According to CapFriendly, the Colorado Avalanche have signed unrestricted free-agent forward Saku Maenalanen to a professional tryout contract.
Maenalanen spent the 2022-23 season with the Winnipeg Jets, where he registered four goals and six assists for 10 points in 64 games; he added one assist in five Stanley Cup Playoff contests. He had a combined average of 10:19 time on ice (TOI), including 1:23 TOI per game on the penalty kill. The Jets penalty kill ranked top-10 leaguewide.
He was initially selected by the Nashville Predators No. 125 overall in the 2013 NHL Draft. In 2018-19, Maenalanen signed a one-year, $925,000 contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. He tallied eight points in 34 games with the Canes and tallied one assist in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games. He also spent time in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Charlotte Checkers, where he scored seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in 31 games.
The Kemi, Finland, product spent six seasons in the Finnish Men’s League (LIIGA), where he won three LIIGA Championships with Oulun Karpat. Over the course of 239 games, Maenalanen tallied 56 goals and 81 assists for 137 points. Maenalanen also spent time with Jokerit in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He appeared in 64 games and registered 21 points.
On the international front, Maenalanen won an Olympic Gold Medal with Finland at the 2022 Olympic Games. He tallied one assist in six games. He has also captured a World Junior gold medal and a World Championship gold medal.
Maenalanen will battle against Riley Tufte, Fredrik Olofsson and Ben Meyers for a forward-depth job with the Avalanche at training camp.
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