While the first couple of days in July are a whirlwind for player movement and roster construction, the NHL collectively downshifts several gears by the second week of the month.
Once the draft, a couple of days of free agency and development camps are complete, it’s time for the real offseason to begin. For the players who remain without a contract, this can be a trying time.
When this period of relative roster stagnation began, the Avalanche did not have enough NHL forwards. With Logan O’Connor expected to miss the start of the 2025-26 season, the Avs spent July with nine healthy NHL forwards, plus a guy with no North American experience, Zakhar Bardakov, expected to compete for one of the open spots.
It took a while, but the Avs found the depth they needed. Colorado welcomed Joel Kiviranta back on a one-year contract on Aug. 8. Twelve days later, the Avs added Victor Olofsson on a one-year pact.
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“The summer’s not over until it’s over,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Chris (MacFarland) and his staff were talking to Olofsson and Kivi and staying in touch. Sometimes things take time. July 4, yeah, we might not have our full team yet, but we didn’t start until Sept. 17.”
Both players thought this summer was going to go differently. Kiviranta, in his second season with the Avs, set career highs with 16 goals, 23 points and 79 games.
He became one of Bednar’s trusted role players and found a home on the club’s third line after all of the roster shuffling. It was the type of season that could have earned him a multi-year contract, along with a significant raise from his previous league-minimum salary.
Even Bednar said at one point during training camp that he was surprised Kiviranta didn’t sign somewhere early in free agency.
“It was a lot of waiting, hoping that something will happen earlier,” Kiviranta said. “A couple years ago, I went all the way with the PTO (player-tryout contract), and the season started and I was still without a contract. I didn’t think too much about it. Of course, I was hoping to get something done earlier, but it is comfortable to come back here.
“I felt like I leveled up last year.”
Kiviranta has spent much of training camp on the fourth line, mostly next to Bardakov and Parker Kelly. He’s proven to the Avs that he can be a steady player in a variety of roles. This will be a big season to prove he can produce at that level again, with another round of free agency looming.
How can he replicate what he did last year with the Avs?
“It’s just what you have to do on a daily basis,” Kiviranta said. “There’s no magic tricks or certain things you need to do to get something to happen. It’s just having fun and working hard.”
Olofsson made the NHL’s all-rookie team in 2020 and scored 28 goals in 2022-23. Then he had a rough final year with the Buffalo Sabres and signed a one-year, $1.075 million contract with Vegas last season.
That was a significant pay cut from the $4.75 million he made each of the previous two years in Buffalo. Olofsson had a bounce-back year with the Golden Knights, scoring 15 goals and 29 points in 54 games.
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But, like it did for Kiviranta, July came and went without a new contract.
“I definitely had to be patient,” Olofsson said. “The further the summer kind of went, it was in the back of my mind. It was like, ‘I need to get a deal done soon here.’ I would have liked something earlier to have a little bit longer time to prepare myself. It’s all of the practical things outside of hockey, like where to live and moving and all that. It takes a little bit of time.
“It was a little tough waiting as long as I did, but I’m very happy I ended up here. It feels like a great fit.”
Olofsson has spent most of training camp on the third line, alongside Jack Drury and Ross Colton. He also looks likely to get a chance on the club’s second power-play unit, likely on the right flank. One of Olofsson’s biggest strengths is his shot, particularly from that spot with the man advantage.
He also earned external praise for his defensive improvement once he joined the Golden Knights, which is something he’ll need to gain Bednar’s trust.
“I think that was a really good step for me last year in Vegas. I think that really pushed me to become a better player overall,” Olofsson said. “I’ve thought of myself as an offensive guy, but I never thought that I was like … terrible. I always think I’ve done the job. I think I work hard out there, and I’m trying to do whatever I can defensively.”
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