Avalanche sign former postseason foe to one-year contract

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Joel Kiviranta to a one-year, two-way $775k contract, according to a team announcement.

Kiviranta originally began the season on a PTO with the Avalanche, spending training camp and preseason with the team. He then signed an AHL contract with the Colorado Eagles, and after a strong start there he’s earned a full NHL deal.

The 27-year-old Finnish winger has scored six points in 10 games for the Eagles so far this season, where he has played in a first-line role. This season has been Kiviranta’s second in the AHL, as he made his debut in North America with the Texas Stars in 2019-20.

For the last three seasons, Kiviranta has exclusively played in the NHL with the Dallas Stars. He struggled to make an impact in 2022-23, scoring eight goals and nine points in 70 games.

Kiviranta is perhaps best known for his playoff exploits, something Avalanche fans are all too familiar with. He scored five points in 15 games on the Stars’ run to the Western Conference Finals last season. He also made headlines in the 2019-20 playoffs when he, as a rookie, scored a hat trick in Game Seven against the Avalanche, eliminating them from the Western Conference Semifinals in overtime.

Now, Kiviranta finds himself on the other side of things as a key AHL contributor for the Eagles. Now that he’s signed this NHL deal, he’ll have a chance to play in the NHL this season in Colorado.