The Colorado Avalanche are shoring up their defense. The club is signing former Calgary Flames defenseman Oliver Kylington to a one-year deal, per NHL.com. Kylington's financial terms aren't getting immediately released.
Kylington had a somewhat quiet season in 2023-24 for Calgary. The defenseman finished the campaign with eight points, including five assists. He appeared in 33 games for the Flames.
The defenseman also missed the 2022-23 season due to taking care of his mental health. He was a finalist that year for the Masterton Trophy, an award given to an NHL player who displays exemplary sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Kylington was selected by the Flames in the 2015 NHL Draft. He's posted 55 career points, in more than 200 games played.
The Avalanche are pushing for a deep postseason run
Colorado's high-octane offense was nearly enough to push the Avalanche into the Stanley Cup final last season. Colorado scored more goals than any club in the NHL regular season, per league stats. The team scored a total of 302 goals during the regular season. The Avalanche were the only team in hockey to score 300 season goals.
The Avalanche's defense was the team's weakness. The club hopes that the addition of Kylington can help in that area. Colorado gave up 252 regular-season goals, which left them in the middle of the pack in the league. Middle of the pack is not good enough defensively to win a Stanley Cup championship. Due to the defensive struggles, Colorado bowed in the postseason to the Dallas Stars in six games. The team failed to make the Western Conference finals.
Colorado will have a good core of players ready to make another postseason push. The Avalanche return Nathan MacKinnon, who put up 140 points last season. He is undoubtedly the team's go to skater on the ice. MacKinnon's offense was exemplary, and so was his leadership during this past season. He finished the campaign with a plus-minus of +35.
The team does have a crowded room of defensemen, so the club will have to find a way to effectively manage this Avalanche roster. Kylington joins Cale Makar, Samuel Girard, Josh Manson, and several others on the blue line. Time will tell in the weeks ahead what the plan is for the Colorado defense this coming year.
Avalanche fans have a lot to look forward to next season, as the team's making some moves to help improve its fortunes. The NHL preseason begins in September.
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