Colorado Avalanche shockingly sign player who has never had more than 30 points to massive six-year extension

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Tom Banks
September 23, 2024  (7:10 PM)

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Photo credit: MarkerZone.

The Colorado Avalanche have moved to lock down some of their biggest stars in recent years, but now they've made the surprise move of extending a depth forward.

For years now, Joe Sakic has been regarded as one of, if not the NHL's top executive, and it's smaller moves that have led him to that reputation. Now however, he's made a very questionable call, as the team officially announced they have signed 28-year old forward Logan O'Connor to a six-year deal, just months after he missed significant time due to a hip injury.

According to Pierre LeBrun, the deal carries a salary cap hit of $2.5 million per season, and while that doesn't seem to be much on the surface, it's a lot for a player who has yet to crack 30 points in an NHL season thus far.

However, the team seem to believe in his development, as O'Connor was on pace for a career year in 2023/24 before the injury, tallying 13 goals and 25 points (one short of his high of 26) in just 57 games before going down for the season. If he didn't get hurt, this would mean the deal makes a lot more sense, but now with injury concerns paired with his lack of production, it's safe to say that this is a major risk.

When healthy, O'Connor can be a solid third line player alongside Ross Colton, and given the Avalanche's potential, they will certainly need someone like him in their bottom-six, so if he can stay healthy, this may ultimately turn out to be a solid move for Colorado.

The expectations in 2024/25 are sky high though, so even with O'Connor coming back from surgery, the team expect big things and a continuation on that career best play, so early signs will tell us whether this was a good move or not from Colorado.

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Previously

Gary Bettman directly addresses NHL expansion rumours: his comments are surprising

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The worrying and rare injury affecting Thatcher Demko leaks publicly

POLL
SEPTEMBRE 23   |   94 ANSWERS Colorado Avalanche shockingly sign player who has never had more than 30 points to massive six-year extension Should the Avalanche have tried to sign Logan O'Connor at a much shorter term?
Yes	67	71.3 %
No	27	28.7 %
LIST OF POLLS

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