The Colorado Avalanche returned to the NHL post season this past campaign after a 43-30-9 record in the regular season.
The club was middle of the pack with 236 goals surrendered during the season for a 2.88 average.
The penalty kill was good enough for fourth in the league with 83.3% success rate.
The power play was also in the top ten for the season with a 22% rate.
A year after one of the worst seasons in franchise history, the Avs returned to the playoffs with new head coach Jared Bednar as bench boss.
With $14+ million in cap space (CapFriendly.com), the Avs have room to make some deals this season.
The Avs signed defenseman Ian Cole as a free agent.
Cole, 29, skated for the Columbus Blue Jackets prior to signing with Colorado; he struck for five goals and 20 points with the Jackets last season.
“I think with the success that Colorado had last year, the trajectory that I personally see them on, only getting better, only increasing as far as their chances of doing something better,” Cole told the Avalanche website. “There is just a lot to really like about the team situation, not to mention how great the city is.”
Cole will add to the Avs’ defensive success with size.
“We wanted to have that size (6-foot-1, 219 pounds),” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said. “We’ve got some big teams in this conference, so we want to make sure in front of our net we’ve got some physical presence to go along with our smaller, skill guys. We feel we’ve got a good mix there. Injuries happen, especially on the back end and we want to make sure we have many capable, quality NHL bodies.”
Cole was not the only Blue Jacket to sign with the Avs as Matt Calvert inked a three-year deal on 1 July.
Calvert, 28, kicked in nine goals and 24 points on the season.
“I think I was looking for somewhere where the team was solid, the team was growing,” Calvert told the Avalanche website. “It’s a very young team, they got some very good players, I think that was a first priority. I want to win, and I really can see us doing that in Colorado. …
“You get a small pick of maybe a couple teams that are interested in you, but you can almost choose where you feel the most comfortable. That’s something that was a big thing for me. It seemed like a natural fit talking to management and coaches.”
Adding solid second and third line forwards will deepen the Avs’ efforts on offense.
“I’ve always liked Matt Calvert,” Sakic said. “With the departure of Blake Comeau (signed three-year contract with the Dallas Stars) we thought Matt would be a great fit to come in. He’s 28, I know our coaching staff knows him really well. For 28 he’s experienced, he plays hard, he plays fast, he brings energy, brings leadership. He can play up and down your lineup.
“Blake was a great leader in the dressing room and brought that energy and leadership on the ice, and Matt’s going to do that as well for us. We’re excited to have him and speaking with him this is a place where he really wanted to come.”
The Avs also cleared off some restricted free agent contracts and signed Logan O’Connor to a two-year entry level deal. O’Connor has iced for the University of Denver for the last three seasons so he is well known to the Avs’ scouts.
“Logan is a hard-working player who brings leadership, energy and speed every night,” Sakic said. “His game has continued to develop each season, and we are excited that he has decided to pursue his professional career with the Avalanche organization.”
After interminable seasons of signing high-priced, low-yield players, the Avs have settled on their scheme of getting younger and faster.
That philosophy got them to the playoffs now they want to get past thr first round this campaign.
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