General manager Chris MacFarland has created some wiggle room for the Colorado Avalanche.

We’ll see how he takes advantage of it.

Hours before the NHL draft kicked off Friday, the Avalanche said they had traded center Charlie Coyle and forward Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, they received 20-year-old prospect Gavin Brindley, the No. 77 pick in this year’s draft and a 2027 conditional second-round pick.

Brindley was the 34th-overall pick by the Blue Jackets in 2023 and the Avalanche really liked him as a prospect. They opted not to select him at No. 31 overall, instead choosing defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev. Brindley picked up 17 points in 52 AHL games last year after two strong seasons at the University of Michigan. He immediately becomes one of the top three prospects in the organization and should be on the ice at next week’s development camp.

“He’s a high-motor, tenacious player that plays with really good pace,” MacFarland said of Brindley on Friday night. “He was a player that our pro scouts just piggybacked on to what our amateur side was saying and just thought it was a good player that plays the way we like to play.”

By moving both Wood and Coyle, the Avalanche created $7.75 million in cap space. Coyle was acquired at the trade deadline and finished strong with 13 points in 19 regular season games in Colorado but was held to just one point in the first round against Dallas. Wood had a difficult season, dealing with a back injury and spending significant time as a healthy scratch down the stretch. He had four years remaining on a contract set to pay him $2.5 million per season, so getting rid of that contract gives the Avalanche some flexibility in the future.

“Our cap was tight. Still tight for this year, and this was an opportunity to loosen it up a little bit,” MacFarland said. “I think we’re really excited about that aspect of it. Obviously, it comes at the expense of losing good hockey players and good people. That wasn’t an easy decision, but we felt it was the right one.”

With no Coyle, don’t be surprised if Jack Drury takes on a bigger role to start next season.

“I think Jack Drury is an elite fourth-line center,” MacFarland said. “He can play a bigger role for us. He’s got under-the-radar type skill.”

With the moves, the Avalanche have $8.95 million in cap space. The free agent market opens Tuesday. Don’t be surprised if this move means the Avalanche circle back with defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent. They’ll continue to look at all options to improve their team.

“I think the only area that we’re probably set as we sit tonight is in net,” MacFarland said.

Colorado will select 77th, 118th and 214th in the draft that runs Friday and Saturday.