Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Last season (VGK): 6G; 9A – 15 Pts; +2 rating in 76 GP
This season: 4G; 5A – 9 Pts; +6 rating in 29 GP
Cap Hit – $1,800,000
A less expensive version of Carl Soderberg, Bellemare was acquired as a free agent in July, when the window opened. With Soderberg’s contract being traded to Arizona, there was suddenly an opening for a third / fourth line center.
Belly is a very team-centric player. His playing style is to play hard for his teammates, but his behaviour off the ice is also exemplary, such as his urging of the media to present the player of the game award to France’s netminder, Florian Hardy, who made 42 saves, helping France beat Finland 5-1 at the World Championships in 2017. Bellemare had a goal and an assist in that game. These acts build team chemistry and that is a great reason outside of the numbers to recruit someone like this.
While his numbers will never be fantastic and comparable to the second line, as mentioned above, Bellemare is still an integral part of the Colorado Avalanche, featuring on the Penalty Kill with a tenacious style of play that has been described as “really tough to play against” by both former teammates and new ones alike.
Quarter-Season Grade: B+
Extra points for effort here, but the bar is set low for points, due to his team role. The fact that he is already on pace to shatter his previous career high of 16 points by the end of the season has me excited, as any Avalanche player doing well means the team is as well!