Avalanche Free Agent Frenzy

Good morning all! The NHL offseason hits it's pinnacle today as the top Free Agents are finally available for overpayment.

Coverage is on NHL Net and will also be streamed on NHL.com starting at 11:00am in the ET, 9:00am in the Mountain.

The Avs may or may not be in a contract crunch with 37 signed players and perhaps as many as 10 RFA Qualifying Offers tendered. Naturally there's been no comment from the Avs management about the QOs so we're a little in the dark about how many spots are open. If all those QOs sign, there are 3 spots left. Hopefully they remember to leave one open for our new 1st round draft pick Mikko Rantanen in case he makes the squad out of training camp.

Just so you know, the Avs badly need a defenseman. Preferably left-handed or able to play on the left side, and preferably really good. The names thrown around recently include Andrej Sekera, Paul Martin, Francois Beauchemin, Christian Ehrhoff, Cody Franson and Johnny Oduya, who may have been spotted in Denver on Monday.

A strong bottom-6 forward or second D would be nice, there's a few available but I don't get the feeling the Avs are interested right now. Maybe when the bargains start popping up in a few weeks

Traditionally we see some AHL/Depth signings today but with the RFA situation up in the air it's difficult to get a handle on what we might need. Might not see any.

* * * * *

Ok sports fans, what do you see the beloved Avalanche doing today? Mike put up a Ballers and Shot Callers yesterday so be sure to get your picks in before the clock strikes Noon ET.

What major blunders do you see GMs making this afternoon?

The media seem to feel that the little-used RFA Offer Sheet strategy will finally come into play this year. Who's gonna get sheeted? And by what team?