- Nathan MacKinnon
Team: Colorado Avalanche Age: 20 Status: RFA
2015-2016 stats: GP: 72 G: 21 A: 31 P: 52 +/-: -4 PIM: 20
In all likelihood, Nathan MacKinnon will be back with the Avalanche next season. He is young, undeniably talented and fits their desired style of play like a glove. Not to mention, Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy’s at the top of the Avalanche organization is unquestionably linked to MacKinnon, who was the pair’s first-ever draft pick.
For the second straight season, MacKinnon failed to match the level of production that saw him win the Calder Trophy as a rookie. He also plays a very similar style to Matt Duchene. Still, franchise centers are hard to come by; and despite a few setbacks, that is still what MacKinnon has the potential to become.
It will be interesting to see how much MacKinnon signs for. With an internal budget in place, the Avalanche have been unwilling to cross the Duchene line ($6 million/per). Could he command more than that on the open market? Probably. Will the Avalanche be willing to go above that number? We’ll see. A bridge contract would make sense in this situation.
Estimated cost: $5.5-6.5 million per season.
