Earlier today, Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland indicated that there were “a few depth deals in the hopper”. Those deals are now in place as the team announced the signings of defensemen Jack Ahcan and Corey Schueneman, forward Riley Tufte and Chris Wagner, and goaltender Arvid Holm to two-way contracts. Ahcan’s deal is a two-year agreement while the other four are one-year pacts. Financial deals for most of the deals aren’t yet known but PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that Schueneman’s deal is for $775K in the NHL, $400K in the minors, and has a guarantee of $450K. CapFriendly later reported Tufte’s deal is worth $775K in the NHL and $375K in the minors, with $425K guaranteed.
Speaking of Schueneman, he comes over to Colorado after spending the past three seasons in Montreal’s system. Last season, the 27-year-old spent the bulk of the year with AHL Laval, picking up 23 points in 62 games. He also got into seven games with the Canadiens, tallying an assist. Schueneman did play in 24 games with Montreal in 2021-22 while logging over 16 minutes per game. As a result, he’s likely to position himself to be one of the top recalls from the Eagles next season and could push for the seventh spot on the back end in training camp.
As for Ahcan, the 26-year-old picked up 36 points in 68 games with AHL Providence last season, good for second on their team among blueliners. He has nine career NHL appearances under his belt with Boston between 2020-21 and 2021-22. He also could push to be in the mix to be an early recall from the Eagles in 2023-24.
Up front, Tufte spent most of last year with AHL Texas, recording 19 goals and 16 assists in 63 games. The 25-year-old also got into three games with Dallas, logging just under eight minutes per game. Tufte has a total of 13 NHL appearances under his belt with one goal to his name. The 6’6 winger figures to be a recall option for a fourth line spot at some point next season.
As for Wagner, the 32-year-old has spent the last five seasons in Boston’s organization with a good chunk of that time coming at the NHL level. However, over the past two seasons, Wagner has mostly been relegated to time in the minors. Last season, he had 19 goals and 12 assists in 62 games with Providence. For his career, the veteran has 63 points and over 1,000 hits in 360 career NHL appearances. While he has spent most of the last two years in the minors, at least part of that was for cap reasons as he carried a $1.35MM AAV on his last deal. Now being at or close to the minimum, Wagner could push for a spot on the fourth line in training camp.
Holm, meanwhile, has yet to see any NHL action and has spent the past two seasons with Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate in Manitoba. The 24-year-old had a successful season in 2022-23 with the Moose, recording a 2.67 GAA along with a .911 SV% in 35 games but was non-tendered yesterday by the Jets. He’ll likely serve as the backup to Justus Annunen with the Eagles next season.