Colorado Avalanche agree to terms with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
By Grant Tucker
The Colorado Avalanche are staying active in NHL free agency, signing former Vegas Golden Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a two-year deal.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare has been signed to a two-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, worth $3.6 million. That’s a $1.8 million annual cap hit for the former Vegas Golden Knights forward.
The former Vegas fourth liner is set to begin his sixth season in the league. His veteran leadership is something that will bode well for the young Colorado Avalanche locker room. The 34-year old had six goals and 15 points in 76 games this past season.
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Bellemare became an unrestricted free agent on July 1st and teams were quick to pounce on him. His ability to play at a high speed, while having the versatility to also plug in at the center or wing position made him a hot commodity. He was reportedly fielding offers from several clubs around the league, including his former Golden Knights.
While Bellemare may not bring the offensive efficiency you would expect a team like the Avs to be looking for this offseason. This is a team that was eliminated by San Jose in Game 7 of the second round of the NHL Playoffs.
The Avalanche have a great core group of players that look to have an incredible amount of upside for years to come. This move comes on the heels of the Avalanche adding Andre Burakovsky from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a couple of draft picks.
This is a team that has been on the cusp of great success the past couple seasons, the addition of an experienced penalty killer like Bellemare may have been just the piece they didn’t know they needed.
The Frenchman played professionally for eight years in Sweden, before making the jump to the National Hockey League joining the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014 at age 29. Bellemare was an integral part of the Golden Knights’ miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 and is a face that Vegas fans will have a tough time saying goodbye to.
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This is a move many should have seen coming after Vegas signed free agent center, William Karlsson to a long term deal. Bellemare may have found himself the odd man out in Vegas, but with the high flying offense in Colorado, he may have found himself a home for years to come in the Pepsi Center.