Should the Avalanche Consider Bringing Back J.T. Compher?

We still aren’t sure what the Avalanche are planning to do with their remaining $6.55 million salary cap. They also have pieces that could be moved out for added space. Is Josh Manson expandable after the Brent Burns signing? Is Sam Malinski the seventh defenseman on this team? What about the left side? Is Samuel Girard an automatic in one of the two spots being Devon Toews or is he also being shopped?

Those are four pretty reasonable questions, and they only address the blueline. In the bottom six, Colorado has a healthy Jack Drury, Parker Kelly, and Ross Colton. They also have Logan O’Connor, who is going to start the season injured. After that? It’s anybody’s guess. It sounds like Zakhar Bardakov is going to get a long look. And I’m sure the Avs have their eyes on some of the remaining unrestricted free agents. I wrote about five of them last week.

But what about a trade candidate? Specifically, would a reunion with their 2022 Stanley Cup championship’s third-line center make sense?

J.T. Compher left the Avs in 2023 as an unrestricted free agent. Colorado, which made an overhaul of changes up front that summer, tried to negotiate with Compher until the final moments before realizing a deal couldn’t be had. Instead, general manager Chris MacFarland shifted, and traded for Ross Colton, before signing him to a four year, $16 million deal.

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Colton played center for a season but has since shown he’s better in his natural winger position. He might be someone the team eventually trades, but after unloading Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood, keeping Colton makes more sense. At least for now. The salary isn’t needed yet, and might not be if the Avs don’t find what they want on the trade market. Colton and Compher on the third line together could also work really well.

Anyway, back to Compher.

The now 30-year-old has three years remaining on his contract at $5.1 million. He took a major step back this past season after a strong 2023-24 in Detroit. Compher’s best season was in 2022-23 with the Avs. He had 17 goals and 52 points while playing a career-high 20:32 per game.

The following year in Detroit saw him pass his personal best in goals (19), but his points slightly dropped to 48. Still, he was playing 19:48 per game and was a large part of Detroit’s penalty kill.

Last season, Compher’s numbers dropped to 11 goals, 32 points, and he played just 16:41 per game — the lowest he’s had since 2022. Those numbers are more suitable of a third-line center. The Wings initially added him to play in the top six, which was a clear miscast for a player that was best utilized playing behind Nathan MacKinnon and Nazem Kadri for three years.

At this rate, the Wings would be happy to give him away for free, or for minimal assets. They don’t need the cap space as much as the roster spot for one of their young prospects to get a better look at NHL minutes.

The Avalanche won’t and shouldn’t acquire Compher at his full cap hit. They just traded Coyle’s $5.125 million to clear space — not to replace him with someone at the same number with longer term.

But what if the Red Wings retain? Does Compher make sense at $4 million? That might still be a little too high. How about $3-$3.5 million? Or, if the Wings really want to get away from this player, could the Avs convince their management to retain the maximum 50% of his salary? If so, that means Compher would be back for three years at $2.55 million per season.

There might be other options on the market that are a better fit at this point in their careers. But not many could be had for next to nothing. If the Red Wings retain enough of Compher’s salary, he could even eventually slot in as the 4C behind Drury over the next handful of years, and it still wouldn’t be an overpayment.

Either way, Compher still has a lot of hockey left in him and might be one of the better buy-low candidates on the market.

What say you? Should the Avs try to reacquire the same third-line center that helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2022?