Colorado Avalanche: Colorado Signs Jamie McGinn; Ryan O'Reilly Last Unsigned Av

The Colorado Avalanche only have one player left to re-sign after coming to terms with forward Jamie McGinn on a two-year, $3.5 million deal, according to the team’s official website.

The Avs acquired McGinn from the San Jose Sharks at last season’s trade deadline in exchange for Daniel Winnik and T.J. Galiardi. McGinn was an instant hit playing in Colorado, and racked up 13 points in 17 games. Over the course of the entire season, he scored 20 goals and had 17 assists.

McGinn will earn $1.65 million this upcoming season and $1.85 million next season, tweets Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.

McGinn was scheduled to go to arbitration on July 25, writes Dater, but now no longer has to worry about that.

This is a great deal for the Avs for a couple of reasons.

One, McGinn returns to the team cheap. A $3.5 million deal won’t really affect the salary cap and is fair for a player of McGinn’s skill and potential in the future. They’re not overpaying him for his duties and he isn’t getting undervalued.

Two, McGinn is just 23 years old and can continue to be a big piece of Colorado’s youth movement. He’s one of six forwards at 25 years of age or younger. Not to mention that defensemen Erik Johnson and Ryan Wilson, as well as goalie Semyon Varlamov, are also 25 or younger. The Avs have set themselves up nicely for the future with all of these young players with high ceilings.

Avs general manager Greg Sherman was pleased to have McGinn back, saying, “Jamie made an immediate impact from the time he joined our organization. We look forward to Jamie building upon last season’s performance and are pleased to have agreed to contract terms.”

With McGinn signed for the next two years, Sherman only has to get Ryan O’Reilly to sign a new deal, and then Colorado’s roster should pretty much be set.

O’Reilly—the team’s second youngest player—lead Colorado in assists and points last season. Sherman needs to get O’Reilly to sign a multi-year contract that will ensure he’ll be in an Avs uniform at least until he’s 25. Signing O’Reilly is arguably the most important part of the entire offseason for Colorado.

When a 21-year-old scores 18 times and has 37 assists, you sign him long-term. Sherman shouldn’t have to pay O’Reilly that much until his next contract, and money isn’t an issue in Colorado anyways. They have plenty of room before approaching the salary cap.

With McGinn’s contract negotiations complete, O’Reilly is the last task of the summer for Sherman and the Avalanche.