Joe Sakic has made his first official move in his second stint as general manager of the Avalanche. He made it with an old friend.

Sakic and former Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland came together to get a deal done, with Sakic sending forward Ross Colton and goaltender Isak Posch to the Nashville Predators in exchange for two third-round draft picks and former University of Denver goaltender Magnus Chrona.

One of the third-round picks going to the Avalanche is in the 2026 draft, while the other is in 2027 and originally belonged to Colorado. Chrona signed in Sweden a few weeks back, so it appears he’s unlikely to play any role with the Avalanche organization moving forward.

The meat of the deal comes in the form of the Avalanche shipping out Colton, who has one year remaining on his contract and carries a $4 million cap hit. It never seemed to work for Colton in Colorado, particularly over the past two seasons. Colton and Jared Bednar never seemed to be on the same page, and Colton struggled with consistency on the ice, going long stretches without scoring a goal in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Denver Pioneers goaltender Magnus Chrona (30) makes a save on a Colorado College Tigers shot during the second period March 6, 2020, at The Broadmoor World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo. (The Gazette, Christian Murdock)

As I reported last summer, the Avalanche looked to move Colton a year ago, but up until July 1, 2025, Colton carried a full no-trade clause. It’s my understanding he blocked at least one trade with that contract clause. After that date, his contract shifted to a modified no-trade clause that included just 12 teams. They held on to him this season for depth purposes, but trade rumors persisted. With Colton beginning the postseason as a healthy scratch, it became clear a trade was likely, especially with Colorado needing to clear cap space.

Colton’s production in Colorado dipped each season he was with the Avalanche. He produced just nine goals and 24 points this season. Although he started the postseason as a healthy scratch, he was highly effective when reentering the lineup, posting five points in 11 games and hitting everything that moved. Even though he was playing well, he still struggled to get ice time, averaging under 10 minutes in 11 playoff games.

Trading a forward who makes that much money makes sense if you aren’t going use him much. He’ll likely see more ice time in Nashville, a team still trying to figure out which direction it will move in.

Although Chrona isn’t likely to see time in Colorado, the Avalanche did need to get rid of a goaltender in the AHL and accomplished that by sending Posch to Nashville. With highly touted prospect Ilya Nabokov set to start his North American career next season, the Avalanche needed to make room for him at the American Hockey League level. Unless something else happens this offseason, it would appear Nabokov and Trent Miner will share the net in Loveland next season. Colorado’s goaltending depth is a strength heading into the 2026-27 season.

While this is Sakic’s first move of the summer, it won’t be his last move that shakes up the forward group. Colton’s spot on the roster will likely be replaced by a cheaper, younger forward like Gavin Brindley or T.J. Hughes, but there’s a good chance Sakic changes up the group more.

The Avalanche have just under $7 million in cap space with important roster spots left to fill. The Avalanche have just four NHL defensemen under contract next season, with Brett Kulak, Brent Burns and Nick Blankenburg staring down unrestricted free agency. Signing or acquiring two or three NHL defensemen could take up the bulk of that $7 million in cap space, which is why more changes up front may be on the horizon.

Colorado Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, bottom left, makes a save as Edmonton Oilers’ Matt Savoie, center top, and Vasily Podkolzin (92) are knocked down by Avalanche’s Brett Kulak, top right, as Avalanche’s Brent Burns (84) looks on during second-period NHL game action in Edmonton, Alberta, April 13 (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Jack Drury is a restricted free agent and after the contract Michael McCarron got from Nashville, he’s in line to get a substantial raise. Whether the Avalanche are the team that pays him remains in question. There are three real options when it comes to Drury: long-term extension, arbitration or trade. Arbitration would award him a one-year contract and send him straight to unrestricted free agency, something that wouldn’t benefit the Avalanche all that much. Coming to a long-term agreement or trading him while his value is high makes the most sense. With the trade-deadline acquisition of Nicolas Roy, who has just one year left on his deal, it’s possible the Avalanche may need to decide between the two in the long term.

Beyond Drury, one other name to watch is Valeri Nichushkin, who is signed for four more years with a cap hit of $6.125 million. He has a 12-team no-trade clause and teams around the league have shown interest in him. It was a down year offensively for Nichushkin, but he’s still a valuable player. He was a crucial part of the top-ranked penalty kill and his underlying metrics this season were strong. Trading him would create a hole on the wing, but he might be one of their best trade pieces to acquire another defenseman.

The Colton trade is the first domino to fall for Sakic. It won’t be the last. Given their salary cap situation, expect the Avalanche to be busy the next few weeks.