ST. LOUIS — The NHL offseason has officially kicked into high gear. Teams are negotiating with their potential free agents, eyeing trades ahead of the draft, clearing salary cap space and preparing to shop the marketplace.
The defending champion Colorado Avalanche would love to keep St. Louis fan favorite Nazem Kadri and power forward Valeri Nichushkin from unrestricted free agency, but both drove up their value with peak seasons.
The ‘Lanche should shrug off the loss of second-line winger Andre Burakovsky to free agency, but losing goaltender Darcy Kuemper would really sting. He could attract huge offers in the marketplace.