Avalanche had to pay Brock Nelson, but what’s next might be even more interesting

The Colorado Avalanche had to pay center Brock Nelson.

That much was clear.

The Avs gave Nelson a three-year contract on Wednesday, worth a reported $7.5 million per season. He’ll be the second-line center in Colorado pretty much for the rest of his career. The 33-year-old is chasing a Stanley Cup ring and doing it with the Avalanche makes sense.

GM Chris MacFarland gave up a lot to acquire Nelson at the trade deadline, including top prospect Calum Ritchie as well as a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a third-rounder in 2028. Nelson had never played professionally without wearing an Islanders sweater until this past March.

In a statement released by the Avs on Wednesday after the new contract was inked, Nelson said “we knew this was where we wanted to stay” after his experience in Colorado. 

Yes, the Avalanche had a tremendously disappointing first-round exit to the Dallas Stars, but letting Brock Nelson walk for nothing simply wasn’t an option. After giving up Ritchie and the draft picks, this deal needed to get done.

Kudos to MacFarland for making it happen, but what goes down next might be even more interesting. The Avs now have just $1.2 million in cap space, and free agency doesn’t start until next month. Surely, more moves are coming.

There are three names the need to be on the radar of Avalanche fans, plus a fourth dark-horse, that could get traded. Defenseman Samuel Girard will count for $5 million against the salary cap next year. Defenseman Josh Manson will count for $4.5 million and forward Ross Colton for $4 million. All three are candidates to possibly be dealt.

The NHL isn’t like the NFL — the salary cap is a hard one and there aren’t a lot of tricks to dance around it. MacFarland will need more room to fill out his roster. At least one of Girard, Manson and Colton is probably gone, if not two of them.

But a fourth name to keep an eye on is winger Martin Necas. He’s due $6.5 million in the final year of his contract. And the top prize from the stunning Mikko Rantanen trade was reportedly not “overly thrilled” with how his time in Colorado went after coming over from Carolina.

It’s hard to imagine not being thrilled playing with Nathan MacKinnon, but the superstar is also notoriously hard on his teammates when he believes they could do more. Maybe Necas can’t handle the heat? It’s speculation, but a fair theory.

Regardless, while re-signing Brock Nelson might be the Avalanche’s “biggest” move of the offseason, there’s definitely more on the horizon.

Seeing how it all shakes out will be fascinating to watch.

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