The Colorado Avalanche made center Brock Nelson their second-highest-paid forward after re-signing him to a three-year contract on Wednesday.
The Avalanche didn't include the average annual value in its announcement, but Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported it's $7.5 million.
Nelson was in the final season of a six-year contract with a $6-million cap hit. The New York Islanders sent the pending UFA with prospect William Dufour to Colorado near the NHL trade deadline in exchange for prospect Calum Ritchie, defenseman Oliver Kylington, a first-round draft pick in the 2026 or 2027 draft and a 2028 third-round pick.
The 33-year-old from Warroad, Minn., had 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points in 80 games this season, including 13 points in 19 games with Colorado after the trade. He also had four assists in seven games in the first round against the Dallas Stars.
Nelson was one of the Avalanche's seven pending UFAs to deal with after their season ended, but they now have a projected $1.2 million of cap space left, according to PuckPedia.
Unless they clear cap space elsewhere or put someone on long-term injured reserve next season, they can only sign one of their remaining pending free agents, which include Jonathan Drouin, Ryan Lindgren and RFA Sam Malinski. The Avalanche, can, however, exceed the cap by 10 percent in the off-season, as long as they are cap compliant when they begin the season.
Captain Gabriel Landeskog and his $7-million cap hit had been on LTIR for the past two regular seasons, but he made his long-awaited return from a knee injury in the first round and put up four points in five games.
Colorado brought in Nelson to be its second-line center of the future. He averaged 17:30 of ice time with the Avalanche this season and played alongside 32-year-old Landeskog during the playoffs. Now, the expectation is for Nelson to keep up his offensive production through 2027-28, potentially with Landeskog as a duo.
Nelson had 34 goals and 69 points with the Islanders last season and 37 goals and a career-high 75 points in 2022-23. That said, the 56 points this season are the fourth-most he's had in a campaign. Aside from the 56-game COVID-19 season, Nelson hasn't had fewer than 50 points in a season since 2017-18.
A healthy Landeskog and a newly extended Nelson give the team a strong second line, even if it does leave limited cap space to re-sign left winger Drouin, a frequent linemate of Nathan MacKinnon over the past two seasons. Drouin had 56 points in 79 games in 2023-24 and 37 points in 43 games this season while averaging 18:11 of ice time.
Drouin, 30, dealt with multiple injuries this season and mostly played on the second and third lines during the playoffs, when he recorded three assists in seven games. His average ice time dropped to 14:37.
Drouin joined the Avalanche in 2023-24 on an $825,000 deal, then re-signed for $2.5 million. Colorado will likely need to clear salary to re-sign him and remain cap compliant.
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