Colorado needs to give Qualifying Offers to these players by the end of the month.
An important set of decisions that must be made in preparation for the next season is upcoming. That is to determine which restricted free agents will receive Qualifying Offers for the Colorado Avalanche to retain their negotiating rights. As always there are some tough calls leading up to the QO deadline, which is usually a couple days before NHL unrestricted free agency opens on July 1st.
Some organizational depth players might see a contract extension before this deadline in lieu of that Qualifying Offer especially if they hold arbitration rights as the front office wants to get ahead of the game on these players. We’ve already seen some of these contracts executed in previous months in the case of defensemen Keaton Middleton and Wyatt Aamodt. But the fate for the bulk of these players will be known at the QO deadline.
Easy Decision
Sam Malinski is the lone NHL player on this list and it’s a certainty that he will receive that qualifying offer to keep him property of the Avalanche. What follows from there is a bit murkier as Malinski has arbitration rights and is projected to get a raise to just under $2 million a year. If that’s not in Colorado’s budget, Malinski is an attractive trade chip to obtain more of that elusive roster depth (or as a sweetener to rid of problematic contracts) at a lower cost. But, the qualifying offer part is the easy decision.
Another interesting case is Trent Miner who has solidified himself as the organization’s third goaltender over the last season. When Justus Annunen did the same he was given an extension well ahead of his contract expiration but the Avalanche haven’t yet acted on Miner. Still, the fact that an extra veteran goaltender wasn’t brought in at the trade deadline was a vote of confidence for Miner and he’s continued to reward the organization with stellar play for the Colorado Eagles with a .918 save percentage and 2.12 Goals Against Average in a starting role. It would be a shame to let Miner go while he’s still under team control so the expectation is a qualifying offer will materialize for him.
Up in the Air
A theme for all the following forwards will be healthy scratches in the AHL playoffs and unfortunately Jean-Luc Foudy was one of them. In his fifth season in the AHL Foudy was one of the few NHL contracted players who did not get a recall to the Avalanche. The 23-year-old did put up 19 points in 48 Eagles games plus he scored a goal in one of six playoff games, so the offensive spark was still there but he’s just not going to get much more out of the AHL after 239 career games at that level. Concluding his ELC, Foudy does not have arbitration rights so he’s an easy candidate to extend with just a qualifying offer but after five years if there’s no future for him in the organization it’s best to part ways.
The theory that Jason Polin would provide a scoring touch in the AHL just never materialized as he scored just 29 points in two seasons with the Colorado Eagles. It was an improvement to reach 19 points in 39 games this season but Polin also never stayed healthy in his two years with the organization. Now just about to turn 26-years-old, the winger has arbitration rights if the Avalanche extend a qualifying offer. That’s usually a recipe for departure and the nine NHL contests Polin participated in probably isn’t enough of a resume to bring him back.
It’s pretty difficult to determine where Matt Stienburg stands in the organization at this point as he’s endured quite a tumultuous year. After getting a two-game NHL suspension in his Avalanche recall, Stienburg was sent down before serving his time and then sustained a significant injury his very first game back in the AHL which kept him out of action for five months. Upon his return Stienburg played just two regular season games and sat for the bulk of the postseason until he played in the Eagles’ final three contests. In total his AHL season comprised of eight games in which Stienburg scored three points. With arbitration rights looming, that might be the cue for Colorado to cut bait, although the combination of grit and nepotism might earn Stienburg one more contract.
Not Likely
As part of the return from the New York Islanders in the expensive Brock Nelson trade, some have considered bottom-six forward William Dufour a legitimate prospect in his short stay with the organization. As a third year pro with one career NHL game, the Avalanche never gave Dufour a look and then he fell out of favor in the Eagles lineup playing in just five games since the start of April including one playoff contest. In total, the 23-year-old suited up for 13 Eagles game and scored four points. While a couple months may have not been long enough to evaluate Dufour, there isn’t much evidence the Avalanche wanted to evaluate him in the first place.
One of Colorado’s many experiments this season was John Ludvig who was picked up on waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins in early October just before the 2024-25 season began. The left-shot defenseman only got in eight NHL games scoring two assists before the organization tried an AHL conditioning stint and then ultimately gave up, finally waiving Ludvig in January and then subsequently sent him to the Colorado Eagles when he wasn’t claimed for the remainder of the season. That’s not exactly a recipe for a contract extension and return despite the 24-year-old’s solid contributions for the Eagles with 12 points in 31 games in a shutdown role. Usually when the Avalanche send someone to Loveland never to return the writing is on the wall. Ludvig could return as a veteran for the Eagles as he did participate in all nine of their playoff games but the AHL free agent player pool is a deep one to choose from.
When the Avalanche executed a trade with the Ottawa Senators for Kevin Mandolese, a common thought was that he’d become the organization’s third goaltender. That never came to fruition especially as the netminder only played sparingly for the Colorado Eagles, earning just 19 starts with a .903 save percentage and 2.87 GAA. Mandolese did receive a couple recalls to the Avalanche to serve as emergency insurance but never got in a game despite officially dressing as the backup one time. Could Mandolese serve in this role again, sure but there’s usually some other player in a similar position that the organization would like to get a look at.
Who would you bring back next season? Let us know in the comments below.