Avalanche Bringing In Old Foe On A PTO

That Colorado Avalanche squad back in 2020 could have gone far if they hadn’t been completely decimated by injuries in round two against the Dallas Stars. Still, in the NHL playoffs, you never know what can happen, and if they had gotten past the Stars, they had a chance.

Joel Kiviranta didn’t give them that chance.

In Game 7, he scored a hat trick, including the overtime winner, sending the Avalanche home for the off-season.

This fall, he’ll be wearing the Burgundy and Blue, as the Avalanche are bringing him to training camp on a professional tryout.

Professional Tryout
Joel Kiviranta (RW, LW) | COL#GoAvsGohttps://t.co/hNeeByO5K0

— CapFriendly Transactions (@CF_Transactions) August 28, 2023

While Kiviranta was made to look like a superstar that evening, he’s not really been able to carve out much of an NHL career for himself since then. While he was a full-time player on the Stars last year, playing in 70 games, he registered just 9 points. His underlying metrics are nothing to write home about, but he does seem to offer some value defensively.

The 27 year old forward has not played a single game in the AHL since 2020. That doesn’t mean the Avalanche couldn’t sign him and try to stash him on the Eagles, but it’s worth noting. This is the second forward the Avalanche have brought in from Dallas this summer, as they acquired Fredrik Olofsson in June.

I wouldn’t get too worked up over a PTO at this point. The Avalanche usually bring in a few every training camp, but the majority of them don’t get NHL deals. Kiviranta will have to show he’s worthy of one, and he certainly could do that on a Colorado squad that needs a little more depth up front. If there’s any concern, it’s that PTO guys like Kiviranta and Peter Holland may take away opportunities for young players to get bigger looks in camp. Until camp rolls around, we don’t know if that will be the case, though.

That’s two PTO’s in the last week, so things are ramping up a little bit. Stay tuned to CHN heading into training camp.