DENVER (KDVR) — Free agency has officially begun and the Colorado Avalanche have shortened the list of players that could leave the team, and said goodbye to a few.
Defenseman Josh Manson re-signed for another four years to a contract worth $18 million. He was a key part of the team’s D-core in the championship run dishing out big hits and creating turnovers.
Manson was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline last season and scored eight points in 20 Stanley Cup playoff games.
Forward Darren Helm signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche. He was key on the penalty kill and pivotal for the Avs in the Stanley Cup playoffs scoring the game-winning, series-clinching goal in the last seconds of Game 6 against the St. Louis Blues.
The 35-year-old was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings and played for them until he came to Denver last summer. In 68 games with the Avs, he scored 15 points and ranked third on the team with 114 hits.
Colorado inked forward Artturi Lehkonen to a five-year contract through the 2026-27 season worth $4.5 million per year. The 27-year-old tallied a career-high 14 points in 20 Stanley Cup playoff games, including the series-clinching goal in overtime to beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final and the game-winner in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Who’s no longer with the Avalanche?
Goaltender Darcy Kuemper signed a five-year, $26.25 million contract with the Washington Capitals.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel will no longer be in burgundy and blue, instead, he’s moved on to the Toronto Maple Leafs after signing a year contract worth $1 million.
The Avs parted ways with Andre Burakovsky as he signed a five-year deal with the Seattle Kraken worth $26.5 million. Burakovsky had a career-high season with the Avalanche and won his second Stanley Cup.