The Colorado Avalanche brought another familiar face back as the club announced it has re-signed forward Gabriel Bourque to a one-year contract.

The 27-year-old Bourque began the season as a depth option in the AHL but ended up playing in 58 games, including the final 46 of the season, for the Avalanche. He scored 11 points (5g, 6a) in his most productive NHL season since his career-best 2014-15 season with the Nashville Predators.

Bourque was a key component for Colorado’s fourth line and his 123 hits were good for fourth-most on the Avalanche. He also carved out a role on the penalty kill as he was the fourth-most used forward while shorthanded for the Avalanche this year.

Because the contract is a one-way deal for $950K, it is right on the line to ensure Bourque got a nice raise regardless of where he’s playing but it’s also the maximum allowable amount to be sent to the AHL and not count against the salary cap. That gives the Avalanche the flexibility to freely send him to the Colorado Eagles without worrying about carrying any leftover cap charge. The hefty price tag for a potential AHL player also lessens, if only slightly, the chance another team will claim him on waivers should that be the case.

He will certainly come into training camp prepared to once again compete for a job for the third consecutive year. He has worked his way from being a PTO into his third consecutive one-year contract. This is the first one-way contract of his Colorado career.

Adrian Dater recently graded Bourque’s season as a whole and if you haven’t read that yet you should definitely do that.