Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 The Colorado Avalanche got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, so they will certainly be active in free agency to bolster their roster, in an attempt to build a championship roster. Heading into the Free Agency period, the Colorado Avalanche has about 25.5 million in cap space to spend, but before going out and signing new players, they will need to take care of some of their own free agents. Colorado has 9 UFAs; notable UFAs include Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Saad, Pierre Eduoard-Bellemare, Devan Dubnyk, Matt Calvert and Patrik Nemeth. The Avs also have 3 RFAs; notable RFAs include Cale Makar and Tyson Jost. Devan Dubnyk, Matt Calvert, Patrik Nemeth don't get re-signed, so they walk to free agency. The top two UFAs that Colorado needs to re-sign are Gabriel Landeskog and Philipp Grubauer. Landeskog is the Captain of the team, so he should be the first priority; the Avs should pay Landeskog anywhere from 6-8 million for a long-term contract. Landeskog...

The 2011 NHL Draft was quite strange because the 1st round was faily underwelming and there were still some great star talent in the draft like Nikita Kucherov, Johnny Gaudreau, Jonathan Huberdeau, Gabriel Landeskog, Mark Scheifele, Mika Zibanejad, Dougie Hamilton. *Check out my previous blogs for other Redrafs* 1. Edmonton Oilers-(RW) Nikita Kucherov Original pick: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins The Best player in this draft is Nikita Kucherov, there isn't another player in this draft that has even come close to hitting the 100 point mark, and Kucherov has done in twice and in back to back years. On top of his regular season accolades, Kucherov also has 29 goals and 61 points in 65 playoff games. The Edmonton Oilers will soon have one of the best powerplays in the league that features Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Seguin and Logan Couture. 2. Colorado Avalanche-(LW) Johnny Gaudreau Original pick: Gabriel Landeskog As great as Gabriel Landeskog has been for the Colorado Avalanche...