In a bit of late Sunday night housekeeping it was revealed by Cap Friendly that Tyson Jost had accepted his qualifying offer on the date of expiration, although teams almost always keep the offer open. The Colorado Avalanche forward was in a tough position without any arbitration rights and not a whole lot of leverage in a tough market. Jost does get the upgrade to a one-way contract and a little security for the coming season.
F Tyson Jost
— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) October 18, 2020
Colorado #Avalanche
1 year / 1 way
NHL: $874,125
* Jost Signed his Qualifying Offerhttps://t.co/EK0wQaGO2Y
Jost has been somewhat a polarizing figure as a former tenth overall pick who has played three full seasons in the NHL and amassed 208 regular season games played plus an additional 30 in the playoffs. However he has yet to find a consistent role and place on the team leading to his first healthy scratch to begin the most recent postseason an an unclear opportunity in the upcoming 2020-21 season.
While he hasn’t produced as much as hoped with just 72 points and a .35 points per game average, Jost does hold some solid defensive metrics. If he’s given more of a chance on the penalty kill Jost could possibly become a solution to help the unit which provided disappointing results especially in the postseason.
Tyson Jost, signed 1x$0.9M by COL, hasn't met draft dat expectations but he had some nice defensive results in limited minutes this season. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/PjWyiBs2hS
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 18, 2020
There are comparables which could have given Jost a two or three-year deal such as the one Anders Bjork received from Boston whom signed a three-year contract in July for 1.6M despite only scoring 34 points in 108 games. This contract could be Jost betting on himself to improve in the upcoming season or recognizing the cap dollars are shrinking in Colorado with newly acquired Devon Toews still to sign and currently holding a role which can be replaced with someone from the AHL.
The highlight of Jost’s career thus far is probably the hat trick he scored against the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning exactly a year ago. Unfortunately that was almost half of his goal output for the rest of the season. Still, a hint of what upside possibly remains in Jost with the right situation.