Avalanche Season Grades: Sven Andrighetto

Sven Andrighetto spent his first full season in Colorado after being a trade deadline acquisition from the Montreal Canadiens in the spring of 2017.

Overview

Andrighetto finished the 2016-17 season strong and earned himself a two-year contract worth $1.4M AAV over the summer. The deal was a sign of faith from the organization he would take steps towards being a full-time NHL player for the first time in his career. He began the season where he finished it, playing left wing next to Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. The line had moderate success but Andrighetto being replaced by Gabe Landeskog was the flashpoint of the season for MacKinnon on his run to a potential MVP season.

Andrighetto continued producing respectable numbers until he suffered a lower-body injury on New Year’s Eve against the New York Islanders. He struggled to return, suffering several setbacks along the way. Ultimately he did get back on the ice for the Avalanche and while Jared Bednar and the coaching staff never found a consistent role for him he continued to chip in enough offense to justify being a lineup mainstay down the stretch.

Biggest Moment

For me, Andrighetto had two moments really stick out on the season. His takedown of Oliver Ekman-Larsson and the crowd wildly cheering for him every time he was shown on the jumbotron while sitting in the penalty box was a great moment for Andrighetto the person. The fans really got to embrace his personality a bit and that was a cool moment for a pretty anonymous player up to that point. But his real big moment came in the postseason against the Nashville Predators. You remember it. Game Five in Nashville, the Predators leading 1-0 with time winding down and looking to close out the pesky Avalanche on home ice so they could rest up for a second-round tilt with the Winnipeg Jets. Then Colorado’s top line made magic and tied the game, setting up Andrighetto and friends.

Tyson Barrie intercepted the puck, chipped it ahead past a pinching P.K. Subban to J.T. Compher, who flew down the right side with a two-on-one with Andrighetto. Compher put the puck on net but Pekka Rinne gave up a rebound that bounced right to Andrighetto and he put it in with just over one minute left in regulation. It was a shocking turn of events that kept the feisty Avalanche season going for one more game. It was a great moment Avs fans will remember for a long time. The ultimate underdog throwing one last punch to the heavily-favored Predators before ultimately bowing out in Game Six.

What’s Next

Andrighetto is signed for one more season before he will again be a restricted free agent next summer. Because of his injury, Andrighetto ended up missing a little less than half of the regular season. It was costly in that he never settled in a reliable role and he remains one of the question marks heading into next season. Colorado’s secondary scoring was lacking beyond Alexander Kerfoot’s impressive rookie season and Andrighetto was one of the better point-producers in the lineup.

His 82-game pace would have given him a 36-point season, which isn’t great but would have placed him just one point behind Carl Soderberg. He has the kind of skill that says he’s a legitimate top-six player but his consistency and ability to finish were lacking at times this year. He has shown the ability to play with other high-skilled players and be a driving force on offense but his defensive game still needs a lot of development and his ups and downs are just way too far apart. If the Avs are going to get a reliable scoring threat from Andrighetto, he will need to clean up his inconsistency issues and find ways to help the team even when he’s not flying around the ice creating chances.

Final Grade

C+. There was a lot to feel good about with regards to Andrighetto and some of his flashes of talent but right now that’s all it is – flashes. He needs to find a more consistent level to his game, develop more defensively, and wrestle away one of the scoring forward roles that will be readily available for the Avalanche next season. It’s getting very close to make or break time for Andrighetto as a legitimate NHL player. Next season will go a long way towards determining his future in the league.