Avalanche sign Joel Kiviranta to one-year deal

After their disastrous 8-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues Saturday night, the Colorado Avalanche need to make some changes. One change has come in the signing of Joel Kiviranta to a one-year, two-way deal at league minimum $775K.

Kiviranta, the former Dallas Stars forward who had knocked out the Avs with his hat trick against them in the 2020 NHL Bubble Playoffs in Game 7 of the second round in overtime, will get another NHL shot. He was initially signed on a PTO at the start of training camp but did not make the initial roster.

Therefore, he ended up with the Colorado Eagles up in Loveland and made their roster but had only signed an AHL deal. Now being available to be called up, he will likely make some appearances. In the AHL, in 10 games, he has scored two goals and tallied four assists.

The deal gives the Avs another forward in the rotation to use. This comes after the Artturi Lehkonen injury which will leave him out “weeks” and with the concern level “high” where he went head-first into the boards against the Seattle Kraken.

Jared Bednar was the most upset anyone had seen him after Saturday night’s game. He said it was the worst hockey he’d ever seen his group play, and that several players quit playing in the third period. He also said if players didn’t work in the game, he would work them in practice.

Hence, he had expected to work his team to death at practice on Sunday. However, there are several dinged players up and down the lineup and they couldn’t work much on the ice. Hence, the signing may be a precautionary one for the 27-year-old forward, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see him play either.

How do you think Kiviranta will fit in the team moving forward? What concerns do you have about the entire roster’s health heading into the heart of the season? Let us know in the comments below!