Logan O'Connor Contract Another Concern For Avalanche – Hockey Writers – Colorado Avalanche

There are a lot of moving parts with the salary cap for the Colorado Avalanche right now. They are trying to keep their core together for a Stanley Cup winning team in 2022. The reality is that the season is winding down in the rearview mirror, and contracts are expiring. Keeping all those players around can be somewhat difficult within the salary cap.

The team did a good job of renewing the deals of several of its stars – extending the contracts of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen, and captain Gabriel Landeskog (although he hasn't played in two months). However, role players are key to that success, too, and Logan O'Connor emerged as a consistent six-point force for the Avalanche in 2023-24. The club already brought Jonathan Drouin back for another season after his first season, and they should look to lock O'Connor up for a few more seasons.

O'Connor's Impact With the Avalanche

O'Connor was a standout at the University of Denver, and was signed by the Avalanche in the summer of 2018 as an undrafted free agent. After playing with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League, he made his NHL debut on New Year's Eve 2018. He played in just 43 games over his first three seasons, but went on to play in 81 games for Colorado during their most recent championship run. campaign in 2021-22. He tallied eight goals and 16 assists that season, emerging as the team's penalty killer.

O'Connor was one of four Avs players to appear in all 82 games in 2022-23, posting almost identical stats to last season (nine goals, 17 assists). Last season it looked like it would be O'Connor's season before he was sidelined in March due to knee surgery. In 57 games, he posted a career-high 13 goals on his way to 25 points. Most notably, he scored three short-handed goals – all in a span of three games – as his penalty-killing prowess has been on display for most of the season.

Related: Colorado Avalanche's Logan O'Connor Rises to the Event

This was a great undrafted acquisition for Colorado that improved every single season. The move was unfortunate, especially since the Avalanche were without one of their top penalty killers throughout the playoffs. O'Connor averaged a few seconds less than 15 minutes of ice time last season, and those minutes didn't pan out. The Avs had the 12th best penalty kill last season at 79.9 percent. That number dropped by nearly a full five percent to 74 percent in the games O'Connor did not play. He may not make the All-Star Game like some of his teammates, but O'Connor's impact can be found in almost every box. write his name and it appears.

Avs Face Rantanen Problem Again

The most important order of business over the next 12 months will be getting star player Mikko Rantanen to stay in an Avalanche uniform. Rantanen is also in the final year of his contract – paying a whopping $9.25 million this season. The bad news for Colorado is that the number will only go up. After back-to-back seasons with over 100 points, Rantanen is emerging as one of the best offensive players in the NHL, and in franchise history. It may take some magic from general manager Chris MacFarland, but that contract weighs heavily on Colorado's future.

That contract would be a huge number, which means little for a team that already has three players making more than $9 million per season. O'Connor and Rantanen are at completely different pay levels at this point in their careers, and keeping one shouldn't mean getting rid of the other. The Avs can certainly afford to keep a proven role player like O'Connor in the mix — and they probably should. He's another acquisition by Colorado during Joe Sakic's tenure as general manager, and it's important to keep him in the fold as O'Connor is still in the prime of his career.

Related: Avalanche Need Rantanen Extension Before Offseason Ends

Led by the likes of MacKinnon and Makar, the Avalanche should continue to compete for years to come. That changes a lot if the team can't get Rantanen back. There is also the question of whether Landeskog will ever return to his previous form, and no one will be able to predict anything that will happen to Nichushkin after his last few seasons. Addressing Rantanen's contract soon will help clarify some of that picture and bring some stability.

Keeping Colorado's Competitive Window Open

Despite all the uncertainty surrounding Colorado this offseason, the team still looks dangerous heading into the 2024-25 campaign. It is after this season that more questions will arise if some of these contracts are not completed before the puck drops. O'Connor has been a solid player in the bottom six over the past three seasons, and it looks like there could be more from him.

Bringing O'Connor back won't break the bank. He's only making $1.05 million this season, and that number should go up a bit. His continued improvement over the course of his NHL career has shown that he could be a good investment to bolster Colorado's depth. Along with your core of stars, guys like O'Connor are what every team wants – a solid player who fits your scheme and delivers when those stars need a rest. He was threatening to post his first 20-goal campaign last season, and that's a lot for a bottom six player.

Even though O'Connor has never been better than he is now, that's a player the Avalanche need in their ranks. He fits their style, is their best player on the man down, and brings great speed and power when they play 5-on-5. O'Connor brings everything the Avs ask of him and understands his role on the roster. We see role players as difference makers throughout the postseason and at 27, O'Connor has the makeup to be one of those players for years to come.