Avalanche sign former first-rounder to one-year deal

The Colorado Avalanche have added to their defensive depth, signing Erik Brannstrom to a one-year, $900,000 contract.

Brannstrom, 24, became an unrestricted free agent after the Ottawa Senators elected to not send him a qualifying offer. The 2017 first-round pick will now look to put together a strong showing for the Avalanche in 2024-25 because of it.

Brannstrom will likely have a spot on the Avalanche's bottom pairing next season. He offers great versatility, playing both the left and right sides, so that should make him a nice depth piece for Colorado. In fact, the left-shot defenseman prefers playing on the right side , so he could become Sean Walker's replacement. Brannstrom could also compete for some time on the Avalanche's second power play, as he is known for his offense-first style of play.

While the Senators let Brannstrom walk this summer, he had the best offensive season of his career in 2023-24. In 76 games, the 5-foot-10 defenseman posted new career highs with three goals, 17 assists, and 20 points. He also had a career-high 111 blocks and sported a plus-5 rating on a bad Senators club.

Ultimately, this is a nice, low-risk signing for the Avalanche. The Eksjo, Sweden native is a young defenseman who still has time to improve and could benefit by playing with star forwards like Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.