Latest news with #ChrisMacFarland
Reuters
5 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Avalanche ink pending UFA Brock Nelson to 3-year deal
June 4 - Forward Brock Nelson signed a three-year contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Financial terms were not disclosed by the team, however multiple media outlets reported it was worth a total of $22.5 million and carries an average annual value of $7.5 million. Nelson, 33, recorded 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists) in 80 games split between the New York Islanders and Avalanche in the 2024-25 season, He was acquired by the Avalanche on March 6 after spending 11-plus seasons with the Islanders. "My family and I are excited to be staying in Colorado," Nelson said. "Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren't totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver. But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay." Nelson could have become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. "We're thrilled to have reached an agreement with Brock to keep him in Colorado for the next three seasons," Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said. "He's been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice. We think he's a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line center role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. "We're excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche." Nelson has totaled 587 points (301 goals, 286 assists) in 920 career games. He was selected by the Islanders with the 30th overall pick of the 2010 NHL Draft. --Field Level Media
Washington Post
5 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
Avalanche boost depth at center by bringing back Brock Nelson on a 3-year contract extension
DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche shored up their depth at center by bringing back Brock Nelson on a three-year deal. The team announced the contract extension Wednesday that will keep the 33-year-old Nelson with the Avalanche through the 2027-28 season. Colorado picked up Nelson in a trade with the New York Islanders on March 6. Nelson played in 19 games with Colorado to finish up the regular season with six goals and seven assists, and had four assists in the team's first-round playoff exit against Dallas. 'He's been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice,' Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. 'We think he's a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line center role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. We're excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche.' Nelson has 587 career points (301 goals, 286 assists) spanning 920 regular-season games since being selected by the Islanders in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft. He played at North Dakota before joining the Islanders. Nathan MacKinnon is Colorado's top-line center and turned in a regular season in which he finished second in the league with 116 points. Nelson occupies the second-line center spot and Charlie Coyle anchors the third line. Nelson has proven durable, playing in 246 straight regular-season games. 'Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren't totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver,' said Nelson, who was acquired as part of a deal that sent Calum Ritchie, Oliver Kylington, a first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL draft and a conditional third-round pick in 2028 to the Islanders. 'But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Business
- Associated Press
Avalanche boost depth at center by bringing back Brock Nelson on a 3-year contract extension
DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche shored up their depth at center by bringing back Brock Nelson on a three-year deal. The team announced the contract extension Wednesday that will keep the 33-year-old Nelson with the Avalanche through the 2027-28 season. Colorado picked up Nelson in a trade with the New York Islanders on March 6. Nelson played in 19 games with Colorado to finish up the regular season with six goals and seven assists, and had four assists in the team's first-round playoff exit against Dallas. 'He's been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice,' Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. 'We think he's a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line center role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. We're excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche.' Nelson has 587 career points (301 goals, 286 assists) spanning 920 regular-season games since being selected by the Islanders in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft. He played at North Dakota before joining the Islanders. Nathan MacKinnon is Colorado's top-line center and turned in a regular season in which he finished second in the league with 116 points. Nelson occupies the second-line center spot and Charlie Coyle anchors the third line. Nelson has proven durable, playing in 246 straight regular-season games. 'Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren't totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver,' said Nelson, who was acquired as part of a deal that sent Calum Ritchie, Oliver Kylington, a first-round pick in the 2026 or 2027 NHL draft and a conditional third-round pick in 2028 to the Islanders. 'But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and
New York Times
5 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Brock Nelson signs 3-year contract extension with Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche signed forward Brock Nelson to a three-year contract extension with an average annual value of $7.5 million, the team announced Wednesday. Nelson, 33, played the first 12 years of his NHL career with the New York Islanders before he was acquired by the Avalanche before last year's trade deadline. The deal sent prospect Calum Ritchie, a first-round pick in 2026 and a third-round pick in 2028 to Long Island in exchange for Nelson, who will now be in Colorado through the 2027-28 season. Advertisement Nelson, who had been a pending unrestricted free agent, was ranked No. 1o by Chris Johnston on The Athletic's free-agent big board. Nelson appeared in 19 regular-season games for the Avalanche following the trade, producing six goals and seven assists. He didn't record a goal in Colorado's seven playoff games against Dallas, but had four assists while playing mostly as the second-line center. The Warroad, Minn., native is a perennial 20- to 30-goal scorer. He scored 26 times this season after three-straight 30-goal seasons with the Islanders prior to that, and has reached the 20-goal threshold in nine of his 11 full NHL seasons. He has made one All-Star Game appearance in his career, in 2023, and also played for Team USA in this year's 4 Nations Face-off. 'He's been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice,' Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a news release. 'We think he will be a great fit and will be a stabilizing presence to our second-line center role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. We're excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche.' Nelson strengthens Colorado's center depth behind superstar Nathan MacKinnon. He also played on the second power-play unit for most of his brief time with the Avalanche this season. His $7.5 million cap hit makes him the second-highest-paid forward on the team, and the. third-highest-paid player behind MacKinnon and Cale Makar. 'My family and I are excited to be staying in Colorado,' Nelson said in the release. 'Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren't totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver. But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay. Advertisement 'I'd like to thank the Kroenke family, Joe Sakic, Chris MacFarland, Jared Bednar and our coaching staff for the opportunity. Obviously the way the season ended last year was disappointing, but I can't wait to get back on the ice soon and continue to push for our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Will The Colorado Avalanche Benefit Long-Term From Depth Over A $12-Million Rantanen?
The Colorado Avalanche began and ended the 2024-25 NHL season on a low note. They came out of the gate 13-12-0 and ended their year losing to the Dallas Stars in a first-round Game 7 where they held a lead for much of the game. But in between those competitive valleys, the Avalanche remade their roster about as radically as any team this season. Although the Avalanche got burned in Game 7 by the star they traded away, right winger Mikko Rantanen, Colorado's president of hockey operations, Joe Sakic, spoke out about the trade on Tuesday and defended the move. 'You look at where we were the last few years, we weren't good enough – we weren't deep enough,' Sakic told media Tuesday. 'This stings not because Mikko is on the other side, it stings because…we were close…We felt we had the team to move on and really compete.' It's difficult to argue with Sakic's rationale for the Rantanen trade. The Avalanche could've been a top-heavy team, with three highly paid stars in Rantanen, center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. Instead, Colorado wound up with very good right winger Martin Necas, center Jack Drury and trade deadline acquisitions Brock Nelson, Ryan Lindgren and Charlie Coyle. Considering that the Avalanche went 21-10-2 after the Rantanen trade, you can see why Sakic and Avs GM Chris MacFarland chose to move Rantanen and make their roster deeper. Heading into next season, the Avalanche have a projected $8.7 million in salary cap space. Now that Rantanen has signed an extension with Dallas at $12 million per season, that amount of Avs cap space would've been significantly less had he remained in Denver. That would've led to a top-heavy Colorado team that had to flesh out its roster with league-minimum players. Rantanen, McDavid Or Nylander: Who Are The Early Conn Smythe Favorites? The Conn Smythe Trophy does not get awarded in the first or second round of the playoffs. But less than three weeks into the post-season, it's already clear that some players have emerged as early MVP favorites. The Avalanche aren't the only team forced into this kind of financial crossroads, and other teams have chosen to build their team differently. Certainly, the Toronto Maple Leafs have famously built around their 'Core Four' of star forwards Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares and William Nylander. And consequently, they've had no choice but to pay much of the rest of the roster a relative pittance to stay under the cap ceiling. The moves have led to the Maple Leafs getting into the second round of this year's playoffs, but if Toronto gets eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the rest of the second round, there will be calls for Leafs management to abandon their current team structure and go the way the Avalanche have gone with their financial pyramid. The Avalanche's cap space this summer will permit them to potentially bring back Nelson or Lindgren and pay another mid-tier player or two to fill out their lineup. That means Sakic and MacFarland made the right move, and with a full season of a more balanced roster and the return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche may have a better record next year. That may lead to a longer playoff run for them next spring. If that's the way it plays out for them in 2025-26, it will be because Avs management had the stones to swing big in the trade department this year. The Rantanen deal didn't work out perfectly, but in the long-term picture, moving away from a top-heavy lineup was the best thing for the Avalanche to do. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on
