Looking at free agent options for the Colorado Avalanche to fill out their bottom-six

After trading Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Avs have around 6.5M in cap space to play around with. Their defence is pretty set with the addition of Brent Burns. Their goaltending and top-six forwards are also set. The big question is the bottom six.

Logan O’Connor is set to miss the start of next season after undergoing hip surgery. That leaves Ross Colton, Jack Drury, and Parker Kelly as options. You also have fringe players like Ivan Ivan, Matthew Steinburg, and Nikita Prishchepov fighting for spots. With two straight seasons around a point-per-game, newly acquired Daniil Gushcin will also be pushing for a roster spot. Safe to say, the Avalanche need to add at least two bodies before next season begins. Who are some options that are still left on the free agent market?

Jack Roslovic

Roslovic is hands down the best free agent on the market. Coming off a season where he had 22 goals and 39 points in 81 games with the Hurricanes, Roslovic is reportedly looking for a multi-year deal. Roslovic has been a consistent 40-point player throughout his career. The 28-year-old can play centre, but plays the majority on the wing. He could play with Ross Colton and Jack Drury on the third line – moving higher in the lineup if there’s an injury.

Victor Olofsson

Olofsson is the second and final option for a traditional ‘top-nine’ forward left on the free agent market. In 56 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season, Olofsson had 15 goals and 29 points. Olofsson frequented one of the two Vegas powerplay units, swapping with Pavel Dorofeyev on the right side flank. He definitely possesses the best shot of the remaining free agents.

Luke Kunin

Kunin would give the Avalanche an element they don’t have on their roster. I doubt an analytically driven organization like Colorado would be very interested in Kunin, but he’s a traditional bottom-six checker. The Avalanche don’t have a lot of ‘rugged’ guys in their forward group, so maybe they decide to bring in Kunin to add that element.

Brett Leason

Similar to Kunin, Leason brings a physical element, but can also contribute to the scoresheet every now and then. He had a career year with the Ducks in 2023-24, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 68 games. His shooting percentage was halved last year, dropping his goal total to five and point total to 17 in 62 games. At 6’5″, Leason isn’t strong analytically, but he’s much better than Kunin.

Kevin Rooney

Rooney had a bit of a ‘bounce back’ in 2024-25, where he became a key penalty killer on the Calgary Flames. He left a lot to be desired at even strength, however, which is why he only had an average time on ice of 9:25. Rooney is the only ‘traditional’ centre on this list, so he might get a bit of a bump after the Coyle trade.

Joel Kiviranta

A familiar name on the list, Kiviranta had a career-best season in 2024-25 with 16 goals and 23 points in 79 games on the Avalanche. Kiviranta likely headed into free agency looking for a raise on the league minimum contract he was on last year. As the summer goes on, does his ask fall to a point where the Avalanche feel comfortable bringing him back?

Nathan Bastian

Bastian finished another season with the Devils serving a fourth line role. His offensive totals don’t stand out at all, but he does possess some solid defensive metrics.