Monday was a busy one for Colorado in terms of retaining its veteran presences.
Shortly after inking Brad Stuart, the club announced it’d come to terms with rugged forward Cody McLeod on a three-year, $4 million deal. The contract carries an average annual cap hit of $1.33 million -- he’s currently making $1.15M per -- and will kick in next season, meaning McLeod is now under contract to Colorado through 2018.
Signed in 2006 as an undrafted free agent, McLeod has spent his entire seven year career with the Avalanche organization, appearing in nearly 500 regular season contests. A tough, physical guy that’s not afraid to drop the gloves, McLeod fought a team-high 12 times last year, but also ran afoul of the league’s disciplinary department, receiving a five-game suspension for boarding Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall.