The Colorado Avalanche targeting Matt Grzelcyk this late in the offseason would be surprising\u2014mainly because they\u2019re not in a position to target anyone.<\/p>\n
While the Avalanche do have a clear need for a left-handed defenseman, the team\u2019s current salary cap situation renders any significant additions improbable. With just over $1.3 million in available cap space, the financial reality is stark. Considering that Grzelcyk earned $2.75 million in his most recent contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins and is coming off a career-best season, expecting him to accept a substantial pay cut is highly unrealistic.<\/p>\n
Grzelcyk recorded career highs last season with 39 assists and 40 points. The 31-year-old, selected 85th overall in the third round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, also completed his first full 82-game regular season campaign last year. Given these accomplishments, Grzelcyk is likely seeking a more lucrative contract. However, this may partially explain why he remains unsigned. As demonstrated by the recent Joel Kiviranta contract saga, a standout single season does not necessarily translate into substantial financial commitment from teams. Sustained performance is what leads to the bigger paydays. Grzelcyk is not quite there yet, so as we speak, he\u2019s on the outside looking in.<\/p>\n
Colorado\u2019s Stanley Cup window remains open. While the team addressed its goaltending concerns\u2014an issue that arguably should never have arisen\u2014the core roster continues to inspire confidence. Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Marty Ne\u010das (for as long as he remains with the team), and Devon Toews provide a formidable foundation. Additionally, Gabriel Landeskog returns for his first full season in over three years, and his playoff performance demonstrated that he hasn\u2019t quite lost an inch. Brock Nelson, entering his second season with Colorado under a fresh contract, adds further stability and depth, although some would argue there was a solid overpay that came with that. However, for those on the media grind, the 2C stories can mercifully rest for the time being. The team also has a healthy Valeri Nichushkin to look forward to. Perhaps there isn\u2019t room for any significant additions.<\/p>\n
Not Much We Can Do, Chief!<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, notable gaps remain on the roster, and at present, there is little flexibility to address them. The most viable path to improvement lies through the trade market\u2014a route that, as recent history has shown, has yielded mixed results at best. Should the Avalanche choose to make another all-in push, one can only hope the cost doesn\u2019t once again outweigh the return.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, much of the team\u2019s flexibility hinges on the decision surrounding Ne\u010das. Should he remain unsigned, it\u2019s likely that the Avalanche roster is effectively set heading into the season.<\/p>\n
While the addition of a left-handed defenseman like Grzelcyk would certainly bolster the blue line, the harsh reality is that it\u2019s not feasible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Colorado Avalanche targeting Matt Grzelcyk this late in the offseason would be surprising\u2014mainly because they\u2019re not in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":110481,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[48878,385,99],"class_list":["post-110480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-colorado-avalanche-feature-stories","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}