DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche have solidified their depth at center by agreeing to a three-year contract extension with Brock Nelson.
The deal is valued at $22.5 million, according to a source with knowledge of the terms who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, as the financial details were not officially announced.
This extension keeps the 33-year-old Nelson with the Avalanche organization through the conclusion of the 2027-28 NHL season. The contract carries an annual salary cap hit of $7.5 million.
Nelson was acquired by Colorado from the New York Islanders in a trade on March 6. He finished the regular season playing 19 games for the Avalanche, where he recorded six goals and seven assists. In the team`s first-round playoff elimination by Dallas, he registered four assists.
Avalanche General Manager Chris MacFarland commented on the signing in a statement. “He’s been a great center in this league for a long time, and he brings professionalism and a dedicated work ethic on and off the ice,” MacFarland said. “We think he’s a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line centre role with his size and ability to touch all areas of the ice. We’re excited to see what his contributions will be over a larger sample size with the Avalanche.”
Nelson has accumulated 587 career points, consisting of 301 goals and 286 assists, over 920 regular-season games since being drafted by the Islanders in the first round of the 2010 NHL entry draft. Before his time with the Islanders, he played college hockey at North Dakota.
Nathan MacKinnon serves as Colorado’s primary top-line center, coming off a season where he finished second overall in the league in scoring with 116 points. Nelson is expected to continue in the second-line center position.
Demonstrating remarkable durability, Nelson has played in 246 consecutive regular-season games.
Nelson, who was part of a trade that saw the Islanders receive prospects Calum Ritchie, Oliver Kylington, a first-round draft pick in either 2026 or 2027, and a conditional third-round pick in 2028, expressed his desire to remain in Colorado. “Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren’t totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver,” Nelson said. “But getting the opportunity to play for the Avalanche, to compete with a great group of teammates in that locker room, and in front of the tremendous fans at Ball Arena, we knew this was where we wanted to stay.”
Nelson`s contract value, particularly his salary cap hit approaching $7.5 million, could potentially serve as a benchmark for contract negotiations involving other pending free agent forwards around the league, such as John Tavares with Toronto or Matt Duchene with Dallas.
