Avalanche Journal: Is Brock Nelson the answer at 2C? What’s plan B if he isn’t?

The Colorado Avalanche’s biggest roster question for next season is who will be the next center on the depth chart after Nathan MacKinnon.

It’s a familiar quandary. The Avs have tried a lot of different players in that spot since Nazem Kadri left for Calgary after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. They paid a metric ton in assets for the most recent addition, Brock Nelson, but the end of his season was a mixed bag, and he’s a pending unrestricted free agent.

What the Avs paid for Nelson would matter a lot less if the club were still playing. But after an early exit, giving up the top prospect who could have been the long-term answer at No. 2 center (Calum Ritchie) and a future first-round pick, for potentially just 19 regular-season games and seven playoff games of Nelson, would sting.

So, who are the best options to be Colorado’s No. 2 center next season? Let’s dig in.

Internal options

Brock Nelson

Vitals: 6-foot-4, 205 pounds, turns 34 on Oct. 15
2024-25 stats: 26 goals, 56 points in 80 games

It was a weird year for Nelson. He scored one power-play goal in 146 minutes for the Islanders, but three times shorthanded in 76 minutes. He had a few games in the Dallas series when he didn’t play well, and then a few when he was noticeably better … but the production didn’t really follow.

Nelson just had the three best years of his career in his age-30, 31 and 32 seasons. But his age-33 year was more in line with 27-29. So the first question: Do the Avs want to bet on age-34 and beyond?

The second question: How long a contract will he be looking for? And the third question, which might really be the first: Does Nelson want to stick around?

“It’s easy to say this when you’re not making the actual decision — I don’t want to give Brock Nelson five years,” ESPN analyst Ray Ferraro said. “I don’t. Then you start looking around and you go … if you don’t, then what are you going to do?

“Given what we’ve seen from Colorado’s management is that they’re not going to blow their brains out in the summer for somebody they don’t prefer, and they’re going to start with as much around whatever the hole might be, and try and fill it as they go forward. To me, that’s the most prudent way to go.”

Nelson, on the right contract, is the Avs’ best option. He’s tight with Devon Toews. MacKinnon is a fan. A second line with Nelson flanked by Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin is big and skilled and could be one of the best in the league.

But the top of the center market is thin, and the cap ceiling is going way up. Minnesota is the most obvious Nelson suitor if he makes it to July 1, but there could be others.

Nelson is probably getting at least $7 million per season. Much more than that, and the Avs would need to trade a player off the roster just to fill the other holes. If he wants 4-5 years, that could be hard for Colorado to do as well.

Maybe the desire to win a second title in the next 2-3 years is so great that it’s worth doing a longer deal with Nelson and just worrying about what happens when he’s really in decline later.

What the Avs could or should offer Nelson gets more complicated when we fan out and look for other options.

Charlie Coyle

Vitals: 6-3, 215, 33 years old
2024-25 stats: 17 goals, 35 points in 83 games

If the Avs don’t sign Nelson or add another center, Coyle becomes the leading candidate to slot in at 2C, at least while Colorado shops for another one between opening night and the trade deadline. Coyle was an instant hit with his coach and teammates, had a productive spurt near the end of the regular season, and then went quiet against Dallas.

“In my role, we do a lot of Boston games,” Ferraro said. “I’ve watched Charlie for years, and Charlie’s a terrific third center. He’s not a No. 2 center. You’re asking him to do something that doesn’t jive with the tools that he has to me in that spot.”

Martin Necas

Vitals: 6-3, 195, 26 years old
2024-25 stats: 27 goals, 83 points in 79 games

Necas has played some center in his career, but is better on the wing. Just like Mikko Rantanen was at times, he could be a temporary solution while the Avs scavenge for a more permanent one.

Gabe Landeskog

Vitals: 6-1, 215, turns 33 in November
2024-25 stats: One goal, four points in five playoff games

It’s really hard to see the Avs committing to even two-thirds of a season with Landeskog at center. Just doesn’t make a lot of sense given the obvious health concerns.

External UFA options

Sam Bennett, Panthers

Vitals: 6-1, 190, turns 29 in June
2024-25 stats: 25 goals, 51 points in 76 games

Bennett produces like a solid enough No. 2 center, but he’s going to be paid like a top-tier option. That means the Avs won’t likely get anywhere near his asking price in a bidding war. He’s one of the top two guys in the league in the “mean, but also good at hockey” category, along with Washington’s Tom Wilson.

“There’s going to be 22 teams vying for Sam Bennett,” Ferraro said.

John Tavares, Maple Leafs

Vitals: 6-1, 211, turns 35 in September
2024-25 stats: 28 goals, 53 points in 73 games

For the third or fourth offseason in a row, change is expected to come in Toronto. Would the kid with the Maple Leafs bedsheets actually leave home, and what will the market look like? I’d rather bet on Nelson, but the price might be better for Tavares — if he reaches the market.

Matt Duchene, Stars

Vitals: 5-11, 212, 34 years old
2024-25 stats: 30 goals, 82 points in 82 games

Could that bridge be repaired if the Stars can’t sign him and Duchene reaches the UFA market? Nelson was better in that series, and Duchene hasn’t entirely beaten the allegations of having trouble producing in the playoffs.

Mikael Granlund, Stars

Vitals: 5-10, 185, 33 years old
2024-25 stats: 22 goals, 66 points in 83 games

Not sure he’s an ideal No. 2 center on a contending team (he’s on the wing in Dallas), but maybe putting him between Landeskog and Nichushkin would work? He’s not going to be cheap, either.