The Colorado Avalanche had a busy day on Sunday. It started out with clearing some cap space, then signing some depth pieces for the future. Colorado was going to have a real salary cap issue if Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin both came back this season. The first transaction would take care of that. The second transaction, the signing of Nikita Prishchepov, will take care of some much needed depth up the middle for the Avalanche. Both transactions set Colorado up for success in the future. Here are my breakdowns of what happened on this busy Sunday for the Colorado Avalanche.
We have signed forward Nikita Prishchepov to a three-year entry level contract.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/VLIX4xrhSk
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 6, 2024
The trade
Yesterday the Avalanche picked up John Ludvig on waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Everyone knew it was going to lead to something else. Well, that happened just over 24 hours later with a trade. Colorado traded Erik Brännström to the Vancouver Canucks for Tucker Poolman and a 2025 fourth round pick. Vancouver will keep twenty percent of Poolman’s salary ($500,000) and Colorado will place him on long-term injured reserve. This will free up about two million dollars for the Avalanche. Poolman has not played a game since October 2022 because of a head injury and his career could very well be over.
Olausson (closest) and Prishchepov (both in white) are paired together for the moment. Prishchepov has had a little trouble keeping the puck on his stick but showing some speed. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/NcGrgycQNz
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) October 2, 2024
Nikita Prishchepov
Only a couple of hours later, Colorado signed Nikita Prishchepov to an entry-level contract. He joined Colorado after being drafted this last summer in the seventh round, 217th overall. Prishchepov jumped out during the Rookie Faceoff and continued to impress during training camp. He was the only player going into the camp with no contract and made it obvious that he wanted to earn one. He showed he can be strong, have a great foundation for the game and play at the dot well. However, Prishchepov is still a very raw prospect. He will report to the Colorado Eagles to start the season.
The shootout thread!
Nikita Prishchepov#Avs #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/kzNiw09nx5— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) July 5, 2024
Conclusion
Overall, the Avalanche came out on top today. They cleared room in a salary cap that will be tight throughout the season and gained a draft pick. This also makes Sam Malinski’s spot more secure as the sixth defenseman. Colorado also secured some much needed depth in Prishchepov. He will get some more time to develop under head coach Aaron Schneekloth and associate coach Dan Hinote. I am impressed with the moves that Colorado has done today and it will only help the salary cap all season long.