Despite a pointless season at the NHL level, the reigning Stanley Cup champions are bringing back Keaton Middleton.
The Colorado Avalanche re-signed the 6-foot-4, 240-pound defenseman to a one-year deal, announced Thursday. The contract is a two-way deal that pays Middleton $750,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the minors.
The Edmonton native appeared in three games last year at the highest level. In 49 AHL contests for the Colorado Eagles, the 24-year-old Middleton scored 11 points (two goals, nine assists), which is a respectable line of work.
Middleton, who was selected in the fourth round (101st overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft, was coming off a two-year entry-level contract with a cap hit of $742,500.
The Avalanche were the first team to give Middleton a shot at the top level. After his junior career ended, Middleton played the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons in the AHL with the San Jose Barracuda alongside his older brother, Jacob Middleton. The latter now plays for the Minnesota Wild.
The move was the latest in what has been a slow off-season for the Avalanche. Colorado, however, did Avs trade three draft picks in the third and fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft and an additional third-round pick in next year’s draft to acquire Alexandar Georgiev. As a result, Darcy Kuemper headed to free agency and was subsequently acquired by the Washington Capitals.
We’ll have to see if the big gamble behind the net pays off for the Avalanche next season.
