Avalanche weigh Minnesota’s deal as they negotiate with Jack Drury

The Colorado Avalanche’s offseason negotiation posture is being shaped by two parallel realities: they need to keep key depth in place, and they have limited financial flexibility as restricted free agency work continues. Among the most immediate names is forward Jack Drury, a restricted free agent the Avalanche will have to resolve this summer if they want stability in the bottom portion of the lineup. A new contract announced by the Minnesota Wild for Michael McCarron is now part of the comparative market environment Colorado can point to when it discusses a comparable role and term with Drury.

Drury, 26, is positioned as a key depth piece for Colorado, and the Yahoo Sports report frames him as a player whose on-ice work gives the Avalanche something they would struggle to replace quickly. The same report ties the urgency to the Avalanche’s cap room, describing it as just under $3 million. That number, even before any further moves, makes the Drury decision less about “whether” Colorado values him and more about “how” it can fit him under the cap while still addressing other roster needs.

Minnesota’s move came first in this sequence. Earlier in the day, the Wild re-signed pending unrestricted free agent Michael McCarron to a six-year, $20 million extension that carries a $3.33 million cap hit. The agreement includes a no-movement clause for the first three seasons and then a modified 15-team no-movement structure for the final three seasons, reflecting the organization’s desire to lock in a long-term identity player for its bottom six.

The report also provides relevant performance context for McCarron’s value proposition. It notes he began the season with the Nashville Predators, producing 12 points in 59 games, before being traded to Minnesota for a 2028 second-round pick. With the Wild, the report says he tallied five points in 20 games and added three more playoff goals and assists in the postseason stretch it references. The core point for Colorado is not the exact line-by-line production, but what the contract represents for a physical center capable of adding size, faceoff value, and playoff-relevant depth.

From Colorado’s perspective, the Wild’s extension for McCarron becomes a benchmark in negotiations, particularly because both players are being valued for similar roster jobs rather than top-line scoring alone. If Minnesota is willing to commit term and cap dollars to a depth, physical profile with faceoff responsibility, the Avalanche can credibly argue that a comparable role should not cost them “less than market” when they decide what to offer Drury.

Still, the Avalanche will need to balance that benchmark against Drury’s own contract leverage and what the team can afford. Restricted free agents often come with a wider range of outcomes depending on what a player wants in both salary and term, and the Avalanche’s stated cap situation suggests they may have to sequence decisions carefully. Even if McCarron’s deal provides context, it does not automatically translate into an identical number for Drury, because each player’s role, rights status, and bargaining position are different.

What to watch next is straightforward: Colorado’s progress on the Drury file and any additional cap-related moves that would change what “available” actually means. If the Avalanche can create more room through other transactions, the range of offers for Drury expands. If they cannot, the McCarron extension may become one of the clearest external reference points for how much a physical, depth-oriented forward can command across the league this summer.