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Colorado Avalanche: Roster Housekeeping and Tango with the Enemy

Nadia Archuleta|
WINNIPEG, MB - FEBRUARY 16: Anton Lindholm #54 of the Colorado Avalanche keeps an eye on the play during second period action against the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell MTS Place on February 16, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Avs 6-1. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - FEBRUARY 16: Anton Lindholm #54 of the Colorado Avalanche keeps an eye on the play during second period action against the Winnipeg Jets at the Bell MTS Place on February 16, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Jets defeated the Avs 6-1. (Photo by Jonathan Kozub/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Colorado Avalanche have been filling the minor league roster with recent signings. We also saw a team legend sign with the enemy.

The Colorado Avalanche housekeeping has been pretty lively, considering it’s already late July.

Yesterday, the team announced that they had signed defenseman Anton Lindholm to a two-year contract. He’ll make $742,500 at the NHL level and $150,000 then $250,000 at the AHL level.

Colorado selected the now 24-year-old defenseman in the fifth round (#144) of the 2014 NHL Draft. Lindholm signed his entry-level contract in 2016. Since the signing, he’s played 62 NHL games, recording four assists. The majority of those games were in the 2017-18 season. He’s spent far more time at the AHL level.

I was surprised to hear about the signing. I had heard that, if he didn’t make the NHL team, he was going to return to his native Sweden to play for the top men’s league there. Well, he doesn’t look like he’s going to crack the NHL roster, but I guess he’s going to stick around just the same.

At the conclusion of his two-year contract, Lindholm will again be a restricted free agent.

The Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, also made a signing recently. They signed forward Julien Nantel for the 2019-20 season. Colorado selected Nantel in the seventh round (#204) of the 2014 NHL Draft.

The 22-year-old Nantel has spent his entire pro career bouncing between the AHL and ECHL. Last year with the Eagles he recorded 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 45 games. He did better with the ECHL Utah Grizzlies — 9 points (6 goals, 3 assists) in 10 games.

The Quebecois forward took some time (apparently on his patio) to make a little video about the signing:


Making videos when you re-sign must be a thing with the Eagles because Michael Joly did the same:

Props to Joly for including his dog. Anyway, the 24-year-old right wing will be spending his third year in the Colorado organization.

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The Eagles also signed veteran forward Erik Condra for the 2019-20 season. Condra actually has 372 games of NHL experience with the Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Dallas Stars. In that time, he recorded 40 goals and 59 assists. Unfortunately, the 32-year-old vet didn’t make a video.

I wish I could say there was news on the Mikko Rantanen front, but there isn’t. All that exists is a rumor that Rantanen was offered $4 million to play in Sweden next year. Obviously, the Colorado Avalanche are going to offer him far more than that — it’s just a matter of getting the details hammered out.

And now… Tango to the enemy. Colorado Avalanche great Alex Tanguay has accepted an assistant coaching position within the (hated) Minnesota Wild organization — with the Iowa Wild specifically.

Since his retirement in 2016, Tanguay has been serving as an analyst on NHL Network. Frankly, that seems like a pretty good gig. However, maybe he wants to get back on the ice in some capacity. It just sucks that it has to be within the Minnesota Wild organization. (No, really, it’s sickening seeing Tango in his Avs jersey surrounded in Minny green.)

Alex Tanguay was selected 12th-overall by the Avalanche in 1998. He played for other teams, but did two tours of duty with Colorado before retiring. Tango is best known is Avs lore for scoring the Cup-winning goal in 2001.

Dream on, Minny. Just because you have a man who’s hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup as a winner doesn’t mean you’ll get any closer to that championship yourself.

Ok, we can end the post on that note. So, let’s do a quick tour of one of our newest Colorado Avalanche’s Instagram accounts, Andre Burakovsky:

The Yasuragi Spa in Sweden looks quite idyllic.

The Colorado Avalanche don’t get back to action until early October. Between then and now we have quite a bit of preparatory activities, including captain’s camp in about a month.

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