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Sakic's take on signing Cole, Calvert to 3-year deals |
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Rick Sadowski
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UPDATED WITH JOE SAKIC QUOTES
Anyone expecting – or hoping – the Avalanche would make a splash Sunday when the NHL free agent market opened will be disappointed.
They signed defenseman Ian Cole and forward Matt Calvert to three-year contracts through the 2020-21 season.
Cole, 29, will make $12.75 million over three years for a salary cap hit of $4.25 million, making him the Avalanche’s third-highest paid defenseman behind Erik Johnson ($6 million) and Tyson Barrie ($5.5 million).
Calvert, 28, will make $8.4 million over three years for a cap hit of $2.8 million.
“We wanted to make sure we didn’t do anything crazy,” general manager Joe Sakic said in a conference call. “We have a lot of guys in the next few years we’re going to have to pay. We want to make sure we don’t get stuck or handcuffed with some longer term deals.”
Sakic said he was interested in getting involved in the John Tavares sweepstakes, but the Avalanche didn’t make his short list. Tavares signed with Toronto.
Sakic said one factor for signing Cole is that he isn’t sure if either Nikita Zadorov or Patrik Nemeth will be ready for the start of the season as they recover from shoulder surgery.
“Hopefully they’re back early in the year, but we wanted to make sure that Ian provides that leadership and can play with any of our guys, and play big minutes,” Sakic said. “We want to make sure we’re not rushing anybody. They’re both on schedule.”
The 6-foot-1, 219-pound Cole, a left-hand shot, had 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 67 games last season for Pittsburgh and Columbus last season. The Penguins traded him to Ottawa on Feb. 23 before he was dealt to the Blue Jackets three days later. He had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 20 games for Columbus and three assists in six playoff games.
“We wanted to have that size,” 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.
“We learned you can never have enough depth on D. We saw that in the playoffs (which
Johnson missed with a fractured kneecap.) Cole’s a winner, a two-time Stanley Cup champion. He’s only 29, so we thought the term was right for us. He’s good on the PK and he’s a strong, heavy defender. He gets the puck out of the zone, which is how we want to play.
“He played really well in the playoffs and down the stretch for Columbus. He played really well for Pittsburgh. He’s a guy that we’re counting on for that experience and leadership. Having him and (goalie Philipp) Grubauer – both guys have won Stanley Cups – are going to bring that experience to our dressing room.”
The 5-11, 186-pound Calvert had 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 69 games for Columbus last season, matching career highs for assists and points. He had two shorthanded goals. He added four points (three goals, one assist) in six playoff games.
Calvert played for Avalanche coach Jared Bednar in 2012-13 when Bednar was an assistant with the Springfield Falcons, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate.
“I’ve always liked Matt Calvert,” Sakic said. “With the departure of Blake Comeau (who signed with Dallas) 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.”
Columbus’ fifth-round pick (No. 127) in 2008, Calvert has spent his entire eight-season NHL career with the Blue Jackets. The Brandon, Manitoba, native has 149 points (72 goals, 77 assists) in 416 games, with 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 16 playoff games.
Cole, who is from Ann Arbor, Mich., was St. Louis’ first-round pick (No. 18) in 2007. After playing three years at Notre Dame, he spent parts of five seasons with the Blues and parts of four seasons with Pittsburgh, where he won the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017.
Cole has 97 points (20 goals, 77 assists) in 405 career games with 17 points (one goal, 16 assists) in 62 playoff games.
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Sakic said defenseman Conor Timmins is “getting better” as he recovers from the concussion he sustained during the OHL playoffs in May. Timmins is at development camp but hasn’t been taking part in on-ice drills.
Timmins was the Avalanche’s second-round pick (No. 32) in 2017 and is expected to compete for a roster spot in the fall.
“He’s started working out,” Sakic said. “We wanted to keep him off the ice just to make sure there weren’t any setbacks. He’s slowly getting better. He’s able to do more and more every day.”
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