And so it begins — later than expected.
The Avalanche has so many off-season moves to make, I believed it would have begun long before last weekend’s draft. But save for the spring signings of goaltenders Pavel Francouz and Adam Werner, the Avs had been going about their business in a relatively quiet manner.
They didn’t make a trade during the draft — just following through with their eight picks — and they still have 11 restricted free agents to deal with before/after unrestricted free agency begins July 1, the day I expect them to sign a top-six forward as they continue to acknowledge that the future is now.