Avalanche unload Ross Colton to Predators for two picks and a goalie

The offseason has officially started for the Colorado Avalanche.

Colton was due to make $4 million next season, so this looks like a salary dump from team president and current GM Joe Sakic.

The Avalanche were due to have about $3 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia, but that number is now closer to $7 million. Sakic said last week he was open to trades and Colton was the first to go.

After being inactive for two games against the Los Angeles Kings to open the playoffs, Colton actually played well for Colorado in the postseason. He finished with two goals and three assists, good for five points in 11 games. The Avs went 8-1 in the first two-rounds then were shockingly swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

Ironically, this is Sakic and former Avs GM Chris MacFarland doing business. MacFarland left the team to become the president and GM in Nashville earlier this month.

And if the name Chrona sounds familiar, it should. He played collegiately at the University of Denver from 2019-23 and went 73-34-5 with a .914  save percentage, a 2.20 goals against average and 13 shutouts over 114 games. He was a member of the 2021-22 national championship team with the Pioneers. 

The 25-year-old Chrona played for the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals last season and registered a 9-11-3 record. He provides more goaltending depth for the Colorado Eagles, with Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood both still under contract with the Avalanche.

We’ll see if more moves are coming, but Sakic has struck his first deal back in the GM chair. The fact it was with the Predators and MacFarland feels fitting.