Avalanche ink Brock Nelson to multi-year extension, solve 2C problem for near future

Brock Nelson signed a 3-year, $21.75 million extension with the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday, solving the second line center issue that has troubled Colorado

BY TRENT FINNEGAN

Jun 4, 2025, 9:49 AM Updated: 10:21 am

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The second line center has been a problem that has plagued the Colorado Avalanche ever since Nazem Kadri left town after helping the Avs win the Stanley Cup back in 2022. They’ve tried a handful of different options, but no one has panned out for the team to create some depth behind Nathan Mackinnon.

That problem has now been solved for the near future, as Brock Nelson — who was on the last year of his contract this past season — signed a 3-year, $22.5 million contract extension to stay in the Mile High City.

Brock-ing and rolling for three more years 🎸

We've signed forward Brock Nelson to a three-year contract extension through the 2027-28 season. pic.twitter.com/b20mCBYyQ4

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 4, 2025

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the contract would have an AAV of $7.5 million. If he had signed a longer contract, the AAV would likely be less, but his age prompted General Manager Chris MacFarland and the Avalanche to keep it on the shorter side.

“We’re thrilled to have reached an agreement with Brock to keep him in Colorado for the next three seasons,” MacFarland said. “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. We think he’s a great fit and is a stabilizing presence to our second-line center 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.”

Just before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, Chris MacFarland and the rest of the Avalanche front office decided to make a splash move and go out and get the answer to the second line center woes by snagging Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders. However, the price was steep — especially given that Nelson was potentially a rental with just one year left on his contract — and Colorado had to give away a 2026 first-round pick and one of their most promising young talents in Calum Ritchie.

Nelson, 33, brought a lot of size and experience to Colorado’s top six, a much needed addition heading into the 2025 postseason. He had 13 points (6G, 7A) in 19 regular season games for the burgundy and blue and was a +6 on the ice as he got adjusted to his new team in the final quarter of the season. In the postseason, he had four assists in the seven games against the Dallas Stars and was a +2 in his time on the ice.

“My family and I are excited to be staying in Colorado,” Nelson said. “Having spent my entire career with one organization, we weren’t totally sure what to expect when we arrived in Denver. 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.

While Nelson is closer to the swan song of his career than the glory days, he still possess the physicality and postseason DNA that every championship team needs. In his career, he’s played 85 postseason games, averaging 0.64 points per game, and 920 regular season games, also averaging 0.64 points per game.

In the postseason, the common theme was that if Nelson and the rest of the second line didn’t show up, then the Avalanche didn’t have enough to come out victorious. In the four losses in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nelson didn’t have a single point. Jared Bednar had to do some shuffling with that second line in the series after he said that they weren’t getting the job done in the first two games, as the combination of Nelson with Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin just didn’t have enough time to build chemistry in the regular season.

Now, that group, along with whoever else finds their way onto Nelson’s line throughout the upcoming season (given how Colorado has operated with injuries in the past, there will definitely be a plethora of second line combinations throughout the season), will have 82 games to try and figure out the chemistry problem to the equation to gear up for another postseason run in hopes of bringing home a third Stanley Cup to Denver.