Colorado Avalanche Free Agency Profile: Dylan DeMelo

The Colorado Avalanche might make some minor moves come July 1, when free agency officially opens. Signing Dylan DeMelo might be one such move.

The Colorado Avalanche will likely make a few signings come Free Agency Frenzy Day, which is July 1. They have their core and most of the ancillary positions settled. However, you can never have too much depth.

One positions where the Avalanche look especially well-settled is at defense — so much so that they only chose one d-man at the 2018 NHL Draft, and he’s not even coming to prospect development camp.

The Avs have their top-four in defense settled with Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, Nikita Zadorov, Tyson Barrie and Samuel Girard. After that they have a pretty good rotating cast of 11 players who could potentially complete that bottom pairing while still keeping the Colorado Eagles stocked.

And one of those 11 is Conor Timmins, whom I think we’re all stoked to see in action.

That said, hockey players can start dropping like flies. Sergei Boikov missed all of last season with a concussion. Mark Barberio missed big chunks of the season. So did Erik Johnson.

The Colorado Avalanche have up to $21.5 million in cap space and 15 available roster spots. There’s no reason they can’t stock their defensemen cupboard and make what was previously an area of weakness one of strength.

Dylan DeMelo

Age: 25
Height: 6’1″
Weight: 195 lbs.
Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Previous Contract: 3 years, $750,000 AAV
Previous Teams: San Jose Sharks

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Right-handed defenseman Dylan DeMelo might be a good option as a depth defenseman for Colorado. He’s got adequate size, which isn’t all that important to the Avs anyway.

DeMelo isn’t going to wow you with shirt-flapping speed, but no one calls his skating a detriment to his game. He’s scouted more as a strong puck-mover, someone who’s not afraid to jump into the play.

He’s also seen as being a meat-and-potatoes kind of player. He’s the Dominic Toninato of the blueline, only one who’s a more prolific scorer. In 133 NHL games, he has 3 goals and 29 assists — Toninato has played a third that many games and has only 2 points (both assists) as a forward. (No shade on Toninato — just making a comparison.)

In fact, in 63 games with San Jose last season, DeMelo recorded 20 points — all assists, but that shows offensive production. Indeed, he loves any offensive situation because he can shoot on the fly and has good hockey sense.

What’s more, Dylan DeMelo is just 25 years old. He completed his entry-level contract and simply wasn’t extended a qualifying offer. The San Jose Sharks are one of those teams that’s kissing the cap and roster ceilings — maybe they just didn’t have room for their third-pairing defenseman. Especially since they’re looking to make a splash in free agency.

Dylan DeMelo and the Colorado Avalanche

Dylan DeMelo would make a good depth defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche. Though not speedy, he’s the kind of offensive puck-mover they’ve been moving toward.

DeMelo is young, and he would come cheap. He’s coming off an entry-level contract with a cap hit of $633,333, with the additional money coming as bonuses.

I’d say what would be key for Colorado would be convincing DeMelo to sign a two-way contract. Offer him two or even three years with a tidy salary but with a two-way clause so the Avs don’t have to send him through waivers.

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Free Agency Frenzy begins this Sunday, July 1. Teams are able to contact players they’re interested in starting last Sunday.

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