Colorado Avalanche Re-signing Players With Eyes on Future
They may not be the biggest names, but the Colorado Avalanche have re-signed three players that they believe will be assets in the future. For a team that is rebuilding and rebranding itself through drafts, acquisitions and trades, the Avalanche understand the importance of protecting their current value. Even as they look to give long-term deals to key players Ryan O’Reilly, Erik Johnson and Matt Duchene, they do not want to leave holes in a team that could still be pro-active in free agency this summer.
The Avalanche have re-signed three players to deals in the past few days. They locked up fourth line grinder and sometimes enforcer Cody McLeod for three more years. They re-signed forward David Jones for 16 million dollars for four years, and are close to re-signing defenseman Matt Hunwick.
Cody McLeod has struggled at times in the eyes of Avalanche fans. His best offensive season was 2008-2009, when he scored 20 points for an abysmal Avalanche team. He has not had the same offensive production since. However, McLeod’s presence on the ice and improving defensive ability make him a great fourth line guy for this team. He is always willing to stick up for his teammates, but has more skill than an average enforcer.
There were questions about whether the Colorado Avalanche would re-sign David Jones, who was slated to be an unrestricted free agent. Jones has the natural scoring ability to be a 30-goal scorer, but has never reached that mark. He had a tough first half last season, but picked up production in the second half and thrived playing with Jamie McGinn. The Avalanche locked up Jones for four years and hope that the 16 million dollars was insurance rather than a vast overpayment.
With two months left in the season, there was no way the Avalanche were going to re-sign Matt Hunwick. The Boston College graduate barely found the ice for the team and his poor play the season before left few calling his name. Hunwick, who is slightly undersized, worked hard while not playing and made an impact when inserted back into the line up as the Avalanche made a stretch run. This coupled with the slow progression of the Avalanche’s young defensemen Stefan Elliott and Tyson Barrie left room for Hunwick. Hunwick’s two more years give the Avalanche a little more insurance at the blue line.
The Avalanche already re-signed Milan Hejduk, but have a number of potential free agents to work through in the coming months. Their restricted free agents include Matt Duchene, Erik Johnson, Peter Mueller, Ryan O’Reilly, Steve Downie, Jamie McGinn, Mark Olver, Ryan Wilson and Kevin Porter. They will likely try to re-sign all of these players except Kevin Porter. Their remaining unrestricted free agents are Jay McClement and Shane O’Brien, who both brought leadership to the Avalanche on and off the ice. Free agency begins July first.
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