The Avalanche on Monday signed forwards
Gabriel Bourque and
Rene Bourque (no relation) to one-year contracts. Gabriel's is a two-way deal -- $800,000 in the NHL, $200,000 in the minors, and he needs to clear waivers; he'll be on the roster if he does. Rene's is a one-way $650,000 contract. Forward
Mike Sislo also was placed on waivers.
The Bourques were on PTOs, professional tryouts, and have impressed coach
Jared Bednar since the start of training camp.
The Avalanche defeated Los Angeles 2-1 in overtime Saturday in Las Vegas to finish the preseason 6-0.
"We feel like they've earned the right to be here and earned the contracts," Bednar said after practice. "We like what both of them have been doing. They're a little bit different players, but both have been good in their own ways through training camp and (in) the preseason games."
Gabriel, 26, is a 5-feet-10, 206-pound right wing. He missed most of last season because of a concussion. He had one goal and three assists in 22 games with Nashville last season, no points in four games with Milwaukee of the AHL. He has 31 goals and 47 assists in 242 NHL games, all with the Predators.
Rene, 34, is a 6-2, 217-pound right wing. He had three goals and five assists in 49 games with Columbus last season. A three-time 20-goal scorer with Calgary, his career has been on the decline since he scored 27 goals for the Flames in 2010-11. He has 151 goals and 147 assists in 660 NHL games with Chicago, Calgary, Montreal, Anaheim and Columbus.
Bednar on Gabriel Bourque: "Tough competitor, takes a lot of pride in the defensive part of the game, really gritty competitor, penalty kill guy, physical, very consistent, good defender."
Bednar on Rene Bourque: "He's worked real hard on his defensive game, he's been an impact player there, has killed some penalties and found a way to contribute (offensively), can move up and down the lineup on the right side."
Injuries are playing a big part in terms of who will be on the opening-night roster Saturday against Dallas at the Pepsi Center.
Forwards
Blake Comeau (groin),
Jarome Iginla (hip),
John Mitchell (hip flexor) and
Mikko Rantanen (ankle) are still nursing injuries and the Avalanche doesn't know when any of them will be ready to play. Comeau hasn't skated in a while, Iginla and Mitchell didn't practice Monday, and Rantanen skated and shot pucks at the opposite end of the rink while the Avalanche practiced.
"That's all going to be evaluated day by day," Bednar said. "We don't know who exactly is going to be ready for Saturday night and who's not at this point. We have to take the next few days to figure that out."
The Avalanche eventually will carry two extra forwards and one extra defenseman on their 23-man roster after defenseman
Duncan Siemens cleared waivers and was assigned to San Antonio.
"I liked what he did in camp," Bednar said. "He's improved from last year, from my understanding. I didn't see him last year, but he knows his identity, knows his role, came out and played consistently. We look for him to continue his development down there for now and we'll see how everything plays out."
Seventeen forwards remain, including
Andreas Martinsen, Sislo,
Ben Smith and
Trent Vogelhuber, and that includes the injured players.
"The individual situations have a trickle-down effect for the rest of our roster," Bednar said.
For the Bourques, competing for jobs while on PTOs has been stressful, so that pressure has been alleviated. Now Gabriel just needs to sweat out waivers.
"It's been a tough 10-11 months for me and my family," said Gabriel Bourque, who had one assist in four preseason games. "I'm pretty happy. I worked hard for that and finally it paid off. There's less weight on my shoulder right now. They tell me I did a good job in camp , they want me on the team. Now I have to go through waivers. Hopefully nobody will pick me up, I like it here."
Rene Bourque, who had one goal and three asists in five preseason games, said he was "thrilled" to sign a contract.
"You have to go and earn it, and obviously they were happy with what they've seen," he said. "I'm excited to start the year here and have a good season. I'm just thankful for the opportunity. It was the first time in my career where I didn't know what was going to happen, basically since the last day of last season.
"There were a lot of question marks, I didn't know where I was going to be, no guaranteed contract. It was up to me to perform and try and make a name for myself, and I did that. I put myself in this situation and I had to dig myself out."
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