Avalanche offseason focused heavily on stacking defense

The Colorado Avalanche have a stacked blueline entering the 24-25 season and with the signing of Oliver Kylington, Colorado’s depth has received an extra boost.

The Colorado Avalanche appear to be a defensive powerhouse entering the 2024-25 season.

Earlier this week, Colorado announced they had signed 27-year-old defenseman Oliver Kylington to a one-year, $1.05 million contract for next season.

It’s a low-risk, high-reward scenario for the Avalanche. Kylington is the quintessential Avalanche defenseman, a speed demon eager to jump into the action. If you’re looking for a Niklas Kromwall type of fellow, this is not your guy, but at the price, it’s a reasonable gamble to take.

Until signing with Colorado, Kylington had spent his entire NHL career with the Calgary Flames. He had a career-best campaign in 2021-22 when he posted 31 points in 73 games. However, he did not touch the ice at all the following season due to mental health issues. Kylington returned in a limited season the following year, picking up 8 points in 33 appearances.

Mental Health A Concern?

The Avalanche have dealt with many issues over the last couple of seasons, with Valeri Nichushkin contributing to a large part of it. There’s no doubt the star forward is incredibly talented, but he’s also just as equally troubled. During Colorado’s second-round series against the Dallas Stars several months ago, the 29-year-old failed a random drug test and was subsequently placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, resulting in at least a six-month suspension without pay. This came just four months after he entered the program in January and a year following a bizarre incident involving a heavily intoxicated woman in his hotel during the first-round playoff series against the Seattle Kraken last year.

Let’s say Nichushkin learns his lesson and contributes more than headaches. That’s wishful thinking, but let’s put the thought out there. He could be a resourceful tool for Sweden’s Kylington should they have a good working relationship. Samuel Girard is another player who would do well in a role of that nature. Girard, 26, took some time away from the game this past season as he battled anxiety, depression, insomnia, and alcohol abuse. You’re improving depth on the ice and bonding off the ice. If everything works well, mental health shouldn’t be a significant issue for the Avalanche this coming season.

Stacked

Now for the fun stuff. This team appears to be stacked defensively. Kylington is the third depth defenseman the Avalanche have signed to contracts this summer, including Calvin de Haan and Erik Brannstrom. Furthermore, you have established players in Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Girard, Josh Manson, and Sam Malinski. This is a solid group of men, but someone may have to be the odd man out come the beginning of training camp, which starts Sept. 20.

I think Kylington would fit best on the third-line pairing with de Haan. A young player and a solid tenured veteran could serve as a good duo. de Haan has been in the NHL for 12 seasons and has played with mostly high-caliber clubs in the New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kylington is basically the Swede version of Byram. Hopefully, that turns out to be a good comparison.

It’ll be interesting, but so far, I’m impressed with Colorado’s moves this offseason, especially on defense.