players if Ehlers chooses another suitor. But that’s fine. They weren’t missing much.

I have a sense the L.A. Kings might quickly regret the big money deals they handed to Cody Ceci and Brian Dumoulin on the blueline. The Ducks have cap space, but is Mikael Granlund for three years at $7 million the best way to utilize it?

For some teams, striking out on July 1 might be a cause for concern. But it shouldn’t be for the Avs, or their fans.

Sticking it out to see if you can land a sizable piece in Ehlers is worthy of being patient. If not? That’s fine too. It just means you have another year without a notable UFA signing. Another year of extending a streak of seven offseasons in a row without a UFA signed for more than a $4 million AAV.

Read More: Ryan Lindgren Departs Avalanche For New Deal in Seattle

MacFarland and Joe Sakic built the 2022 Stanley Cup championship roster via trades. They remade last year’s mess of a lineup by wheeling and dealing throughout the regular season. After dealing Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to clear space and recoup some assets, they still can, and likely will, shift to the trade market to achieve what they wanted.

It starts with waiting it out to see if Ehlers signs. After already sitting out a market that just wasn’t favorable for most Stanley Cup contending teams