Colorado Avalanche sign former first round pick on Day 2 of free agency

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Josh Tupper
July 2, 2024 (1:21 PM)

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The Colorado Avalanche have dipped their toes into the free agent market and landed a former first round pick on the second day of free agency.

According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the Colorado Avalanche have reached an agreement on terms for a one-year contract worth $900,000 with former Vegas Golden Knights first round pick Erik Brannstrom.

"Erik Brannstrom 1 x $900K Colorado"

Brannstrom, 24, was traded from Vegas to Ottawa in early 2019 as part of the return in the Mark Stone deal. He never hit his full potential in Ottawa and after parts of six seasons in the organization, the Senators decided that they weren't going to issue him a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent on Monday.

The Eksjo, Sweden native set new career highs in goals, assists and points with the Senators last season and could be a solid depth piece for Colorado next year. In 76 games, Brannstrom had 20 points (three goals, 17 assists), 36 penalty minutes and was a plus-five.

It's going to be interesting to see how Colorado makes their salary cap situation work ahead of the 2024-25 season. On Monday, Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli pointed out that they only had $300,000 in cap space, but now after the Brannstrom signing, that's gone down to -$600,000.

"Not sure there is a team in a worse cap situation than #Avs. It is hellacious.

11 forwards (with Landeskog and Nichushkin)
5 defensemen
2 goalies

And they have... (checks notes) ... $300k in cap space. 😳 Legit not sure where they go from here."

Brannstrom will probably play a third pairing role for the Avalanche to begin the 2024-25 season, but if Colorado is able to unlock the potential Brannstrom had when drafted this could become a steal.

Source: Blade of Steel
Colorado Avalanche land former first round pick in free agency