Former Avalanche Player Is Strong Candidate To Become Team's Next GM
Joe Sakic has stepped back into the GM role on an interim basis, with Avalanche governor Josh Kroenke announcing Sakic will hold the position for the foreseeable future.
The question of who eventually follows Sakic into the chair is one the organization is already quietly working through, and one name has surfaced already: Andrew Cogliano.
Who Cogliano Is in This Context
Cogliano retired from playing following his final season with the Avalanche in 2023 and immediately transitioned into the front office, spending the past two seasons as a special assistant to the general manager.
Per multiple Colorado beat reporters, Cogliano has attended every game alongside MacFarland and AGM Kevin McDonald, immersing himself in the operational side of the franchise in what several observers have described as an on-the-job training process for eventual greater responsibility.
He was the 25th overall pick of the Edmonton Oilers in 2005 and played 1,218 NHL regular season games across seventeen seasons with the Oilers, Ducks, Stars, Sharks, and Avalanche, setting the NHL record for consecutive games played at 830 before the streak was ended by a suspension.
Elliotte Friedman: Re Avalanche: Joe Sakic takes the GM role for now; I think Andrew Cogliano has a chance, if he wants to do it, he will get a chance to do it at some point; curious to see if...Sakic leans on him - 32 Thoughts (6/3)
— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) June 5, 2026
He won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022 as a deadline acquisition and became a heart-and-soul piece of that championship group immediately upon arrival.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet noted on SiriusXM that Cogliano is someone Colorado thinks highly of internally, while also acknowledging his readiness for the role: "Cogliano is probably not yet ready either, but I've heard they really think highly of him internally."
The Case For and Against Moving Quickly
Sakic will remain at the helm in an oversight capacity.
AGMs Kevin McDonald and Andrew Wilson, a salary cap specialist who joined from the NHL offices in 2024, provide the experienced support structure around which Cogliano could operate without being thrown to the wolves.
The Kroenke ownership philosophy, as the Denver Gazette's Mark Kiszla noted, mirrors what has worked in other Kroenke-owned sports properties: identify young, sharp minds and promote from within instead of chasing established names with long resumes.
Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are two of the five best players in hockey, and the Avalanche's championship window around them is finite.
Giving a 38-year-old with two years of front office experience the GM title of a contending franchise is a massive organizational bet, particularly in a summer where Makar's extension is expected to be one of the most consequential contract negotiations in recent league history.
Andrew Wilson's name has also been raised as a possibility, with the Denver Gazette noting he is a name to watch internally given his analytical background and his familiarity with the league's cap structure.
External candidates like Carolina's Tyler Dellow, a strong analytics voice, and Brett Peterson, who has interviewed widely this offseason, have also been floated.
The Avalanche have not indicated a timeline or a preference publicly.
Photo Credit: Andrew Wevers-Imagn Images
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