Colorado Avalanche Re-Sign Justus Annunen
The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed AHL netminder Justus Annunen to a one-year two-way deal with a $775k cap hit and a $225k minor league salary.
Annunen, 23, took a strong step forward this past season with the Colorado Eagles, improving his save percentage from an .893 in his rookie AHL campaign to a .916 in 41 games this year.
The big six-foot-four goalie was a backup goalie for two seasons with Karpat in the Finnish Liiga before joining the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate. In the AHL Annunen has acclimated himself to a far greater workload than what he received in Finland, and his form this past year is an encouraging sign for his NHL future in Colorado.
Incumbent backup netminder Pavel Francouz is 33 years old and will see his contract expire at the end of next season, so this one-year extension provides Annunen an excellent platform to make a push for an NHL number-two job in Denver.
Colorado Avalanche To Sign Jack Johnson
Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports that the Colorado Avalanche are bringing back defenseman Jack Johnson on a one-year, $775K deal for the 2023-24 NHL season. This will mark Johnson’s third season with the team in as many years.
Despite a brief stint with the Chicago Blackhawks last year, Johnson has spent the better part of the last two seasons with Colorado, being a part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Not the player he used to be, Johnson still has the ability to take on around 15-17 minutes of ice time per game.
His run with the Blackhawks at the beginning of last season was not great by any means, only tallying four assists in 58 games, carrying a horrid -25 rating. After a midseason trade that sent Andreas Englund back to Chicago, Johnson played considerably better with the Avalanche. Johnson replicated his point totals in about as half as many games with the Avalanche and carrying a +10 rating along the way.
Andrew Cogliano Re-Signs With Avalanche
Andrew Cogliano‘s time in Colorado isn’t up just yet. Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Avalanche are bringing back the veteran on a one-year contract. In a follow-up tweet, he adds that the deal is worth $825K.
Cogliano will continue his NHL career after a tough end to the season, sustaining a neck injury on a hit from Seattle Kraken forward Jordan Eberle during the team’s first-round playoff loss. Once one of the NHL’s longest-tenured ironmen, Cogliano remains a reliable bottom-six defensive presence with some shooting acumen left in his game.
Likely slated again for a fourth-line role as a left winger, Cogliano notched 10 goals and 19 points in 79 games last season, his most in a season since scoring 35 with the Anaheim Ducks in 2018-19.
This likely won’t be Colorado’s last forward signing. With captain Gabriel Landeskog‘s $7MM cap hit slated for LTIR next season, the team still has around $7.5MM in cap space to play with – nearly all of which will go toward adding to their forward corps. Expect an additional acquisition for the team’s middle-six (or two) and potentially a bottom-pairing defenseman.
Avalanche Signs Five Players To Two-Way Deals
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.
Colorado Avalanche Extend Bowen Byram
The Colorado Avalanche have locked in budding defenseman Bowen Byram on a very team-friendly bridge deal, signing him to a two-year deal worth $3.85MM per season, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh.
Byram, a highly touted prospect from the start, has shown tremendous potential since being drafted fourth overall by the Avalanche in 2019. He’s bucked the trend for defensemen taking longer to develop, already breaking out as a true top-four threat by age 22 after recording 24 points in 42 games last year, averaging nearly 22 minutes per game. Byram’s exceptional skating ability, hockey sense, and offensive instincts make him a dynamic presence behind the team’s top unit of Cale Makar and Devon Toews.
The bridge deal does provide Colorado some more space to add to its forward group but also provides some insurance against a real possibility of Byram continuing to encounter significant injury issues. Concussions and lower-body ailments have limited him to just 91 games over the past three seasons, and while he’s excelled during that time, whether he can continue a long career in a top-flight role is not a certainty.
Byram will be an RFA again upon expiry in 2025 and will be due a $3.85MM qualifying offer.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Jonathan Drouin
The Colorado Avalanche have re-united franchise face Nathan MacKinnon with his QMJHL partner in crime. According to TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie, the Avalanche have signed 2013 third-overall pick Jonathan Drouin. Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that the contract will be a one-year, $825K deal.
This signing is a major opportunity for Drouin, who could potentially end up once again on a line with MacKinnon. Wrist surgeries have done significant damage to Drouin’s ability to be a goal-scoring threat, as reflected by his mark of two goals in 58 games this past season.
But Drouin clearly has some gas left in the tank as a playmaker, as he finished the season with a 41-point scoring pace despite that extremely low goal total.
He’s still a capable playmaker, and in the right situation, one wonders how much more he could produce. He’s always had tantalizing offensive potential, and is in the thick of his prime at 28 years old. At a $825k cap hit, this could be Drouin’s perfect station for a career renaissance.
If he doesn’t manage that, though, and ends up in-and-out of the lineup due to injuries as he’s done over the past several seasons, it’ll be a disappointing outcome but not a catastrophe given the affordable cap hit he’ll occupy.
Miles Wood To Sign With Colorado Avalanche
UFA winger Miles Wood is heading to the Colorado Avalanche, and per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, it’s a six-year deal earning him $2.5MM per season.
It’s a larger commitment than most would’ve expected for Wood – especially for a player who saw his advanced and counting stats dip the season after a major injury. But Colorado is in desperate need of bottom six pieces, and Wood brings an attractive snarl to a team lacking much identity outside of its top two lines.
Wood notched 27 points in 76 games in 2022-23, a slight decrease from his normal pace, but he also saw a decrease in role thanks to some fortified depth on the Devils’ part. He should creep back up into a top-nine spot with Colorado, potentially revitalizing some of his point production.
Defensively, it really wasn’t pretty for Wood last season, a change from past years. He essentially canceled out the excellent shutdown play of linemate Nathan Bastian, bringing the Devils’ fourth line of Bastian, Wood, and Michael McLeod to a net even in terms of chances generated and chances against.
Colorado hopes some additional recovery time from the hip injury that kept him out for nearly all of 2021-22, plus a change in scenery can reboot his all-around game. Still, six years is a risky gamble in this situation.
Ryan Merkley Will Not Receive Qualifying Offer
- The Colorado Avalanche did not issue a qualifying offer to defenseman Ryan Merkley, as reported by Peter Baugh of The Athletic. Merkley was originally acquired by the Avalanche along with Matthew Nieto from the San Jose Sharks for Martin Kaut and Jacob MacDonald. Coming into the 2018 NHL Draft, Merkley was one of the most talented players in the draft, but questions about his attitude and work ethic led to his slide to 21st overall. Failing to turn a corner in his professional career, Merkley will head to unrestricted free agency this Saturday.
[SOURCE LINK]
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Ross Colton
The Colorado Avalanche are making another significant addition to their forward group. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Ross Colton will be moved from the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Avalanche. The Lightning will receive the 37th overall pick in the draft in return.
Colton, 26, is a pending RFA that will be eligible for arbitration and is just one year away from potential unrestricted free agency. The fourth-round pick from 2016 is another shining success story from the Tampa Bay development pipeline, arriving late but making an immediate impact at the NHL level.
In his rookie season, Colton scored nine goals in 30 regular season games before a playoff performance to remember. He was a downright nuisance in the 2021 postseason and eventually scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal. In 2021-22, his first full season in the NHL, Colton scored 22 goals and once again was a significant contributor in the playoffs, scoring five goals (including two game-winners) during the Lightning’s run to the Finals.
While his offensive performance took a slight step back this season, Colton still provided 16 goals and 32 points in 81 games, adding 188 hits and 50 penalty minutes. A versatile, in-your-face player that can fit on a powerplay or the fourth line, he’ll help replace some of the depth the Avalanche have lost over the last few season.
The fact that Colton has some experience at center (but is not always lined up in the middle) could suggest that J.T. Compher will be headed elsewhere in free agency. After the acquisition of Ryan Johansen, Colton fits the bottom six much better than Alex Newhook, which Colorado moved to the Montreal Canadiens recently.
For Tampa Bay, there is only so much money to go around, and Colton is the latest cap casualty. His arbitration number was likely going to be too high for them to accommodate, meaning general manager Julien BriseBois will have to find another way to replace his presence in the lineup. Tanner Jeannot, acquired from the Nashville Predators for a huge haul of assets this year, may be part of that solution, given he plays a similar mix of physical hockey with offensive upside.
Jeannot is also an arbitration-eligible RFA, but coming off a much worse offensive season that will keep his number lower.
Still, the depth that was so critical to Tampa Bay’s back-to-back Stanley Cup championships is starting to be chipped away, with key pieces moving out every year. Alex Killorn, who has spent his entire career with the Lightning, is set to be an unrestricted free agent this summer after an impressive 27-goal campaign.
With that in mind, getting a relatively high pick back is an interesting result. The Lightning could use the selection to add to their prospect pool or potentially turn it around and try to acquire another inexpensive player to help keep the window open. BriseBois and company have never been shy about trading draft selections.
Getting Colton without giving up one of their two first-round picks is an impressive play by Colorado and means they could still be involved in other trades ahead of tonight’s event.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Alex Newhook
Rumors had been swirling the past few days regarding the Montreal Canadiens wanting to get their hands on a young forward. They’ve done just that, making a trade with the Colorado Avalanche to acquire the rights to promising young center Alex Newhook, parting ways with their 31st and 37th overall picks in the 2023 NHL Draft, along with defenseman Gianni Fairbrother.
Already a Stanley Cup champion, the St. John’s, Newfoundland-born Newhook recorded 14 goals and 16 assists in 82 regular-season games for the Avalanche in 2022-23. They’re nice totals, but Colorado was expecting (hoping?) for him to take over the second-line center spot – a job he lost weeks into the season to J.T. Compher. After recording just one assist in seven playoff games in a first-round loss against the Seattle Kraken, the Avalanche evidently felt it was time to cut ties and get two decent draft picks in a loaded 2023 class.
A first-round pick of the Avalanche in the 2019 NHL Draft (16th overall), the 5-foot-10, 190-pound center has accumulated 27 goals and 39 assists in 159 career games. He recorded four assists in 12 playoff games during Colorado’s run to the 2022 Stanley Cup.
For Montreal, this is awfully reminiscent of last year’s Kirby Dach trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. They’re hoping to strike gold twice after Dach emerged as a legit top-six threat for the Habs in 2022-23. In order to do that, though, they’ll need to get Newhook signed to a new contract – he’s a pending restricted free agent. It shouldn’t be much of an issue with Carey Price‘s $10.5MM cap hit destined for long-term injured reserve yet again in 2023-24. NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston says the two sides don’t have an extension in place yet.
It did take a little more value from Montreal’s end to acquire Newhook than it did Dach, though. The late first and early second-round picks in this draft are arguably equivalent to late first-round picks in last year’s, although the 22-year-old Fairbrother is a bit of a wild card after missing the entire 2022-23 season with a knee injury. Montreal had used the 77th overall pick on him in 2019.