It will be hard to top the excitement of day one, but we'll be here just the same.
I'm a tad conflicted. I firmly believe that the Colorado Tumbleweeds need to add some talent. But there's not a ton of names coming off the board so far that I'm really upset at missing out on. Michalek and Foster are probably the two most notable. Maybe Volchenkov, given his relatively favorable cap number ($4.25). Tallinder too. There's still people out there who can improve the team. Willie Mitchell, Andy Sutton, that Kovalchuk fella. The question is whether GM Greg Sherman is willing - or allowed - to pull the trigger.
Avalanche Signings:
G Jason Bacashihua - (unofficial) 1 year, $500,000, 2-way
Potential Avalanche Targets:
F Ilya Kovalchuk
F Alexander Frolov
F Matthew Lombardi - Nashville Predators, 3 years, $3.5 million
F Ray Whitney - Phoenix Coyotes, 2 years, $3 million
F Raffi Torres
F Lee Stempiak
F Alex Ponikarovsky
F Yan Stastny
D Paul Martin - Pittsburgh Penguins, 5 years, $5 million
D Dan Hamhuis - Vancouver Canucks, 6 years, $4.5 million
D Anton Volchenkov - New Jersey Devils, 6 years, $4.25 million
D Zbynek Michalek - Pittsburgh Penguins, 5 years, $4 million
D Willie Mitchell
D Kurt Foster - Edmonton Oilers, 2 years, $1.8 million
D Andy Sutton
D Pavel Kubina - Tampa Bay, 2 years, $3.85 million
D Henrick Tallinder - Anaheim Ducks, 3 years, $3.75 million
D Toni Lydman
D Jon Scott - Chicago Blackhawks, 1 year, $1 million
2009-2010 Avalanche Players:
F Darcy Tucker
F Marek Svatos
F Matt Hendricks
F Stephane Yelle
F Chris Durno
F Brian Willsie
F Darren Haydar
F Julian Talbot
F Codey Burki
F Marty Sertich (signed with Swiss NLB)
D Brett Clark
D Ruslan Salei
D Brian Fahey
D Derek Peltier
D Wes O'Neill
D Brett Skinner
G Tyler Weiman
G John Grahame
Other Notable Former Avs:
F Paul Kariya
F Alex Tanguay - Calgary Flames, 1 year, $1.7 million
F Teemu Selanne
F Owen Nolan
F Brad May
F Tyler Arnason
D Derek Morris - Phoenix Coyotes, 4 years, $2.75 million
D Martin Skoula
G Jose Theodore
G Andrew Raycroft - Dallas Stars, 2 years, $650 k