The Colorado Avalanche signed its most important restricted free agent the day before the market opens.
Sam Malinski and the Avs have agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million contract for the 2025-26 season, according to a league source. Malinski, who will turn 27 years old next month, had five goals and 15 points in 76 games in his first full NHL season this past year for the Avs.
A 5-foot-11, 190-pound defenseman, Malinski was an undrafted free agent in March 2023 after four years at Cornell. He had three goals and 10 points in 23 games in 2023-24 before becoming a regular in the lineup this past season.
Malinski spent most of the year on the third pairing, but he moved up to the second when one of the top-four guys wasn’t available.
The Avs now have $8.325 million in cap space available with 10 forwards, five defensemen and two goalies signed to one-way contracts. One of those forwards, Logan O’Connor, is expected to miss the start of the 2025-26 campaign after offseason hip surgery.
Colorado was short on cap space until the Avalanche traded Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, a move that cleared $7.75 million in space for this upcoming season and $2.5 million in each of the following three years.
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.
Related Posts:
- Avalanche 2025 NHL draft tracker: Avs take UMass defenseman in third round News The Colorado Avalanche went back to a familiar place for its first selection in the 2025 NHL draft. Colorado selected Francesco Dell’Elce, a defenseman from the University of Massachusetts, with the No. 77 pick in the third round Saturday. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 179 pounds, the left-shooting Dell’Elce had seven…
- Undrafted NBA Player Signs $125 Million Contract Sports Having gone undrafted in the NBA Draft, LSU product Naz Reid signed a lowly two-way contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves back in July 2019. It was the first professional contract of his career, and the smallest possible amount an NBA player can sign for. Now, six years later, the same…
- Liverpool’s record-breaking prospect signs new contract at Anfield on 18th birthday Sports Liverpool’s talented young midfielder Trey Nyoni has signed a new deal (Picture: Getty Images) Trey Nyoni has been handed a lovely 18th birthday present, with the record-breaking Liverpool prospect signing a new long-term contract at the club. The teenager has already made six first team appearances for the Reds, although…
- Avalanche trade Charlie Coyle, Miles Wood to Columbus for two picks, intriguing prospect News The Colorado Avalanche has traded Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets, sources confirmed to the Denver Post. Colorado traded for Coyle just before the deadline last season in a deal that sent Casey Mittelstadt, prospect William Zellers and a 2025 second-round pick to the Boston Bruins.…
- Avalanche Journal: After years in cap purgatory, Colorado has clarity to be patient in NHL free agency News The Colorado Avalanche has two key components to roster building that have been missing for the past three offseasons: Clarity on a couple of integral players and salary cap flexibility. Colorado has about $9.7 million in cap space now after trading Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood on Friday to the…
(Visited 2 times, 1 visits today)