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Avalanche Sign Meyers, Colton to New Deals |
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The Avalanche are finalizing their roster with a renewed focus on another run to the Cup by signing Center Ben Meyers to a 1 year, $775,000 deal, and new forward Ross Colton to a 4 year, 4 million dollar AAV contract.
Let's take a look at Ben Meyers, and what this season might look like for the former University of Minnesota captain.
Ben Meyers scored 4 goals in 39 NHL games last year, and while these aren't spectacular offensive numbers, the team signed him to a 1 year deal with the hopes that he can fill a bottom 6 role full time for the team, similar to how Logan O'Connor did a few years ago.
This year, he posted a 51.3% faceoff percentage, which is encouraging, as well as 13 blocked shots and 25 hits. 11 takeaways and only 3 giveaways is also nice to see, all under 10 minutes of average ice time. He hasn't exactly set the world on fire, which is why the AAV on his contract is where it is, but he will get another chance to break onto the roster full time this year.
Ross Colton's contract is much richer.
4 Million AAV for 4 years, that's a lot of cash, but Colton is a player with exciting potential to fit in on this Avalanche team.
JT Compher signed a similar contract back in 2019, 4 years at 3.5 million AAV. I was hoping to see Colton make around the same, but 4 million will be a decent amount for what Ross will bring.
Last year, the leading Colorado forward in hits was Logan O'Connor with 116, compared to Colton's 188 last year. Compher, comparably, brought 37 hits to the table, so the grit and physicality Sakic alluded to has been increased by a lot.
Projecting the Avalanche lines has been something I've been pondering over, and with the signings announced for these players, this is a combination I think might be possible.
Jonathan Drouin - Nathan MacKinnon - Valeri Nichushkin
This line would reunite Drouin and MacKinnon from their Halifax Moosehead days, and brings the hard boardwork and forecheck of Nuke, the elite superstardom of MacKinnon, and the playmaking ability of Drouin to combine for a potentially solid top line.
Arturri Lehkonen - Ryan Johansen - Mikko Rantanen
Lehkonen brings that similar hardworking forecheck, and has shown chemistry with Rantanen, his countryman. Johansen brings the big body and skill, with some great faceoff ability.
Miles Wood - Ross Colton - Logan O'Connor
This line is speed, size, and forechecking into the ground. I think this line could potentially be a difference maker in games just due to the physicality and hard nosed effort it can bring.
At this point, the 4th line is a bit of a crapshoot. It might be Ben Meyers, it will be Andrew Cogliano, but how often? Who plays on the other side? Fredrik Olofsson? At this point, it will be interesting to see how that plays out.
Maybe the Av's dip into their limited remaining cap space to grab an established NHLer, or they see how training camp progresses and possibly do a late offseason signing like Evan Rodrigues was last year (Signed in September).
Next up will be an article taking a look at the other intriguing signing by Colorado in the form of Nikolai Kovalenko and his 2 year deal.
Stay tuned and find out what comes next for your Colorado Avalanche!
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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