Colorado Avalanche: Avs Sign Shane O'Brien to 3-Year Deal

It seems as if Colorado Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman is having a different player come into his office every day to negotiate a contract. Today, Colorado announced the signing of defenseman Shane O’Brien to a new deal, according to the team’s official Twitter.

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"OB" UNDER CONTRACT: The #Avs have signed defenseman Shane O'Brien to a three-year contract through the 2014-15 season. Details to follow.

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 26, 2012"

O’Brien scored three times in 76 games for Colorado last season and registered 17 assists for the third highest point total among Avs defenders. His plus-two rating was the sixth-highest on the team, third among defenders.

Colorado signed O’Brien to a three-year, $6 million deal that will pay him $1.8 million next year, $2 million the second year and $2.2 million in the final year, according to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.

Shane’s teammate, Matt Duchene—who signed a two-year deal just a few days ago—is happy to have him back, according to Duchene’s Twitter.

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Congrats to @ShaneOBrien55 on resigning. Great to have him back, great dman and character guy #beauty

— Matt Duchene (@Matt9Duchene) June 26, 2012"

Sherman was also happy to have O’Brien back saying via press release, “Having Shane under contract further solidifies our blue line. He brings energy to our lineup and we’re pleased to have signed him to a multi-year deal.”

Colorado now has Jan Hejda, Ryan Wilson, Ryan O’Byrne, Matt Hunwick, Tyson Barrie and O’Brien under contract at least through next season. Erik Johnson, who’s arguably the Avs' best defenseman, is still a restricted free agent.

At the pace that Sherman has been working lately, a deal with Johnson could be announced any day now, although there haven’t been any confirmed reports.