The Colorado Avalanche could face some changes in their front office and behind the bench. Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights could shop a high-salaried veteran.
The curse of the Presidents' Trophy continues as the Colorado Avalanche capped a dominant regular season by being swept from the Western Conference final by the Vegas Golden Knights.
That bitterly disappointing outcome quickly sparked conjecture about the Avalanche's off-season plans.
Whether Chris MacFarland will be carrying out those plans remains to be seen. The Avalanche GM is a finalist for the Jim Gregory NHL General Manager of the Year Award. However, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic indicated that multiple reports claimed that MacFarland could depart to become the head of hockey operations for the Nashville Predators.
Lazerus also wondered what the future held for coach Jared Bednar. He's among the longest-serving active bench bosses in the league and guided the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in 2022. However, Lazerus noted that the Avs have since been eliminated twice in the first round, once in the second round and now from the Western Conference final.
Troy Renck of The Denver Post believes it's time for a coaching change. He recommended hiring the University of Denver's David Carle or former Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy, though the Golden Knights are unlikely to grant permission to speak with him.
Meanwhile, ESPN.com's Ryan S. Clark noted the Avalanche could need a new third defense pairing if they don't re-sign pending UFAs Brent Burns and Brett Kulak. He also speculated they could trade some of their depth players, such as Ross Colton, to free up cap space for other additions.
Speaking of the Golden Knights, we recently mentioned how their off-season salary cap crunch could make scoring right winger Pavel Dorofeyev a tempting target for an offer sheet. They must also re-sign UFA-eligible defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
Harman Dayal of The Athletic included the Golden Knights on his list of teams whose limited salary-cap space for next season could cost them a player.
Dayal noted that the Golden Knights could have a projected $12.5 million in cap space if sidelined defenseman Alex Pietrangelo remains on long-term injury reserve. They can also exceed the cap by 10 percent during the off-season but must be cap-compliant at the start of the 2026-27 regular season.
That won't leave much for the Golden Knights to re-sign Dorofeyev and Andersson. Dayal suggested that Tomas Hertl could become a cost-cutting trade candidate. They're carrying $6.75 million of his $8,137,500 cap hit through 2029-30, with the San Jose Sharks carrying the rest.
Dayal believes the high demand for centers could make the 32-year-old Hertl an enticing trade target. However, he has a three-team approved trade list, which could significantly hamper efforts to move him unless he's willing to expand it.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.