👋 Good Morning!

Did you see Warren Schaeffer get ejected in the third inning yesterday? The Rockies manager gave us an old school meltdown at home plate. And although it’s tough to write that without coming off as sarcastic or snarky, I kinda loved it because he had Tyler Freeman’s back after he was tossed for (rightfully) arguing balls and strikes.

It’s no different than a basketball coach picking up a technical to protect his player and/or fire up the team. It might seem silly from the outside but that kind of stuff is great for bringing a group of guys together. The theatre of it all is fun for the fans too.

Stick around until the end of the newsletter if you missed the ejection. The 41 seconds are worth your time. Schaeffer really got his money’s worth.

— Justin Michael

The NHL Draft was not very exciting from the Avalanche side of things. The event was absurdly slow and the team didn’t have a pick in the first two rounds. The front office did make a notable move on Friday afternoon, though, opening up significant cap space by sending Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus for Gavin Brindley and a couple of picks.

Although losing Coyle opens up some questions about who will be the ‘3C’ next season, getting off a couple of veteran contracts is big considering how little cap space the Avs had to work with. Not only does Colorado now have close to $9 million in projected space, the Avs also added an intriguing prospect in Brindley, who the team had interest in when he was coming out of Michigan a few years back.

Chris MacFarland (GM) said it himself, comparing this current roster or any roster to the 2022 team is essentially apples and oranges. That group was absurdly deep but it was an anomaly in the salary cap era. That said, the Avs still have a chance to be really good. And this gives the team some breathing room as they look to fill out the roster for another run at the Stanley Cup.

READ: Trade analysis of what the Avalanche got for trading Charlie Coyle & Miles Wood | by AJ Haefele

Could a Bruce Brown reunion be in play for the Nuggets this summer? Harrison Wind broke down 10 realistic free agent targets for Denver in 2025, including Brown, Larry Nance Jr. and Doug McDermott. Check out why those guys make sense and who else the Nuggets might look to sign.

READ: The Nuggets should target these 10 players | by Harrison Wind

We already talked about how the Avs have opened up some cap space to work with. Now the big question is how will they use the money?

READ: Colorado Avalanche Free Agent Board | by AJ Haefele