Here it goes. I like to be more interactive with my followers and this is an excellent way for me to do it. Look for more mailbags in the future!
This is easy. Val Nichushkin is at home in Russia with his wife. I received word that they departed Denver a week after the Avalanche’s playoff loss. It was within the last couple of weeks that Nichushkin has become active again on his social media, posting from St. Petersburg and Moscow. Last season, he did not join the team until right before training camp, but he was also healing from foot surgery.
There has been nothing floating around about Ben Meyers and his situation. The Avalanche gave him a qualifying offer, but there is no news on whether he accepted it. In the meantime, he cannot sign with another NHL team as his rights belong to Colorado. As for Pius Suter, the money is not there. Last season, Suter made $3.25 million. The Avalanche have only $2.8 million left in cap space, and that is to sign Meyers and another depth player.
To put it simply, yes. Last season was Oskar Olausson’s first full season in the American Hockey League. His time with the Barrie Colts and Oshawa Generals got him used to North American ice sizes the year before. This last year was to get him ready for the speed at the pro level. Olausson missed some time because of injury (as did seemingly every Eagle and Avalanche player), but this year he knows more about what to expect. The only thing I see hampering him is the change in the coaching staff. It should not be much of a change, but it could be enough to throw a young kid off.
I wish I could say yes to this, as he was one of my favorites growing up as well. Peter Budaj was a member of the developmental staff and that was all (a big one at that). There were members of the Eagles that got rings, but their names were not on the Cup, either. I know that Justus Annunen and Jayson Megna got rings but are not on the Cup. Everyone played their part in winning the Stanley Cup right down to the fans.
I think the Avalanche would make a move for a fourth-line winger, not a third. As it stands, Logan O’Connor and Miles Wood would be your third-line wingers. You would want to pick the market for a left wing and make their cap hit about $1 million or under. I would not mind Zach Parise (I know he is on the older side). He had 34 points last season and can be an enormous body on the fourth line with Minnesota paying most of his salary.
That depends on who you ask. I think the talent is there, it just is not in the Eagles’ system right now. There are a lot of picks who went to college or are still playing overseas. The hope is that they will sign an entry-level contract after their time in school or overseas. According to the NHL Network, they rank the Avalanche 21st in their development. As I tell my 4-year-old, you have to be patient.
The development of the young talent was taking a turn for the better with coach Greg Cronin at the helm in Loveland. Players like Nate Clurman and Jean-Luc Foudy have made tremendous strides under his watch. Colorado’s late picks have not panned out, and I believe it is because they do not want to spend a few years in the minor leagues, waiting for their turn. The Avalanche lost Drew Helleson because he knew that the chance of him breaking into the bottom pair on the Avalanche was minimal. The Avalanche are so stacked that it can kill the hope of a late pick to break in. I really do not see it changing in the near future.
I think the hope for Annunen is for him to take the starting role for the Eagles this year. With the help of Budaj, he has done nothing but get better. Annunen improved his save percentage of .893 in 2021–22 to .916 in 2022–23. He played more important games than Jonas Johansson in higher pressure situations. The plan is probably to have him be backup in 2023–24 for the Avalanche and get his feet a little more wet there.
If the Avalanche do, it will probably be a fourth-line winger or a someone they can sign to a two-way contract.