Avalanche Should Target These 3 Unsigned Free Agent Forwards
The busiest parts of the NHL offseason are over, with the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency kickstarting a flurry of player movement. The Colorado Avalanche were busy, though most of their work came in the form of unheralded moves meant to shore up the bottom of the lineup. That no splashy deals materialized comes as no surprise given the uncertainty hanging over the franchise heading into the 2024-25 season.
Based on how the Gabriel Landeskog (recovery from surgery) and Valeri Nichushkin (NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program) situations unfold, the Avalanche may need cap space to reactivate them when the time comes. For reference, the NHL set the salary cap at $88 million for the 2024-25 season, a $4.5 million increase from the 2023-24 season.
The Avalanche currently have around $10.9 million in cap space with Landeskog and Nichushkin off of the books for the time being (including seven defensemen with at least one forward needing to be signed or promoted). Assuming that the pair return at some point, the team could be over the limit by as much as $2 million given that the two forwards collectively count for $13.125 million against the cap.
While the Avalanche front office will likely try to keep some space available to more easily integrate one or both forwards when the time comes, adding another insurance option up front could come in handy in case neither situation is conclusively resolved by the end of the year.
Let’s dive into three of the most intriguing free-agent forwards left unsigned, using Evolving Hockey’s contract projections to offer a prediction for the player’s most likely contract terms by length and average annual value (AAV).
Daniel Sprong, Left Wing/Right Wing
Daniel Sprong scored 18 goals and 43 points in 76 games for the Detroit Red Wings in 2023-24 while only playing 12 minutes per game in all situations. He has long been one of the NHL’s most efficient goal-scorers on a per-minute basis, but has struggled to carve out a permanent home to date. Given that only three Avalanche forwards hit 20 goals this past season and only four hit 50 points, giving an extended look to an undervalued forward should be a no-brainer.
Among NHL forwards to have played at least 1,000 minutes at five-on-five over the past two seasons, Sprong ranks ninth in goals per-60-minutes, 15th in primary assists per-60, and 11th in points per-60. No other player comes close to matching the sniper’s cost-per-point, but he is staring down the prospect of joining his sixth NHL franchise before the age of 27.
