On Friday, the Colorado Avalanche had a relatively quiet opening to free agency. This probably did not come as much of a surprise to many, as the team had several restricted free agents that needed deals. On Tuesday, one such deal got done.
The Avalanche announced on Tuesday that they had signed restricted free agent goaltender Calvin Pickard to a two-year contract. Though the team did not disclose the financial terms of the pact, the one-way deal will reportedly carry an annual cap hit of $1 million.
The 24-year-old Pickard split last season between the Avalanche and the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage. In 20 games with Colorado (13 starts), he recorded seven wins behind a 2.56 goals-against average, .922 save percentage and one shutout. With San Antonio, he had nine wins behind a 2.75 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 21 games.
Selected by the Avalanche in the second round (49th overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Pickard made his NHL debut in 2014. He has gone on to play 36 games for the Avalanche, posting 13 wins behind a 2.46 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and one shutout. He also won a gold medal at the World Championship last year, posting a 0.50 goals-against average, .971 save percentage and one shutout in two games for his native Canada.
Pickard is expected to form a tandem with Semyon Varlamov in net for the Avalanche during the upcoming season. The Avalanche still have four remaining restricted free agents in Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Barrie, Mikhail Grigorenko and Duncan Siemens.
