Milan Hejduk Re-Signs with Colorado Avalanche Under One-Year Contract

Today, the Colorado Avalanche announced the signing of captain Milan Hejduk to a one-year contract worth $2 million.

Coming off the least productive season since his rookie career, many people thought that Hejduk could be about ready to hang up the skates and call it a career.  

He undoubtedly has a lot that he wants to prove after his worst season as a professional.

Hejduk wants to prove that he hasn't lost a step. He wants to prove he can still play with the best in the world and he's capable of being a solid captain in the NHL. He wants to prove to the fans that he can get back his 20-goal touch.

After being named captain on November 14th, Hejduk seemed to largely disappear from the score sheet, even being demoted to the fourth line for the last month of the season.

He saw as little as nine minutes of ice time during the homestretch of the regular season where it seemed that he was not only losing a step but had fallen out of favor with coach Joe Sacco.

What this means for the Avalanche is that they will once again have one of the most iconic names of their franchise back on the ice for another go.

Where Hejduk ends up playing may be rather interesting to see because I don't expect him to be back on the fourth line once training camp begins.

Hejduk's location is likely going to be figured out more definitely when the team reveals its plans for David Jones, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in July this year.

If Jones is back with the team, it seems likely that Hejduk would be back with Matt Duchene and Peter Mueller. If Jones is not back, perhaps, Hejduk will skate with Paul Stastny and Jamie McGinn.

It's quite hard to tell as Joe Sacco loves to change up lines a lot depending on who is and isn't performing well in any given situation, so seeing Hejduk jump around lines probably won't shock Avalanche fans either.

As poor as Hejduk's season was last year, it's hard to not be happy to see him back in the lineup. He has spent his entire career with the Avalanche and accomplished some truly special things.

I hope that Hejduk performs better, but I'm happy to see him back either way.