The Colorado Avalanche management team will be faced with a lot of decisions to make this summer as several players' contracts are up.

Eight players on the Colorado Avalanche will become unrestricted free agents on July 1, which could drastically change the landscape of the team.

Six forwards are on the list: J.T. Compher, Lars Eller, Evan Rodrigues, Andrew Cogliano, Darren Helm and Matt Nieto, according to puckpedia.com.

The obvious losses on that list would be Helm, age 36, and Cogliano, age 35. But not necessarily due to age. Helm was out with a lower-body injury for the majority of the season. He played only 11 games in the regular season and one game in the postseason. Cogliano only missed three games in the regular season and played four games in the playoffs before he broke his neck in Game 6 against the Seattle Kraken.

Compher elevated his game this season in all 82 regular season games he played. He ended the season with 52 points, 19 more than his previous season, and more than doubled his number of power-play points. The 28-year-old was crucial in faceoffs and averaged more than 15 minutes of ice time per game. 

Rodrigues was acquired to try and fill the hole left after Nazem Kadri signed with the Calgary Flames in the offseason after winning the Stanley Cup. He signed a one-year contract with the Avs on Sept. 12, 2022. While the 29-year-old didn’t put up the numbers Kadri did, he was a workhorse regularly shifting lines in a season plagued with injuries and inconsistency.

Nieto and Eller joined Colorado past the midway mark of the season. Nieto managed nine points in 36 games, while Eller notched seven in 24 games. As it’s always difficult for players to find a groove coming into a team midseason, it seemed as though neither forward was able to find that fit and dig in.

Both Johnsons, Erik and Jack, are slated to be UFAs. EJ is 35 years old and has suffered an array of injuries throughout his career, but brought size and grit in the 13 seasons he’s been with the team. He has also proven to be a solid veteran presence in a young locker room over the past few years. JJ is 36 years old and was re-acquired by the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 26. He played 25 regular-season games and three playoff games but also missed a few due to injury.

Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook are both restricted free agents coming off of entry-level contracts. Denis Malgin is also an RFA and is eligible for arbitration.

Avalanche salary cap could be an issue

Nathan MacKinnon signed a massive eight-year deal worth $12.6 million per year which kicks in for the 2023-24 season. That is double what he made this season, so the team will need to make some changes in order to afford that price tag.

Another contract the Avalanche has to take into consideration is Devon Toews, who becomes a UFA after next season. He’s currently making $4.1 million at 29 years old but has proven to be an essential part of the team’s defensive core. 

Gabriel Landeskog's future is also an impact on the team's salary cap as his $7 million per year would still be in long-term injured reserve should he not be ready to play next season. 

The salary cap for the 2023-24 season is expected to increase by $1 million but according to Spotrac.com, the Avalanche have $13,225,000 in salary cap space. With the pending UFAs, the organization will face a lot of deals and decisions to make this offseason.