Save the Dates - Welcome to Offseason

With the Stanley Cup in the hands of the Penguins the NHL offseason officially begins today. There are a host of deadlines for action coming up so the Avs have to stop clearing out their camera roll for a second and actually do stuff.

Today - 6/12

By 5pm ET today clubs have to have their requests in to players with No-Movement Clauses to waive them. The players have until Friday to agree.

Thursday - 6/15

First buyout window opens. From here until the end of the month the teams can buy out undesirable players’ contracts. Ryan already has a great article on who the Avs should target here.

Also, this is the first deadline for teams to elect salary arbitration with Restricted Free Agents. It’s a rare and aggressive move, we saw it in the last Ryan O’Reilly contract negotiation but it’s unlikely the Avs use it this year.

Saturday - 6/17

By 5pm ET clubs must submit their expansion draft protected lists to the league.

This topic has been beaten to death for months now but it will find new life this week for sure.

Sunday - 6/18

At 10am ET the NHL will release the expansion draft protected lists.

At this point we will have something completely different to beat to death. For years.

Also beginning on this date, the Knights can begin negotiating with any team’s unprotected RFAs and UFAs. If they end up striking a deal that will constitute their expansion draft pick from that team.

Wednesday - 6/21

At 10am Vegas will submit it’s expansion draft choices to the league. Unfortunately for all of us the list won’t be released until the cheesy NHL awards show later that night. In my opinion this is totally inappropriate and a ridiculous imposition on both fans and the media. This is a) pretty damn important all by itself and b) something most fans have been dreading for years. Hopefully the media finds a way to cover the XD picks while blowing off the meaningless awkward speeches and goofball outfits of the made-for-TV miasma.

Friday - 6/23

Day 1 of the NHL Entry Draft. First round only, ICYMI the Avs as of right now are picking at #4

Saturday - 6/24

Day 2 of the NHL Entry Draft. Rounds two through seven, the meat and potatoes day. Avs have 6 picks here beginning with the first of the day at #32.

Sunday - 6/25

Deadline for qualifying offers to Restricted Free Agents, the Avs have 12:

Andrighetto, Nieto, Grigorenko, Weircioch, Zadorov, Siemens, Grimaldi, Girard, Gelinas, Elson, Bourke, Henley

All of these fellows except for Zadorov, Girard & Bourke are arbitration-eligible.

Also on this day UFAs may begin to negotiate with other teams but contract signings are out until July

Monday - 6/26

RFAs may begin negotiating with other teams - unqualified RFAs for contracts and qualified RFAs for offer sheets, which are never used so don’t worry about it.

Friday - 6/30

First buyout period ends.

Also, by this date the NHL and Players Association will set the Cap Floor & Ceiling for 2017-18

All NHL contracts not carrying over to next season end at midnight on this day.

Saturday - 7/1

Free Agency begins. All unsigned players and unqualified RFAs become free agents and the usual mayhem and mistakes follow.

Beyond

There are other dates like the player-elected arbitration window and the 2nd buyout window, deadline for college-drafted players like Will Butcher to sign, arbitration hearing dates, etc but this is the bulk of the off-season’s action. By 3 weeks from today, we’ll know what the Avs are going to look like next season for the most part. Scary.