On Monday, Denver was his with a hailstorm. This summer, the winds of change will blow through the Mile High City; at least when it comes to the Colorado Avalanche.
“There’s going to be a lot of turnover,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic told Altitude Sports Radio on Tuesday. “We’re going to get some younger guys in here. We’re expecting to be a much quicker team and a much more competitive team.”
You started to see some of that happen near the end of the 2016-17 campaign. Sakic mentioned J.T. Compher, Tyson Jost, as well as in-season acquisitions Sven Andrighetto and Matt Nieto (both will be restricted free agents{, along with “possibly” A.J. Greer. With those pieces around for a full season, Sakic is excited about what the future may hold.
That being said. there will likely be some changes. Sakic understands that the defense needs to be better.
One person Sakic plans to add is defensive prospect Andrei Mironov, though he said he is waiting for his official release from his KHL team before the Avalanche can officially announce anything.
Though the Avalanche figure to have over $18.5 million to spend (pending trades or buyouts), Sakic doesn’t expect the team wade too far into the free agent waters.
“We don’t anticipate, we’re not going to be players in free agency,” he said. “We want to grow our kids and keep the youth movement going, and try and develop and have them grow together.”
