The biggest question of the offseason for the Colorado Avalanche has been answered.
Colorado signed Brock Nelson to a three-year contract, the club announced Wednesday morning. The deal is for $7.5 million per season, The Denver Post confirmed.
“My family and I are excited to be staying in Colorado,” Nelson said in a news release announcing the signing. “Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren’t totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver. But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay.”
The Avs acquired Nelson, who will turn 34 years old in October, before the trade deadline this past season to slot in as the team’s No. 2 center behind star Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado sent a huge package to the New York Islanders for Nelson, including top prospect Calum Ritchie and a future first-round pick.
“We’re thrilled to have reached an agreement with Brock to keep him in Colorado for the next three seasons,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in the release. “He’s been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice. We think he’s a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line center role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. We’re excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche.”
Nelson had six goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games for the Avs, then no goals and four assists in a seven-game series loss to the Dallas Stars in the opening round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Avs had about $9.5 million in cap space available for next season before this move. They now have 12 forwards, four defensemen and two goalies on one-way contracts for next season.
Colorado will need to move someone off the current cap sheet to fill out the roster, but NHL teams are also allowed to go over the cap ceiling, which is $95.5 million for 2025-26, by 10 percent in the offseason.
Kucherov named players’ MVP: Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov was named the winner of the Ted Lindsay Award on Wednesday, as the forward edged out fellow finalists and Colorado teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar for the honor.
It marked the second time Kucherov has won the award, voted on by members of the NHL Players Association. The last time two teammates were named finalists in 2001, Avs great Joe Sakic won the award over Pittsburgh teammates Mario Lemieux and Jaromír Jágr.
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