Deen’s Daily: O’Connor Signs Extension; Perfetti Nabs Bridge Deal; Wolverines in Detroit

The start of preseason is truly one of my favorite times of the year. The roster battles, the young stars making an impression, PTOs shining bright, and even a handful of new contracts trickling in around the league. You can almost taste regular-season hockey at this point.

But, I think one of my favorite parts of the preseason — this year in particular — is the reminder of just how small the hockey world is. Every arena hosting a game over the past few days has started with a tribute to the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. And you could feel the emotion in the air.

At Ball Arena on Monday, the Avs held a 13-second moment of silence for the brothers, who were killed after being struck by a suspected drunk driver near their parents’ home on Aug. 29 in New Jersey. Among the starters on the ice for Colorado was defenseman Oliver Kylington — a teammate of Gaudreau’s for five seasons with the Calgary Flames.

I couldn’t help but watch Kylington stand in silence during that brief moment. This is his first game since the passing of hid good friend. I could only imagine how emotional it’s going to be on Oct. 12 when, in their home opener, the Avs play host to Gaudreau’s Columbus Blue Jackets.

Colorado Hockey Now

It’s been an exciting couple of days for yours truly following my official first day as the Avs beat writer for Colorado Hockey Now. But I think I was one-upped by Logan O’Connor on Monday. The Avalanche’s veteran forward signed a six-year, $15 million contract extension almost three years to the day when he signed his previous three-year deal.

I loved this particular quote from O’Connor when he met with the media Monday evening.

“We’re going to have an opportunity to win every year here, throughout this contract,” he said.

O’Connor is under contract for seven seasons.

Around the NHL

Philadelphia Hockey Now: Kudos to Flyers head coach John Tortorella, who invited Guy Gaudreau, a former hockey coach and the father of Johnny and Matthew, to help run a training camp practice session on Monday.

Tortorella had never met Guy before attending the funeral of his sons earlier in the month. It was a classy move by the longtime NHL bench boss.

Detroit Hockey Now: For those who are just getting to know me, you’ll learn pretty quickly that my love for the Michigan Wolverines knows no bounds. It’s where I went to school when I grew up in Detroit before joining the Avalanche beat in 2019. I’ll miss my daily chats with fellow Wolverine Jack Johnson about Michigan football leading up to last year’s championship.

But, that brings me to this awesome story from a veteran of the industry, Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff. The Red Wings might have four Wolverines playing down the middle this season. Dylan Larkin, our old friend J.T. Compher, Andrew Copp, and Tyler Motte. Pretty cool if you ask me.

Winnipeg Jets: Cole Perfetti signed a two-year bridge deal with the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. He’ll make $3 million in 2024-25 and $3.5 million the following season.

Perfetti had 19 goals and 38 points in 71 games with the Jets last year. But he struggled to earn the trust of former head coach Rick Bowness in the playoffs. In the five-game series loss to Colorado, Perfetti did not dress until Game 5 where he played just 10:38 in Winnipeg’s final game of the season.

He’ll get a little bit of a fresh start with Scott Arniel now at the helm. And of course, an opportunity to grab a hold of a top-six role after Sean Monahan chose to walk in free agency.