The Avalanche announced that they’ve re-signed forward Joel Kiviranta to a one-year deal. The deal is worth $1.25MM against the cap, AJ Haefele of DNVR Sports reports.
Kiviranta, 29, returns to Colorado on the heels of a career year. The winger set career highs in goals (16), assists (7), points (23), appearances (79), and average time on ice (12:31) in 2024-25. He now signs his third consecutive one-year deal with the Avs in free agency after initially joining the organization on an AHL contract in 2023.
On a per-game basis, though, that’s not too far off from his career averages. Kiviranta, who initially made the jump to North America in 2019 with the Stars as an undrafted free agent, has consistently produced at a 15-to-20-point clip per 82 games, albeit usually in lesser minutes. That increased deployment this season, getting more consistent reps while also seeing some looks in the Avs’ top nine, helps explain the boost in production. His 19.0% shooting rate, well above his career average of 10.9%, had something to do with that as well.
Nonetheless, the Finnish winger has firmly established his floor as a defensively responsible plug-and-play fourth-line piece. Despite his smallish 5’11”, 185-lb frame, he finished third on the Avs last season with 114 hits with some of the better even-strength possession impacts on the club.
While the Avs still have some holes in their middle and bottom-six forward group to fill, retaining Kiviranta is a significant step toward relaxing the strain on some inexperienced or overtaxed depth pieces who likely would have needed to shoulder regular minutes out of the gate otherwise, especially with checking winger Logan O’Connor starting the year on injured reserve. As things stand, Kiviranta could get a crack at third-line minutes on opening night if younger names like the recently acquired Daniil Gushchin or Ivan Ivan don’t command those minutes with a strong training camp performance.
Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.