Still not sure how a 1-way deal means they're committing to him as the Avs backup. I do think that is the plan, but not because it's 1-way contract.
Toronto signed Martin Jones to a 1-way deal and he played the majority of the season in the AHL. Carolina just signed Martin to a 1-way deal and he's their #3 next year.
Mostly because team's don't usually throw around 1 way contracts, especially for goalies.
Doesn't mean it's a guarantee they'll commit to him, but that and the fact they didn't trade for a goalie at the deadline, makes the likelihood pretty high IMO. His spot to lose perhaps may be a better way of putting it.
Toronto cares less about money than probably any team in the league, while the Avs probably choose what they spend their money on more carefully than most teams.
They don't spend a lot outside the actual roster. They don't spend a lot on scouting. They were late to upgrade the locker room and jumbotron, and they still haven't upgraded the practice facility.
They'll spend to the cap when they have a good team, but are very reluctant to spend more than the cap unless they have to. They didn't utilize LTIR when they could have last year with Gabe, and they've got about $3M in unused LTIR space this year.