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One-year deal for Nemeth

August 2, 2018, 3:15 PM ET [6 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Patrik Nemeth has gotten quite a raise from the Avalanche, signing a one-year, $2.5 million contract.

The 26-year-old defenseman made $945,000 last season when he set career highs for games (68), goals (three), assists (12) and points (15) after the Avalanche claimed him off waivers from Dallas on Oct. 3.

Nemeth, who is 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds, led the team with 185 blocked shots and a plus-27 plus/minus rating, the highest by an Avalanche player since Alex Tanguay in 2003-04 (plus-30). He had one assist in six playoff games.

Nemeth avoided a salary arbitration hearing scheduled for Saturday with the signing, which the Avalanche announced Thursday.

"Patrik is a big, physical defenseman who is an important piece of our D-corps," general manager Joe Sakic said in a release. "He plays a significant role on our penalty kill, he blocks shots, and we're happy to have him back this season."

Nemeth is now the Avalanche’s fourth-highest paid defenseman, according to capfriendly.com, behind Erik Johnson ($6M), Tyson Barrie ($5.5M) and free agent signee Ian Cole ($4.25M). He’s ahead of Nikita Zadorov ($2.15M), Mark Barberio ($1.45M), Samuel Girard ($728,333) and Anton Lindholm ($717,500).

It’ll be interesting to see where Nemeth and Cole are paired. I have them behind Johnson, Barrie, Zadorov and Girard, which would mean the Avalanche would be paying nearly $7 million for their third pair.

Tells you the blue line depth is looking pretty good.

That doesn’t even take into account prospect Conor Timmins, their highly-touted second-round pick from the 2017 NHL draft. It sure looks like he’ll be starting his pro career with the AHL Colorado Eagles.

The Avalanche still have about $12 million in salary cap room.

In the meantime, 2018 sixth-round pick Nikolai Kovalenko reportedly has signed a new three-year contract to stay in the Kontinental Hockey League. The son of former Avalanche forward Andrei Kovalenko, Nikolai took part in Colorado’s development camp in June.

Not really a big deal since he has yet to play in North America and the Avalanche still hold his rights.






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