It didn’t take long for the Avalanche to come to terms with their newest acquisition as PuckPedia reports that Colorado has signed winger Daniil Gushchin to a one-year, two-way deal. The agreement will pay $775K in the NHL, $150K in the minors, and has an overall guarantee of $200K.
The 23-year-old is coming off a strong year in the minors with AHL San Jose, one that saw him post 28 goals and 23 assists in 56 games, surpassing the 50-point mark for the second straight year. However, that level of success didn’t yield much in the way of an NHL opportunity as Gushchin played in just a dozen games with the Sharks in 2024-25, bringing his career total to 18.
Accordingly, Gushchin acknowledged earlier this month that he was undecided about re-signing with San Jose or if he’d be open to accepting one of the offers he was receiving from back home in Russia. It appears the two sides found a solution that worked for both sides as Gushchin wasted little time signing with his new team while the Sharks added Oskar Olausson from the Avs to likely take the spot earmarked for Gushchin with the Barracuda, pending waiver clearance.
Colorado has had a lengthy rotation of fourth liners in recent years with Jared Bednar struggling to find a few players that he’s comfortable with in that role. That played a big role in the Avalanche dressing no fewer than 30 forwards for at least two games, 11 of those logging an ATOI of under 10 minutes per game, or fourth-line minutes. They haven’t done much in the way of adding extra low-cost depth this summer so Gushchin – now waiver-eligible for the first time – should get a legitimate chance to land a spot on the fourth line at some point next season.
“I’m not good enough to make the Sharks roster, let me try my hand at the Avs.”
Don’t think he has a future in pro scouting.
But wouldn’t you rather develop as an eagle than a barracuda right now?
Well exactly. And the Avs have very little in the way of competition prospect wise. He has a better chance as a low cost difference maker on COL.