Avalanche re-sign Darren Helm

The Colorado Avalanche and Darren Helm have agreed to give it another go! The Avalanche did well to re-sign Helm, who embodied the effort that secured the Stanley Cup. He returns on a one-year deal worth 1.25M and brings back fantastic penalty-killing prowess on a deal very similar to fellow penalty killer and shot block extraordinaire Andrew Cogliano.

Darren Helm delivered one of the most memorable plays of Colorado’s cup run when he scored on a one-timer off the boards to send the Avalanche to the conference final for the first time in two decades. His shot beat Ville Husso with roughly 5 seconds left in regulation, taking the second-round monkey off of Colorado’s back.

Free Agent Frenzy Begins

This is Colorado’s first deal to begin the free agent frenzy as teams can officially sign unrestricted free agents as of ten o’clock mountain time. That likely means the departure of Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky unless something unforeseen happens. They would leave money on the table if they decided to return to Colorado. There are rumors that Josh Manson will stay in Denver, but terms haven’t been announced. Artturi Lehkonen was tendered his qualifying offer but could be an offers sheet target for other teams, so keep an eye on that.