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Quiet day on free agent front |
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Rick Sadowski
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Avalanche fans aren’t going to be especially excited for what the team did as of 5:30 p.m. MT Friday on the first day of NHL free agency.
They announced signing four minor-league forwards, each to a one-year contract, the most familiar Sheldon Dries, who was a restricted free agent. He’s a reliable guy the Avalanche can call on if needed in a fourth line and penalty killing role.
The others: Miikka Salomaki, Kiefer Sherwood and Mike Vecchione.
General manager Joe Sakic on Tuesday had suggested he wouldn’t go on a spending spree for free agents, but he’ll still have plenty of time to sign a player or two in the coming days.
A lot of big-name free agents -- Taylor Hall, Alex Pietrangelo, Tyson Barrie and Corey Crawford among them -- still hadn't been signed. The NHL is hopeful of starting the 2020-21 season around Jan. 1, so it’s not like there’s any rush.
Also, the salary cap will remain at $81.5 million, so teams are watching their wallets more than in previous free agent periods.
Dries, 26, signed his qualifying offer of $771,750 ($395,000 if he’s in the AHL), according to PuckPedia.com. He had 35 points 21 goals, 14 assists) in 50 games for the Colorado Eagles and no points in five games with the Avalanche. He played in Game 7 against Dallas in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Dries has six points (three goals, three assists) in 45 career NHL games and 76 points (43 goals, 33 assists) in 145 career regular-season AHL games with the Eagles and Texas Stars.
Salomaki, 27, spent most of the 2019-20 season with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL where he had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 41 games. He had one goal in five games with the Nashville Predators, who made him a second-round pick (No. 52) in the 2011 NHL draft.
A 5-feet-11, 203-pound right wing, the Finnish-born Salomaki ($700,000 NHL/$350,000 AHL) was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 22 and had four points (two goals, two assists) in eight games with the AHL Toronto Marlies.
Salomaki has 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 167 NHL games, all with Nashville, with three points (one goal, two assists) in 30 Stanley Cup playoff games. He has 92 points (37 goals, 55 assists) in 173 AHL games.
Sherwood, 25, who is 6-4 and 194 pounds, is from Columbus, Ohio. He had one assist in 10 games with the Anaheim Ducks and 23 points (16 goals, seven assists) in 37 games with the AHL San Diego Gulls.
A right wing, Sherwood ($700,000 NHL/$250,000 AHL) has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 60 NHL games, all with Anaheim. He has 43 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 77 career AHL games.
Vecchione, 27, is from Saugus, Mass. He had 36 points (21 goals, 15 assists) in 61 games with the AHL San Antonio Rampage. He played in two games for the Philadelphia Flyers without scoring and has 114 points (53 goals, 61 assists) in 193 AHL games with San Antonio and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
A 5-10, 194-pound right wing, Vecchione will make $700,000 if he plays in the NHL and $70,000 in the AHL, according to PuckPedia.com. He played four years at Union College and was a Hobey Baker finalist and ECAC Player of the Year in 2017.
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