The first move of the day for the Colorado Avalanche on free agency day was re-signing Parker Kelly. He will make Ball Arena his home for four years.

The Details

Kelly had one year left on his two-year contract signed before the 2024-25 season. His current deal is worth $825K, and the new contract will kick in at the start of the 2026-27 season.

His four-year deal comes in with an AAV of $1.7 million. The Avalanche now has a solidified bottom-six piece until the end of the decade.

The 6-foot-1 left-shot winger from Canada had a good year in burgundy and blue. In 80 regular-season games, he had eight goals and 11 assists for 19 total points.

In seven playoff games against the Dallas Stars, he tacked on an additional assist. The 26-year-old isn’t known for his scoring, however.

Kelly is known for using his body and causing problems in the bottom six of the Avs’ opponents. He threw 161 hits and was excellent at blocking shots. He blocked five shots in a single shift against the Seattle Kraken, earning his flowers, even though Seattle scored moments later.

Across the entire season, he had 72 blocks altogether. He can also be efficient in the face-off circle, winning 302 last season. However, he was under 50% across the season with 43%.

Kelly also struggled with the puck, like several others, last season. He had 41 giveaways, more than double his previous career high.

He’ll likely be counted on to jump up to the third line when needed, as he has done before. He averaged 12:45 of ice time per game last season, and it just might keep going up.

Perhaps it is a bit of a surprise that Parker Kelly re-signing was the first move of free agency for the Avalanche. Nonetheless, more is coming to fill up the bottom six and blue line.