1 player Avalanche must sign in 2026 NHL Free Agency

The Colorado Avalanche fell short of winning the Stanley Cup in 2026. As a result, they began their offseason work sooner than they would have liked. It’s already been quite an offseason for the Avs so far, and this is before NHL Free Agency has actually begun.

The Avalanche lost general manager Chris MacFarland shortly after being swept in the Western Conference Finals. MacFarland left Colorado to become the new President of Hockey Operations with the Nashville Predators. Joe Sakic has once again assumed the day-to-day operations of Colorado until a new general manager can be named.

In an interesting twist of fate, both Sakic and MacFarland’s first moves in their new roles involved each other. The Avalanche recently traded Ross Colton to the Predators in exchange for two draft picks and goaltender Magnus Chrona. This deal ended Colton’s three-year tenure in Colorado following a trade around the 2023 NHL Draft.

Ahead of free agency, there are a few areas the Avalanche could stand to address. Adding upgrades on defense would be wise, especially with Brett Kulak’s less-than-ideal play and Brent Burns’s future up in the air. Another area needing improvement is their power play, which ranked 27th in the NHL during the regular season.

Colorado is set up to continue contending in 2026-27. However, it’s clear they have some important decisions to make regarding the roster. With all this in mind, here is one player the Avalanche must sign in 2026 NHL Free Agency.

Avalanche should take a chance on Patrik Laine

The Avalanche won’t have a ton of flexibility to operate with in NHL Free Agency. As things currently stand, Colorado has a touch less than $7 million in available cap space. And that accounts for the $4 million in cap space cleared by the Colton trade.

With this in mind, the Avalanche will need to get creative. Especially if they are unable to clear additional cap space this summer. There are some intriguing bargain buys to be had in NHL Free Agency this year. None may be more interesting than veteran winger Patrik Laine.

Laine has experienced some massive highs and lows in his career. The former second-overall pick was the star player for the Winnipeg Jets squad that made the 2018 Western Conference Finals. He is a seven-time 20+ goal scorer, a three-time 30+ goal scorer, and a one-time 40+ goal scorer.

However, the veteran winger has struggled mightily with injuries over the last few seasons. In 2025-26, he was limited to just five games with the Montreal Canadiens. Over the last three seasons, Laine has only played 30% of all possible regular-season games. Suffice it to say, it’s not been easy for Laine on and off the ice.

In saying this, he has proven he can be productive when he’s on the ice. Laine played 55 games in 2024-25, and he scored 20 goals in that time. Perhaps the most important thing for the Avalanche is that 15 of his 20 goals came on the power play. Furthermore, it’s the third time in his career that he has scored 15 or more power-play goals in a single season.

Colorado has more than enough goals at 5v5. What they’ve lacked is someone who can finish on the power play when their superstars are having an off night with the man advantage. Laine should come on a cheap prove-it contract, and the Avalanche can afford to let him play bottom-six minutes while working as a power play specialist.

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