Colorado Avalanche: Grading the J.T. Compher extension

According to Elliotte Friedman, the Colorado Avalanche have signed RFA forward J.T. Compher to a four-year deal worth $3.5 million annually.

The Colorado Avalanche have been busy this summer, as they’ve made nine signings since the start of free agency on July 1. You can make it 10, as the Avalanche worked things out with one of their restricted free agents, J.T. Compher.

According to Elliotte Friedman, the deal will be for four years and has a $3.5 million cap hit. The Avalanche has officially announced the signing, which means they’ll avoid arbitration with Compher. He was scheduled to go to arbitration with Colorado on July 31.

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Compher set career-highs last season in goals (16), assists (16), and points (32). Additionally, he added six points in 12 postseason games, as the Avalanche made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Ironically, Alex Kerfoot, a former teammate of Compher, got an identical contract from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kerfoot was traded to the Leafs, along with Tyson Barrie, in the trade which netted Colorado Nazem Kadri and Calle Rosen.

After signing Compher, the Avalanche will have about $16.4 million of cap space. They still have to work things out with restricted free agents Mikko Rantanen and Vladislav Kamenev, as well as minor league RFAs AJ Greer, Sheldon Dries, and Anton Lindholm.

Grading The Deal

According to Evolving Wild’s predictions, he was projected to make a shade under $3.5 million over a four-year deal. They predicted he would sign a six-year deal for $3.8 million. Compher took a step forward last season, proving to be a valuable member of the Avalanche’s top-nine forward group.

While injuries have limited him to under 70 games in each of the past two seasons, Compher has done well despite not having very consistent linemates. He’s also emerged as one of the Avalanche’s primary penalty killers, spending a shade under two minutes per game killing penalties last season. Compher also spent over three minutes per game on the power-play.

One thing he has to work on is scoring. Compher has shown glimpses of being a good one but has yet to become consistent in that area. He has yet to find a consistent role, which is probably contributing to this issue.

That’s why I’m a bit surprised he got a four-year deal. A two-year or three-year deal would have made more sense. The Avalanche still don’t know precisely what they have in Compher. He’s proven he’s a top-nine forward, but just how good is he?

Grade: B-. Just a little bit too much term. But it’s a pretty reasonable deal, as $3.5 million seems to be the going rate for middle-six forwards right now. The Avalanche are betting on Compher continuing to improve. They would help him out immensely by giving him a more consistent role.