The Colorado Avalanche have signed veteran forward Saku Mäenalanen to a PTO, according to CapFriendly.
The 29-year-old forward will join the Avalanche for their preseason and training camp, adding to a crop of veterans on PTOs including Joel Kiviranta and Peter Holland.
Mäenalanen returned to the NHL last season with the Jets, skating in 69 combined regular season and playoff games with the club. He scored a combined 11 points in that span, averaging 10:19 TOI including 1:23 TOI per game on the penalty kill.
Standing six-foot-four, 207 pounds, Mäenalanen found his way into Jets head coach Rick Bowness’ nightly lineup on a consistent basis on the back of his ability to perform on a checking line.
In the NHL, he’s not the type of scoring-line productive forward he is in Europe, and the 41 points he scored in 2021-22 over in Liiga with Kärpät won’t be repeated in the NHL.
But in a depth capacity, Mäenalanen can hold his own on NHL ice and even contribute on a penalty kill, as he did last year on a top-10 shorthanded unit with the Jets.
In Colorado, Mäenalanen will compete for a bottom-six or spare forward role against his fellow PTO players and players on NHL deals with the Avalanche.
Ben Meyers, Fredrik Olofsson, and Riley Tufte are the main players Mäenalanen will likely be up against for one of the available jobs in the Avalanche preseason, and their battle for available depth roles will be one of the main storylines to watch of the preseason in Colorado.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Cogliano, Chris Wagner, And Kiviranta. Decent 4th unit.