Mikhail Maltsev Re-Signed To One-Year Contract

The Colorado Avalanche re-signed a forward today. No, not that one. Mikhail Maltsev is the player who inked a new one-year pact with the club.

Usually, I know the details of a contract quickly, but this being summer and all, some usual sources aren’t available as I type. I will add the details when I get them. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a two-way deal, but we’ll see.

*Update: It’s a one-way deal. With a cap hit of $800,000. That will be his cap hit no matter if he plays for the Avalanche or Eagles this year.

Wait, maybe not:

LW – Mikhail Maltsev #GoAvsGo
1 year / 2-way contract

NHL: $800,000
Minor: $200,000 ($250,000 guaranteed)

Maltsev will again be an RFA with Arb rights when his new deal expires next summer.https://t.co/KqVDAHxgMu

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) July 28, 2022

One thing about Maltsev: If the Avalanche have him at any point this season and want to send him back to the Eagles, he’ll have to pass through waivers first. Maltsev was eligible for arbitration this year, but he did not elect to do it.

Maltsev, 24, played 18 games with the Avalanche this past season and did not record a single point. But he was very good with the Colorado Eagles, posting 48 points (17 goals) in 56 games. He came over to the Avalanche in the Ryan Graves deal to New Jersey.

He’s a left wing but can also play center, and his signing might be another clue that the days of Nazem Kadri with the Avalanche are over. Maybe. Don’t forget, the Avalanche also have center prospects such as Ben Meyers coming along. I think Maltsev will get a decent shot to make the club out of training camp, especially if Kadri is gone.

Here’s more on Maltsev from the Avalanche release:

Maltsev, 24, appeared in 18 games for the Avalanche this season, his third professional campaign in North America. He recorded 48 points (17g/31a) in 56 games for the Colorado Eagles, ranking fourth on the team in points, goals and assists. In the 2022 Calder Cup Playoffs, Maltsev tied for second on the team with four goals and finished with six points (4g/2a) in his first AHL postseason action.

Selected by the New Jersey Devils in the fourth round (102nd overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft and acquired by the Avalanche on July 15, 2021, Maltsev has produced nine points (6g/3a) in 51 career NHL contests with the Devils and Avalanche. He has collected 70 points (29g/41a) in 106 career AHL outings with the Eagles and Binghamton Devils.

The 6-foot-3, 198-pound left wing was loaned to the KHL’s SKA St. Petersburg to begin the 2020-21 campaign, and recorded one point (0g/1a) in four games before eventually joining New Jersey for training camp. Prior to playing professionally in North America, Maltsev was part of the St. Petersburg organization in Russia, totaling eight points (1g/7a) in 35 career KHL contests with SKA St. Petersburg. He also collected 39 points (18g/21a) in 50 career contests for the club’s junior team in the MHL and produced 49 points (14g/35a) in 90 outings with the organization’s VHL team in Russia’s second-tier league.

The St. Petersburg, Russia, native represented his country at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship and served as an alternate captain while recording two points (0g/2a) in five tournament games.