Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We begin with a look at the Central Division; next up is Colorado.
Colorado Avalanche
Current Cap Hit: $85,993,750 (under the $88M Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Nikolai Kovalenko (one year, $896K)
Potential Bonuses
Kovalenko: $57.5K
Kovalenko spent most of the first season of his contract in Russia before coming to North America for a brief stint in the minors plus a couple of playoff appearances with the Avs. Projected as a middle-six winger, his waiver exemption could work against him if Colorado is looking to bank early-season space but he should still be able to hit a good chunk of his games-played bonus. Between that and his limited experience thus far, he’s a safe bet for a short-term second contract. If he produces to expectations, that deal could approach the $2M mark.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
D Erik Brannstrom ($900K, RFA)
D Calvin de Haan ($800K, UFA)
F Jonathan Drouin ($2.5M, UFA)
G Alexandar Georgiev ($3.4M, UFA)
F Logan O’Connor ($1.05M, UFA)
F Joel Kiviranta ($775K, UFA)
D Oliver Kylington ($1.05M, UFA)
D Sam Malinski ($850K, RFA)
F Mikko Rantanen ($9.25M, UFA)
F Chris Wagner ($775K, UFA)
Rantanen is clearly the headliner on this list. The 27-year-old has become one of the top wingers in the NHL and is coming off his second straight season of more than 100 points. League-wide, only five players have more points than him over the last three seasons; three of those are making at least $2M more than he is. New York’s Artemi Panarin is currently the winger with the highest AAV in NHL history; it stands to reason that Rantanen will be looking to at least pass that on his next agreement. His linemate (we’ll get to him shortly) probably sits as the benchmark that Colorado won’t want to clear but a max-term agreement around the $12M mark per season is a definite possibility.
The decision for Drouin to take a cheap one-year deal with the Avs last summer to help rebuild some value worked as he had a career-best 56 points. However, his market was still fairly limited, which resulted in another one-year deal on the opening day of free agency. Perhaps a second strong year will bolster his market next time out. O’Connor was in the middle of a breakout performance last season and had a shot at 40 points. If he produces at a similar rate this season, he could triple his current AAV. Wagner and Kiviranta will battle for spots at the end of the roster and will get them or be beaten out by others at that price point. At this point in their careers, both players will be going year-to-year, likely on two-way deals like they have now.
Kylington didn’t appear to have a strong market in free agency, resulting in a pay cut as he’ll look to do like Drouin and rebuild some value. If he can establish himself as a full-timer after missing as much time as he has, he could at least double this next time out. Brannstrom was non-tendered by Ottawa and had to settle for a low-cost deal as well. He’ll be looking to do like Kylington but Colorado will have the ability to control him for another year, albeit with arbitration rights which could scare the Avs off from a qualifying offer. Malinski has primarily played in the minors but did well in limited action last season and is now waiver-eligible which could help keep him on the NHL roster. As for de Haan, he had a limited role with Tampa Bay last season and is likely going to remain close to the minimum salary moving forward.
Georgiev is one of the more intriguing pending UFA netminders. He has led the league in wins the last two seasons and led the NHL in minutes played in 2023-24. For someone making high-end backup money, that’s a strong return on their investment. However, his numbers were particularly mediocre after a solid performance the year before. That makes his next contract tough to project; if he’s closer to last season’s numbers, he might have a hard time commanding $5M per season. But if he goes back to his 2022-23 performance, a contract starting with a six could be doable.
