Avalanche shore up defense with de Haan, Brannstrom, MacDonald

After the NHL Draft, free agency and other offseason moves, NHL.com is examining where each team stands in preparation for the 2024-25 regular season, which starts Oct. 4. Today, the Colorado Avalanche:

2023-24 season: 50–25-7, third in Central Division; lost in Western Conference Second Round

Key arrivals

Calvin de Haan, D: The 33-year-old signed a one-year contract July 1 and brings NHL experience to the third defense pair. He had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 59 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season, averaging 16:37 of ice time. … Erik Brannstrom, D: The 24-year-old, who signed a one-year contract July 2, had 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 76 games for the Ottawa Senators last season and averaged 16:35 of ice time. He’s expected to help fill out the third defense pair. ... Parker Kelly, F: The 25-year-old center signed a two-year contact July 1 and is expected to fill a bottom-six need after having 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 80 games for the Senators last season. ... Jacob MacDonald, D: The 31-year-old signed a two-year contract to return to the Avalanche on July 1; he played four seasons with the organization from 2019-23. He had nine points (seven goals, two assists) in 34 games for the San Jose Sharks last season and gives Colorado options on the back end.

Key departures

Andrew Cogliano, F: Announced his retirement June 21 after 17 seasons in the NHL and joined the Avalanche front office in a multi-faceted capacity. He had 19 points (six goals, 13 assists, in 75 games last season and five assists in 11 playoff games. Cogliano had 462 points (190 goals, 272 assists) in 1,294 NHL games and 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists) in 131 playoff games. … Sean Walker, D: Signed a five-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1 after joining the Avalanche on March 6 via a three-team trade. He had seven points (four goals, three assists) in 18 games with Colorado and 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in 63 games with the Philadelphia Flyers. … Jack Johnson, D: Signed a one-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 3. Johnson, who played seven seasons with Columbus from 2011-18, had 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 80 games with Colorado. … Zach Parise, F: Is expected to retire after signing with the Avalanche as a free agent Jan. 26. He said at the time it would be his last attempt to win the Stanley Cup. Parise had 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 30 games and three points (two goals, one assist) in 11 playoff games. He had 889 points (434 goals, 455 points) in 1,254 NHL games and 83 points (39 goals, 44 assists) in 122 playoff games.

On the cusp

Nikolai Kovalenko, F: The 24-year-old signed a two-year, entry-level contract on July 25, 2023, and made his NHL playoff debut on April 28. He finished minus-1 through two playoff games, averaging 6:48 of ice time. Kovalenko had 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 42 games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the Kontinental Hockey League last season. With a summer to prepare for the North American game, Kovalenko will be in prime position to challenge for a full-time spot on the roster during training camp. … Sam Malinski, D: Though the signings of de Haan, Brannstrom, and MacDonald complicate things for the 25-year-old this season, Malinski proved himself to be a capable defenseman when called upon last season, with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 23 games with Colorado with a plus-3 rating in 14:13 of ice time per game. He was third among defensemen with 27 points (five goals, 22 assists) in 46 games with Colorado of the American Hockey League. … Calum Ritchie, F: The 19-year-old signed a three-year, entry-level contract July 8 and will look to prove his value at the pro level during rookie camp and training camp this fall. Ritchie led Oshawa of the Ontario Hockey League in points (80) and assists (52) and was third in goals (28) in 50 games last season.

What they still need

Forward depth. It’s very likely the Avalanche will again start the season without captain Gabriel Landeskog, who is still rehabbing from cartilage replacement surgery on his right knee on May 10, 2023. Colorado also will be without forward Valeri Nichushkin until at least November due to suspension. Forward Logan O'Connor is coming off hip surgery and forward Artturi Lehkonen may not be ready for training camp following offseason shoulder surgery.

They said it

“Underneath it all, I think we both felt it's a marriage that works best with each other. And I'm not going to speak for Jonathan. I'm not privy to the other situations he may have had or not had early on in free agency. But the player has to want to come back, and I think he had a really good impact on our team, and from our coaches and everybody on the coaching side and Joe [Sakic] and myself, it just sort of was like round peg, round hole. And then, obviously with the year he had and he's a UFA, that's what makes it challenging. But when I spoke to Jonathan this morning and he said he was going to come back, it was a really good moment. And it certainly made our team better than when we didn't have him up on the board, that's for sure. ” -- Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland on forward Jonathan Drouin, who signed a one-year contract July 1 to remain with Colorado

Fantasy focus

Center Casey Mittelstadt has perhaps the highest fantasy value prior to a season in his NHL career entering his first full season with the Avalanche. He had 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 18 games with Colorado after being acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, with whom he had 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games. He benefits from possible exposure to wing Artturi Lehkonen if he centers their second line. Lehkonen had an NHL career-high 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 2022-23 with the Avalanche. Mittelstadt also has a major boost in fantasy value this season with a spot on their top power play unit; Colorado ranked fifth in the NHL with the man-advantage last season (24.5). -- Anna Dua

Projected lineup

Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Jonathan Drouin

Parker Kelly -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Mikko Rantanen

Miles Wood -- Ross Colton -- Logan O’Connor

Joel Kiviranta -- Jean-Luc Foudy -- Nikolai Kovalenko

Devon Toews -- Cale Makar

Samuel Girard -- Josh Manson

Calvin de Haan -- Erik Brannstrom

Alexandar Georgiev

Justus Annunen