It's been a relatively busy offseason for the Colorado Avalanche, both through free agency and the trade route in the summer of 2023. The Avs didn't have a ton of cap space to work with, but GM Chris MacFarland managed to complete some tidy business nonetheless. The team acquired Ryan Johansen from the Nashville Predators to replace JT Compher at 2C and brought in Ross Colton from the Tampa Bay Lightning to improve the middle-six. Those are two moves that will go a long way in shoring up the depth that was glaringly missing against the Seattle Kraken last season.

Acquiring Johansen and Colton were two good pieces of business from the Avalanche brass, but they weren't done there. MacFarland also improved the squad in free agency, signing Miles Wood and Jonathan Drouin to offset the offseason losses of Compher, Matt Nieto, Alex Newhook and Lars Eller. As well, the team brought back two important pieces in young star Bowen Byram on the back end and veteran Andrew Cogliano up front.

Although the Avalanche weren't able to make it out of the first round in their Stanley Cup defense in 2023, this is a team that will again be knocking on the door of Western Conference supremacy in 2023-24. Let's break it down.

Signed Miles Wood to six-year deal

Miles Wood received one of the longest contracts in all of free agency when he inked a six-year, $15 million deal with the Avalanche on July 1. The contract figures to keep him in Denver for the better part of the 2020s, and he is the poster child for the team remaking its bottom-six forward group.

The 27-year-old former New Jersey Devil certainly isn't the flashiest signing; he scored only 27 points in 76 games in 2022-23, playing only around 12 minutes per game. But he's a high-energy, physical player that will improve the Avs over next few seasons, and he's known for his speed. That obviously fits as Colorado is a team known for its excellent skating.

“He clearly has an Avs identity for how we want to play the game,” MacFarland said shortly after Wood's signing. “He's got a little bit of a wrecking-ball philosophy with how he plays the game. He's a good net-front guy that we feel is going to fit.”

For $2.5 million per year, Wood figures to be a good piece of the third line, likely with Ross Colton, next season. And with MacFarland making it clear that the long term helped lower the average annual value of the pact, it's a contract that has the potential to age well.

Signed Jonathan Drouin to one-year deal

Jonathan Drouin badly needed a fresh start after his production took a nosedive with the Montreal Canadiens, and he'll get that on a one-year flier with the Avalanche. Locking up Drouin to a $825,000 contract was a huge win for the team. This is a player who scored 53 points in 73 games playing with Nikita Kucherov back in 2016-17, and he scored that amount again just a few years ago with the Habs.

It's a gamble to think he can return to his old form, but put him as the top-line left winger with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen and you'll soon find out. Drouin and Mack won the Memorial Cup together with the Halifax Mooseheads, and it would make a lot of sense to put them together for the beginning of the season.

Johnny Drouin has huge offensive potential alongside MacKinnon and Rantanen, and securing him for under $1 million is a massive win for Chris MacFarland, who called the signing a “low-risk, high-reward type of situation that hopefully will pay dividends for both.”

Brought back Bowen Byram, Andrew Cogliano

Getting restricted free agent Bowen Byram locked up was a priority for MacFarland this offseason, and he did so at a solid bridge deal worth $3.85 million AAV over two years. Injuries have really hindered the former No. 4 overall pick, but when healthy, he is one of the best young defenseman in the league and worth much more than his AAV for the next two seasons. If he can stay healthy, it's a steal for the Avs.

Andrew Cogliano is nowhere near the player he once was, but he's still a responsible bottom-six player and leader in Denver. He's recovering from a fractured neck suffered in Game 6 against the Kraken, but he will be a key member of the leadership group with Erik Johnson now a Buffalo Sabre and captain Gabriel Landeskog not expected to play at all in 2023-24.

Final Grade: B

It's been a very solid if unspectacular start to free agency for Chris MacFarland's team, and the Stanley Cup winning general manager might not be done: “We feel like we're in a good spot, but we're always looking to see if we can get better.”

Colorado is again a wagon in the Western Conference and should be considered one of the top teams in the NHL next season. They have star power at all three positions led by MacKinnon/Rantanen, Cale Makar and Alexander Georgiev, and now the depth has been improved with the signings of Wood and Drouin, as well as the acquisitions of Colton and Johansen.

There are still a few moves that could be made, but this is a team that could absolutely make a deep playoff run again next year.