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It was all worked out, this wonderful plan to hit up the whole roster in numerical order. Then the team had to release new numbers and poop on all of it. A triumphant move indeed. So today we're going to catch up by picking up all the guys I have now missed.
14. Blake Comeau
He won't offer a huge amount of offense (career high 46 points, broke 30 two other times) but should be a gargantuan help to shoring up the depth forwards. Earlier in his career he was utilized in more of a scoring role and generally let his teams down. Later, with Columbus and most recently Pittsburgh, he saw less of the ice, but has shown himself a very useful third-line contributor.
Sakic said in the deadline day conference call that he expects Comeau to kill penalties. At even strength his linemates are difficult to predict and could range from Mitchell to McLeod to Grigorenko to Everberg to possibly even Agozzino or Hishon. He is expected to provide a stabilizing presence and improve possession in the lower lines.
16. Nikita Zadorov
Here's the Avalanche's big offseason prize, a prospective top-pair defenseman who will begin the season paired with Tyson Barrie. I'm going to pass on talking about his possession numbers at all, since he has played on the two worst possession teams in the history of possession numbers, the 2013-14 Buffalo Sabres and the 2014-15 Buffalo Sabres. Last year, his first full year, his 39% raw CF was positive Corsi-rel.
Zadorov, Zads, General Zadd, paired with Barrie, who spent most of last year dragging around Nate Guenin, so it's safe to assume he can bail out Zadorov if needed. With Erik Johnson's pairing taking the bulk of the top competition, Zadorov will have the best of both worlds: development against less than top opposition, with a damn fine partner to cover for him if needed. There may well be some growing pains with his 20-year-old season on a new team in a new division. May need some patience especially early in the year. The guy's ceiling is sky high though, and developing next to Barrie behind EJ seems ideal.
Today's scheduled Marc-Andre Cliche write-up
Cliche shouldn't have much ice time this year. This is not a repeat from last offseason.