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<\/a>F Jack Drury<\/a> \u2013 Not only has Drury become a stabilizing force in Colorado\u2019s bottom-six, but he has also become one of the best bottom-six forwards in the entire league. Tying his career-high, Drury finished 10 goals and 27 points in 82 games while averaging 14:29 of ice time per game. Additionally, his 58.1% faceoff rate is even more impressive considering Drury began 63.8% of his shifts in the defensive zone. Given that he\u2019s only one year away from reaching unrestricted free agency, it\u2019s unlikely that Drury and the Avalanche will get together on a long-term deal this summer.<\/p>\nF Zakhar Bardakov<\/a> \u2013 Despite averaging less than eight minutes of ice time per game, Bardakov remained on the NHL roster for much of the 2025-26 campaign. He had his moments, but was generally unimpressive, finishing with one goal and 10 points in 60 games. He maintained relatively solid defensive metrics and added 50 hits on the year, but didn\u2019t do enough to earn a consistent NHL role. Still, given his familiarity with the NHL now, Colorado will likely keep him around to serve as depth since he won\u2019t be too expensive to retain.<\/p>\n Other RFAs: F Sampo Ranta<\/a>, F Daniil Gushchin<\/a>, F Chase Bradley<\/a>, F Taylor Makar<\/a>, F Ivan Ivan<\/a>, D Sergei Boikov<\/a><\/p>\n Key\u00a0Unrestricted Free Agents<\/p>\n D Brett Kulak<\/a> \u2013 Outside of those on Team Canada at the Olympics, Kulak is the only player who got to play with Sidney Crosby<\/a>, Connor McDavid<\/a>, and Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> throughout the regular season. During his time with the Avalanche, Kulak did what he did best: blocking shots and stepping up in the playoffs. Throughout postseason play, the 32-year-old blueliner finished with one goal and five points in 13 games with 25 blocked shots, averaging 20:38 of ice time. Unfortunately, unless Colorado can open up significantly more cap space, he\u2019s unlikely to return this summer.<\/p>\n Other UFAs: F Joel Kiviranta<\/a>, D Jack Ahcan<\/a>, D Nick Blankenburg<\/a>, F T.J. Tynan<\/a>, F Alex Barre-Boulet<\/a>, F Tye Felhaber<\/a>, F Matthew Stienburg<\/a>, F Valtteri Puustinen<\/a>, F Jason Polin<\/a>, D Jacob MacDonald<\/a>, D Ronald Attard<\/a><\/p>\n Projected Cap Space<\/p>\n Colorado\u2019s salary cap picture is an ugly one. Yes, the team has done a good job of locking in MacKinnon and Martin Necas, and maneuvering around the cap to bring in additional talent, but it\u2019s all coming to a head in a year. Heading into the summer, the Avalanche only have approximately $2.98MM in salary cap breathing room. This should be enough to retain Drury and Burns, albeit barely, but it will be wholly insufficient to fill out the team\u2019s depth for anything other than league minimum salaries. Additionally, Colorado is only one year away from ponying up new deals for Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen, so they\u2019ll have to be prudent with every dollar spent this summer, and likely won\u2019t want to lock themselves into anything extending beyond next season.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/USATSI_28680635-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>D Brent Burns<\/a> \u2013 Burns is the primary suspect in the murder investigation of \u2018Father Time\u2019. Not only is he playing into his 40\u2019s, but he also hasn\u2019t missed a game in over a decade. He wasn\u2019t a liability out there either, as the former 2003 draftee registered 12 goals and 35 points in 82 games, averaging just under 19 minutes of ice time per game. The Avalanche could use all the defensive depth it can get its hands on, and if Burns intends to keep playing and is interested in signing another bonus-laden deal, it should be a no-brainer for Colorado to keep him around.<\/p>\n