Brett Clark returns to the Avalanche Organization

Jokes were made around this place not long ago about the Avalanche re-signing Brett Clark to the roster. The jokes were perhaps a bit fortuitous because Clark is back. Sort of. On December 6, Brett signed a professional tryout bid with the Avs' AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters.

Clark enjoyed five years in a unipron before becoming a free agent after the team's last playoff run in 2009-2010. While not fleet of foot, Clark was a good teammate and a more reliable defender than people claimed, tying up players in the crease without taking many penalties. He was the king of blocked shots and could be counted on to chip in offensively, most notably with assists. During the lockout, Clark signed with the Oklahoma City Barons where he notched 16 of them in his 18 games on the team, following that up with 8 games and one assist for the Minnesota Wild.

Prior to the lockout, Clark helped propel the Tampa Bay Lightning to the playoffs in 2010-2011 with his best offensive production since the '06-07 season with the Avalanche. TB lost in the conference finals to the Boston Bruins. He remained with the team for one more season.

It's interesting that this would happen right after Jan Hejda was injured. Add in the injuries in LEM, and it makes the mind start to wonder. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing him back on the Avs in a limited role, but then I always liked Clark and felt many Avs fans didn't give him enough credit.

Stick tap to Jeff Robinson for the heads up