Sheldon Dries signs. But the Avs still have one big RFA to sign, and we all know who that is

So, the Avalanche re-signed 25-year-old forward Sheldon Dries to a one-year, two-way contract today. He’ll earn $735,000 at the NHL level, $395,000 at the AHL level – but he’ll make $450,000 guaranteed no matter what. Not sure I’ve ever heard of a contract structured that way before.

Thoughts on Dries: I mean, it’s obviously an organizational depth signing. He played 40 games for the Avs last season, almost exclusively on the fourth line, putting up three goals and three assists, with a minus-7. His Corsi in all situations was a less-than-stellar 43.6.

From the Avs’ release:

“He made the Avs’ opening-night roster as a rookie and skated in his first NHL game in Colorado’s season opener on Oct. 4 vs. Minnesota. Dries recorded his first NHL points with a goal and an assist on Nov. 1 at Calgary. The Macomb Township, Michigan, native also suited up in 25 contests for the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, tallying 11 points (3g/8a) and adding one point (1g/0a) in four playoff appearances.

Dries (pronounced dr-EYE-z) has produced 41 points (22g/19a) in 95 regular-season AHL games for the Eagles and the Texas Stars. In his first professional season in 2017-18, he notched 30 points (19g/11a) in 70 regular-season games for Texas and added 10 points (10g/0a) in 22 playoff contests for the Western Conference champions, leading all rookies in postseason goals.”

Dries was the lone remaining Avs restricted free agent who was eligible for arbitration. There remains just one main roster RFA player who is unsigned: Mikko Rantanen. (Vladislav Kamenev and A.J. Greer are also unsigned RFAs, but I don’t think either player would make the main roster right now).

My thoughts on where things stand with the Rantanen situation, based on some phone-calling, are as follows: