- Colorado signs Jaden Schwartz to a three-year, $9.75 million contract
- The former Colorado College forward returns to the state where he played his college hockey
- Read below for what the veteran winger brings to the Avalanche top nine
Jaden Schwartz is heading back to Colorado.
The Avalanche signed the veteran forward to a three-year contract worth $9.75 million on the opening day of free agency. That comes to a $3.25 million cap hit through the 2028-29 season.
Here’s the word straight from the Avs:
This one carries some history for Schwartz. He spent two seasons at Colorado College from 2010 to 2012 before the Blues drafted him 14th overall. Now he lands about an hour up the road from where his career started.
Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal summed up the homecoming:
There’s a Stanley Cup on his resume, too. Schwartz won it with St. Louis in 2019, where he spent a decade before joining the Kraken in 2021. He’s built his game as a dependable two-way winger.
Last season was a tougher one. He posted 26 points on 11 goals and 15 assists in 50 games with the Seattle Kraken, and an upper-body injury cost him a big chunk of the year.
Room opened up in Colorado’s top nine this summer. The Avs traded Ross Colton to Nashville and sent Valeri Nichushkin to Columbus, and Schwartz helps fill those minutes.
He isn’t the only new arrival, either. The Avalanche also added depth defenseman Noah Juulsen and signed Christian Wolanin earlier in the week.
Schwartz gives Colorado a reliable veteran who already knows what winning looks like. And he gets to chase another ring a short drive from where he played college puck.
