The Colorado Avalanche has found a way to keep Jonathan Drouin, and brought back a bunch of other familiar faces on the first day of NHL free agency as well.
One of the great comeback stories in the NHL last season, Drouin is returning to the Avalanche on a one-year contract worth $2.5 million, a league source confirmed Monday morning. Drouin had 19 goals and a career-high 56 points with the Avs last season after signing a one-year, $825,000 contract on July 1, 2023.
Drouin not only became a key offensive contributor for the Avs but earned praise for his improved two-way play and the trust of coach Jared Bednar to play big minutes as the season progressed.
Keeping Drouin was a top priority for the Avalanche this offseason. Given some of the other contracts handed out Monday and deals signed in recent years by players who had similar production, it certainly appears that Drouin took less money than would have been available to remain with Colorado.
The Avs now have Mikko Rantanen, Artturi Lehkonen and Drouin to slot into the top two forward lines next to centers Nathan MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt, with captain Gabe Landeskog and, eventually, Valeri Nichushkin, as options as well. Drouin gives the club some certainty at the start of the season, which could be important in what looks to be a much-improved Central Division.
Landeskog has missed the past two seasons because of a knee injury and his actual return date remains to be determined. Lehkonen could miss the start of training camp after offseason shoulder surgery. Nichushkin is suspended through at least mid-November while he’s in Stage 3 of the NHL-NHLPA Player Assistance Program.
Avs land de Haan: Colorado addressed its biggest need on the first day of free agency. Calvin de Haan has agreed to terms with Colorado on a one-year contract, the club announced. The deal is worth $800,000, according to multiple reports.
De Haan, 33, had three goals and 10 points in 59 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season while averaging 16:38 of ice time per contest. He’s a left-handed defenseman and could slot in on Colorado’s third pairing as both a replacement for Jack Johnson and a veteran mentor for Sam Malinski.
A first-round pick in the 2009 NHL draft, de Haan has played for four NHL teams, including two tours of duty with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Kelly signs: Colorado added forward Parker Kelly on a two-year contract worth $825,000 per season. Kelly, 30, had eight goals and 18 points in 80 games for the Ottawa Senators this past season. He also spent parts of the two previous years playing primarily on Ottawa’s fourth line.
Kelly joins a group of depth forwards who could compete for spots in the opening-night lineup or be key contributors for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL.
Kiviranta returns: Joel Kiviranta is also coming back on a one-year contract, the club announced.
Kiviranta, 28, played for the Avs on a one-year contract last season. He signed a player-tryout contract to attend training camp and then played for the Eagles until the Avs inked him to a standard contract in mid-November.
He had three goals and nine points in 56 regular-season games for the Avs, then chipped in a goal and an assist in eight playoff contests. He played mostly on Colorado’s fourth line, but moved up to the third on occasion and became a key part of the club’s penalty kill.
Trio of ex-Avs return as well: Jacob MacDonald, Calle Rosen and T.J. Tynan all joined the Avs’ reunion party. MacDonald inked a two-year, two-way contract with the club, while Tynan and Rosen signed for one season.
Rosen, 30, played eight games for the Avalanche in 2019-20, after arriving in the same trade that brought Nazem Kadri to Denver. The defenseman played six games for the St. Louis Blues last season, while spending most of the year in the AHL.
MacDonald, 31, spent parts of four seasons with the organization from 2019-23, including 79 games with the Avalanche.
Colorado traded him to San Jose, along with Martin Kaut, for Matt Nieto and Ryan Merkley ahead of the 2023 NHL trade deadline. He’s an offense-first defenseman who had seven goals and nine points in 34 games for the Sharks this past season.
Unless the Avs make further additions to the defense corps, MacDonald and Rosen look like the favorites to compete for the No. 7 guy on the depth chart and fill the role Caleb Jones was in last season.
Tynan, a 32-year-old forward, played 16 games for the Avs in the 2019-20 season. He had nine goals and 66 points for the Ontario Reign in the AHL this past season. He was named AHL MVP in both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.
Deadline additions depart: There was a flurry of activity around the NHL as free agency began. A trio of players the Avalanche added before the 2024 trade deadline, Sean Walker, Yakov Trenin and Brandon Duhaime, all found new homes.
Walker signed a five-year contract worth $3.6 million per season with the Carolina Hurricanes. Trenin signed for four seasons with the Minnesota Wild at $3.5 million per year. Duhaime joined the Washington Capitals on a two-year deal worth $1.85 million per season.
Home opener announced: Colorado’s first home game of the 2024-25 season will be Oct. 12 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the league announced. The Avalanche will open the season Oct. 9 at Vegas. The rest of the 2024-25 schedule will be announced Tuesday.
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