As the Colorado Avalanche reluctantly begin their offseason sooner than they’d hoped, there’s little opportunity to make big changes but no team ever returns completely intact so there will be some transactions moving forward. Also, a couple contract negotiations with Cale Makar and Jack Drury are looming large, how to handle Ilya Nabokov and a look ahead at the draft are what’s on the immediate horizon as the organization turns the page to summer.

What other changes are coming?

Getting the obvious question out of the way first, are there any significant other changes coming to the Avalanche after the departure of Chris MacFarland? When a playoff loss is as bitter and disappointing as the one Colorado just experienced the first reaction is someone has to be held accountable and MacFarland getting a promotion to lead Nashville is hardly that. That’s not really this organization’s style but change is always on the table, and specifically to the coaching staff. Trades are another avenue, and one of Colorado’s favorite tools, to reshape this team prior to the 2026-27 season. The organization might also be forced into more change then they’d like due to the departure at the top.

Will Cale Makar sign his next contract soon and for how much?

There is no larger or more important transaction to take care of before the puck drops on that 2026-27 season than Cale Makar’s contract extension. Though the superstar defenseman has one year remaining on his current deal and not technically a worry for next year, the expectation is that he will ink a new contract before he enters the new season as a pending Unrestricted Free Agent. An artificial deadline is September 15th, as the last day he can sign an eight-year deal before the new CBA and next NHL league year begins.

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As the best defenseman in the world Cale can dictate this entire process on his terms and basically name his own price. It’s a delicate situation to navigate as he needs to stay mindful of Colorado’s salary cap in the coming years but also set the top comparable contract for the league’s group of blue liners. One wrinkle to this situation is if the Minnesota Wild can get fellow top defenseman Quinn Hughes to sign first which could have ramifications on Makar’s deal especially if the bar is set very high as the Wild certainly will make an aggressive offer to retain Hughes. All parties must be mentally prepared for this negotiation to reach as high as $18 million dollars. How it all plays out will set the tone for how Colorado is going to handle contracts moving forward.

Will Jack Drury return?

Speaking of, there another roster player contract that needs addressing before the next season begins. Nobody should feel safe at this juncture and the prospects of seeing Jack Drury in an Avalanche sweater this fall are uncertain at best. As the team’s fourth line center he’s earned his place on the team but the issue is he is a Restricted Free Agent with arbitration rights one year before he’s eligible for unrestricted free agency.

Though he scored a modest 27 points in the regular season, Drury had a good playoff run with five points including three goals and one was shorthanded in the Vegas series. The native of New York was already making $1.725 million on a two-year deal signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. Capwages has a prediction of just under $3 million on a three-year deal, which sounds reasonable but the possibility of arbitration and his good playoff performance and face-off aptitude could push Drury’s salary higher than the Avalanche are comfortable with especially if they see him remaining on the fourth line.

What is the plan for Ilya Nabokov?

In short, it should never be assumed that the Avalanche have a plan for any prospect but the clock is ticking, specifically heading into the last year of Ilya Nabokov’s Entry Level Contract in the 2026-27 season. He’s finally made it to North America after a disappointing end to his KHL career and is currently watching Trent Miner carry the Colorado Eagles deep into the playoffs. Miner is also signed for the next season as are the Lumberyard goaltending tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood at the NHL level. There doesn’t seem to be much opportunity for the talented Russian goaltender but the “plan” was put in motion when he signed that ELC last summer and burned a year while finishing up his final season in the KHL. Something has to give in order to prioritize Nabokov, or maybe, simply the Avalanche won’t.

Will Colorado make all eight of their 2026 draft picks?

It’s been made clear that the future has been sacrificed for another failed playoff run but left in the rubble for Colorado is actually a large stock of upcoming 2026 draft picks. Of course none are of high value or in the top 100 but it’s a surprising amount starting with Colorado’s own fourth rounder as well as Carolina’s, two more in the fifth round and an amusing set of four seventh rounders. GM Chris MacFarland learned to get something in return in all his dealings and these are the remaining fruits of his labor. Now will Colorado use all these draft picks to rehabilitate some semblance of prospect pool or are they ripe as currency for more transactions before the opening of free agency in a little under a month?