The Avalanche sign Ross Colton to a four-year contract

Earlier today, I joked that the Colorado Avalanche could easily sign Ross Colton today because it was unlikely that both sides would go through arbitration.

Well, that’s exactly what happened.

At 3:30 p.m. local time, the Avalanche announced that they had signed Colton to a 4-year contract that locked the 26-year-old up through 2027 and avoided arbitration. It is confirmed to be a $16 million deal with an annual cap hit of $4 million. Our friend at PuckPedia have also ensured that the contract includes a no-trade clause in year 2 and a modified no-trade clause in years 3 and 4.

After signing Colton for $4 million, #GoAvsGo are $4.2 million over 20 players on the roster (11F/7D/2G)

RFA: Meyers

Potential LTIR Landeskog ($7M)https://t.co/3VECM3fxIm

– PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 17, 2023

Colton scored 16 goals and recorded 32 points last season in Tampa Bay, but was up from 22 goals and 39 points just a year earlier. He was acquired last month with the 37th pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.

“Ross is a hard-working, two-way center with championship pedigree,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said at the time of the trade. He has physicality in the game, he is very competitive and his versatility makes him a valuable addition to our lineup in many ways.

Colorado clearly sees Colton as a center, as MacFarland’s first sentence shows. He has yet to play center full-time in the NHL, but Colorado clearly intends to put him there. All metrics point to Colton being able to get big production in a bigger role, and we’ll dig into the deal a little more tomorrow. It’s a bit higher than I expected…

The other day, Colton was on the radio talking about the trade and his move to Colorado. You can read about it here.

We’ll have more on this deal and where Colorado’s salary cap rests in the coming days.

Stay tuned to CHN as more news comes in all the time.

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