Colorado opened free agency with three pretty cost-effective moves.
The Avs first inked former Sens d-man Patrick Wiercioch to a one-year, $800,000 deal, then signed rangy Calgary center Joe Colborne to a two-year, $5 million deal with a $2.5M average annual cap hit.
Joe Sakic wasn’t done there, however. The Avs GM then scooped up veteran blueliner Fedor Tyutin -- bought out by Columbus earlier this week -- to a one-year, $2 million contract.
Colborne, 26, went unrestricted after Calgary failed to make him a qualifying offer. He’s coming off a career year in which he posted personal bests in goals (19) and points (44), averaging just over 15 minutes a night in 73 games played.
Tyutin, 32, struggled through a down ’15-16 campaign -- he only played in 61 games, and was made a healthy scratch by head coach John Tortorella -- but there were reports of teams looking to add him at the trade deadline, specifically Detroit.
Wiercioch, like Colborne, wasn’t tendered a qualifying offer, which ended his time in Ottawa. The 25-year-old had a disappointing ’15-16 campaign in the Canadian capital, recording just five assists in 52 games. Wiercioch did, however, have strong possession numbers at even strength in three of his five seasons with Ottawa.
He and Tyutin will now both contend for minutes on a new-look Avs blueline, after Sakic traded away Nick Holden and bought out Brad Stuart.