Colorado Avalanche Add Two Useful Depth Pieces

The Colorado Avalanche added defenseman, Ian Cole and winger, Matt Calvert to improve their roster on the first day of free agency.

Before I get into detail about how I feel about these two signings, I would like to credit the Colorado Avalanche front office for adding Philipp Grubauer. Living on the east coast until about three weeks ago, I’ve had the chance to see a lot of Grubauer. This season confirmed to me that he has future starting goalie potential. I also think the future may be this year. I can only hope that Grubauer turns into a Colorado version of Martin Jones with the Sharks.

Ian Cole

The Colorado Avalanche began their free agency frenzy by signing Ian Cole. He is a defensemen with two Stanley Cup rings, which may be useful to plug his ears, since the majority of the fanbase on social media doesn’t seem overly enthralled with this signing.

I will fully admit that Calvin de Haan was the free agent defenseman I was looking for. With that being said, de Haan still hasn’t signed, at the time I’m writing this. It seems like he will get more years and money than I would be comfortable with. If nothing else, Cole’s contract is only three years. He will also only be 32 at the end of it. It is not the albatross some fans seem to think it is.

So what are the Avs getting in Ian Cole? It would appear that they are getting a steady, if unspectacular defenseman. They are getting a veteran with 62 playoff games under his belt; 49 of them in two Stanley Cup runs with the Penguins. I’ll also remind everyone that the Pens were without Kris Letang in one of those runs. Cole was one of their best d-men.

Furthermore, Cole will bring a physicality to the team that Colorado’s defense core lacked at times last year. Sure Big Z laid a ton of hits, but as a group they got pushed around by some of the bigger teams in the west. Cole’s presence should help combat that.

Even if Cole doesn’t play a top four role for the entirety of the contract, he will provide depth. As we saw last spring, there is no such thing as having too many NHL defensemen. He also may help this year, if Big Z and/or Patrik Nemeth miss the outset of the season recovering from offseason surgery.

Matt Calvert

Matt Calvert would seem to be a direct replacement for the departing Blake Comeau. Comeau averaged 30 points over his three years with the Avs. Over that same timeframe with the Blue Jackets, Calvert averaged 21 points. While that nine point gap may scare some people, I would much rather have Calvert from ages 28-31 than Comeau from ages 32-35.

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Calvert brings speed and determination to a coaching staff that values both of those traits. He has a good shot, though that hasn’t translated to an abundance of goals at the NHL level. While the contract hit of 2.8 million, according to www.capfriendly.com is pretty high for a third line player, his style would certainly seem to fit in to what the Avs are doing.

Finally, from all I’ve read from many Blue Jacket fans, Calvert sounds like an excellent person. While that doesn’t always translate to being liked by a fanbase, it certainly can’t hurt. I’m looking forward to seeing what Calvert brings to the bottom six forward group this season.

Conclusion

I like both of these moves today. I think the Avalanche needed to add a defenseman that could play in the top four, especially if there are injuries. This team had to use David Warsofsky and Duncan Siemens in playoff games last year. Ian Cole will help avoid that situation in the future.

With the departure of Blake Comeau, Colorado had an opening for a dependable bottom six forward with penalty killing ability. Matt Calvert seems to pretty adequately fill the void left by Comeau.

Lastly, I would have loved to see the Colorado Avalanche add another scoring winger. Beyond the top line, Colorado’s wingers were inconsistent last year. With that said, I am really happy that Joe Sakic didn’t sign an absurd contract to bring in one of the top UFA wingers. All the high end UFA wingers who signed already got crazy money and term. 30 year old James Neal, the best UFA winger still available, at the time of writing this, allegedly wants a six year deal. Hard pass.

Next: Ian Cole Joins the Avalanche in Free Agency

Maybe I’m seeing life through burgundy tinted glasses at the moment, but I think the Avs roster is better today than it was at the end of the season. I am also optimistic that this team can not only compete for the playoffs this season, but make a deep run in the postseason, sooner rather than later.

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