Colorado Avalanche sign Joel Kiviranta to PTO
The Colorado Avalanche have signed winger Joel Kiviranta to a professional tryout contract.
The #Avs are bringing in a Joel Kiviranta on a professional tryout. He had nine points in 70 games for Dallas last year and brings another option to the forward group.
If you may recall, Kiviranta once had a Game 7 hat trick in a playoff series.
Kiviranta, 27, is an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of a two-year contract with a $1.05 million cap hit that he signed with the Dallas Stars in the 2021 offseason. Due to it only being a PTO, he still remains an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team, but he will also get an opportunity to play some hockey games with the Avs during the 2023 preseason as an audition for both Colorado and the rest of the NHL.
Kiviranta is coming off of his worst season in terms of production, with eight goals, one assist, and nine points in 70 games with the Stars. While his goal total was a career-high, his points-per-game total was the worst among his three seasons as a somewhat regular NHLer. He did improve a bit in the playoffs, with a goal, four assists, and five points in 15 games as the Stars went all the way to the Western Conference Final before losing in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Kiviranta was an undrafted free agent, signing an entry-level contract with the Stars in 2019 after six seasons in SM-liiga with Jokerit Helsinki and Sport Vaasa. He started the 2019-20 season in the AHL with the Texas Rangers, but started playing on the NHL roster later in the season, cementing his spot in the lineup in the 2020 bubble playoffs with a hat trick in Game 7 against the Avalanche. He played four total seasons in Dallas before they let him walk to free agency this offseason.
The Avalanche have had a relatively busy offseason, acquiring Ryan Johansen and Ross Colton while also moving on from Alex Newhook. In free agency, they added a few other pieces, including Miles Wood, Jonathan Drouin, and Chris Wagner. They currently sit almost $5 million over the salary cap, but will easily fall under it with captain Gabriel Landeskog announced to be out for all of the 2023-24 season, so his $7 million cap hit will give them the cap space that they need.