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.
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