Avalanche re-signs Matt Nieto

The Colorado Avalanche announced on Friday afternoon they have re-signed forward Matt Nieto. The announcement comes just one day after Nieto filed for salary arbitration hearings for the second consecutive year.

Following his filing last year, Nieto and the Avalanche came to an agreement on a one-year, $1 million deal well before the hearing was scheduled to take place. This year, as a reward for a career year from Nieto, the Avalanche gave him a two-year contract worth $1.975 million per season.

Nieto, still just 25-years-old, enjoyed career highs in goals (15) and games played (74) last year in his first full season with the Avs. He was a waiver wire claim from the San Jose Sharks in 2016-17 and produced 11 points (7g, 4a) in 43 games for the Avalanche in an abbreviated season.

Nieto played a surprisingly important role for the Avalanche last season as he found a home on the left wing next to Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau. That trio became Colorado’s de facto second line and each of them contributed heavily to Colorado’s excellent PK unit. Nieto finished seventh among Avalanche forwards in TOI per game and third in SHTOI per game. Nieto’s role was crucial for a young Avalanche squad whose lineup was constantly shifting and evolving around him.

That said, the two-year commitment comes just five days after the team signed Matt Calvert to a three-year pact, once again muddying the waters of what Colorado’s real plan is here. While Calvert and Nieto are both nice depth players, neither has proven they should be given significant commitments. Nieto has a strong season but it took him seeing significantly more ice than he ever had during his career to achieve the results he did.

While his 15-goal season is impressive on the surface, it stands out as a significant outlier in his career. He scored three empty-net goals and shot 17.9%, both numbers that obviously led to an inflated total that will be very difficult for him to repeat. His previous career high in goals was 10, which is certainly more in line with what should be expected from him moving forward.

Nieto was a weak link on a line that was the surprise success story of the Avalanche last year as all three players were coming off terrible seasons prior to last year. What the team expects of Nieto moving forward is unclear but it was obvious he wasn’t a great fit for the role he played in last season as his underlying numbers showed a player who was pretty consistently playing above his talent level.

Now, the two-year deal certainly doesn’t carry any significant salary cap implications for the Avalanche but it represents a healthy (and well-deserved) raise for Nieto. It wasn’t Nieto’s fault he was put in the positions he was last season and he made the most of the situation. It was a great story but now the pressure is on to prove he can repeat some of that success. History may not be on his side and he’ll be trying to fend off an organization teeming with bottom-six forward talent that’s looking to take his job at every turn. But for today, Nieto can enjoy the first real contract security of his NHL career.

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