Avalanche’s perfect move in 2025 NHL offseason

When you have one of the best players in the world, competing for titles becomes part of the expectations. Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche do have one Stanley Cup victory in their time together, but they have fallen short each of the past three seasons. There has been one major need in each of the past three campaigns, and GM Chris MacFarland has secured fixing that this NHL offseason.

MacKinnon is the top-line center for the Avs. He has consistently been an amazing player. In the last eight seasons, he has lit the lamp 30 or more times in seven of them. Further, he has amassed 90 or more points in six of them. While he has the top line locked down, the second line has been a struggle at the center position ever since Gabriel Landeskog went down with a long-term ailment that cost him three full regular seasons.

In the 2021-22 season, when the Avs made their Cup run, Nazem Kadri complemented MacKinnon and Landeskog and was great as the second-line center. He found the back of the net 28 times while adding 59 assists, placing him third on the team in points, just one behind MacKinnon. The Canadian center would also chip in seven goals and eight assists in the playoffs. He would then sign as a free agent with the Calgary Flames in the summer of 2022.

In 2022-23, it was J.T. Compher who would be the primary second-line center, with some appearances from Evan Rodrigues. Compher did not produce at the same level as Kadri. The former second-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres scored just 52 points in the regular season, and then just two in the playoffs. He would also leave in free agency after that summer.

The 2023-24 campaign would see Ross Colton and then trade addition Casey Mittelstadt, both would man the second line center position. They combined for just 50 points in the regular season while playing for the Avalanche. Mittelstadt had a total of 10 points in 18 games with the Avs, while Colton put up 40 in 80 games. They would also combine for just 13 points in the playoffs.

At the 2024-25 trade deadline, the Avs made a move to solve this problem. The team would acquire Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders. Nelson would end up being fifth on the team in points in the playoffs, but was also a pending free agent. The Avalanche refused to let their second-line center walk again.

Adding Brock Nelson was huge for Avalanche

The front office had a tight cap situation to work with heading into the summer. In order to keep key players and multiple pending free agents, the Avalanche needed to clear cap space. They did just that in the offseason. The team traded Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Coyle is heading into the last year of his contract and is set to make $5.25 million. He had also become expendable with the addition of Nelson. The former first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks had a career-best year in 2023-24, with 60 points. Still, his production had declined in 2024-25, and he had just one point in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Wood came off a dreadful 2024-25 campaign. He played in just 37 games and had just eight points. Still, in those 37 contests, he amassed 49 penalty minutes to lead Colorado. He would see the ice just once in the playoffs, not scoring a point and having a minus-three rating in just 12:42 of ice time.

The Avalanche would make the trade of Coyle and Wood after the re-signing of Nelson. When the team had completed the signature, they had just over $1 million in cap space, so to make that deal, they knew that salaries would need to be shed. They did just that by saving $7.75 million in this trade, almost the exact amount they will be paying Nelson.

The return of Brock Nelson was the perfect move