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Avs sign 4; Barrie, O'Reilly still to go |
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Rick Sadowski
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And then there were two.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie and forward Ryan O'Reilly, both restricted free agents, are the only players remaining -- not counting June draftees -- for the Avalanche to re-sign before training camp.
The Avalanche this week re-signed defensemen Stefan Elliott and Karl Stollery to one-year, two-way deals, along with forwards Paul Carey and Joey Hishon, both of whom also signed one-year, two-way contracts.
According to capgeek.com, Elliott's contract is worth $850,000 if he is in the NHL, Carey would be paid $715,000 and Stollery $605,000. No word on Hishon.
Barrie, who made $840,000 last season (along with $150,000 in bonuses, according to capgeek.com), is coming off a breakthrough year in which he led all Avalanche defensemen with 13 goals while adding 25 assists in 64 games. His plus-17 plus/minus rating was third best on the team, behind Gabriel Landeskog (plus 21) and Nathan MacKinnon (plus 20).
Barrie had two assists in three playoff games before sustaining a knee injury on a hit by Minnesota's Matt Cooke, who was suspended seven games by the NHL. Coach Patrick Roy said recently that Barrie was recovering nicely from the injury and should be fine for camp in September.
O'Reilly's situation is well known. Barring a miracle, he'll have a hearing with a third-party arbitrator on July 23, after which a ruling is expected within 48 hours. (I'll be on a Maui beach at the time, so one of my Hockeybuzz colleagues will be reporting on the decision.)
O'Reilly is coming off a two-year, $10 million contract originally tendered by Calgary in an offer sheet that the Avalanche matched. He was paid $6.5 million in the second year, a figure that is the sticking point between the team and O'Reilly, who is represented by agent Pat Morris.
Under terms of the collective bargaining agreement, the arbitrator will offer O'Reilly a one- and two-year contract, and he can't be paid less than 85 percent of his most recent salary, guaranteeing a minimum of $5.525 million.
O'Reilly set career highs for goals (28) and points (64) last season, and he led the NHL in takeaways (83). He had one minor penalty in 80 games and won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship.
Whether he winds up with a one- or two-year deal, it's difficult to imagine the Avalanche keeping him for the full term of his contract. He'll be eligible for unrestricted free agency in two years, and the Avalanche can't afford to lose him for nothing, as it did with Paul Stastny.
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Elliott is coming off a disappointing season in which he played one game with the Avalanche -- he scored a goal -- with 14 goals and 14 assists in 61 games with Lake Erie in the AHL.
Elliott, 23, will have a tough time cracking the Avalanche roster. Once Barrie signs, Colorado will have 10 defensemen (not counting prospects) under contract, the others being Erik Johnson, Brad Stuart, Jan Hejda, Ryan Wilson, Nate Guenin, Zach Redmond, Max Noreau and Nick Holden.
Wilson, who played in only 28 games last year, has a $2.25 million cap hit and will be unrestricted after the season, so he won't be the easiest guy to trade.
Hishon, 22, was the Avalanche's first-round pick (17th overall) in 2010. He seems to be over the head injuries that have plagued his progress and he played pretty well while making his NHL debut in the playoffs against the Wild (one assist in three games). Hishon had 10 goals and 14 assists in 50 games with Lake Erie and is a candidate for the fourth line.
Carey, 25, had eight goals and 13 assists in 54 games with Lake Erie, no points in 12 games with the Avalanche. He didn't have a point in three playoff games.
Stollery, 26, had no points in two games with the Avalanche, with seven goals and 23 assists in 68 games with Lake Erie.
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Michael Roth, a journalist in Switzerland, reported on Twitter this week that Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov sustained an ankle injury at goalie coach Francois Allaire's hockey camp.
Scary news, but, citing the Avalanche, the Denver Post reported the injury is a minor one.
Better hope that's the case with Reto Berra waiting in the wings.
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