Avalanche extend Parker Kelly on four-year contract

The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back on of the most valuable players in the bottom six from a season ago, Parker Kelly. The team announced Tuesday that the fourth-liner signed a four-year, $6.8 million contract.

Four more years for Kelly‼️ pic.twitter.com/KyVTQy3RKT

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 1, 2025

Kelly, 26, played in 80 games in his first year in Colorado last season after beginning his NHL career in Ottawa back in 2020. The center had 19 points (8G, 11A) and was a -1 on the ice, playing just under 13 minutes per game. He was a great depth piece for the Avalanche, but his true value came on the penalty kill. He blocked 72 shots in the regular season, by far the most by any forward on the team, as he led the squad’s top penalty kill unit. In the playoffs, he had the fourth-most blocked shots per 60 minutes on the team, second among forwards (Brock Nelson).

In the playoffs, Kelly had one assist and was a +4 in seven games against the Dallas Stars.

The analytics show that his value as a player comes in the defensive zone and on the penalty kill, which is more of what the Avalanche need on the roster surrounding Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar as opposed to more scoring. The special teams are the reason why Colorado bowed out of the playoffs earlier than expected in 2025, but Kelly’s efforts on the PK were not the reason.

Parker Kelly, signed to a 4x$1.7M extension by COL, is a physical low-event depth forward. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/oUPyRR8gu0

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2025

Kelly’s best outing of the 2024-25 season came on the road against the Calgary Flames back in March when he scored two goals on three shots in 13 minutes of action to lead the club to a 4-2 victory. It was the only multi-goal game of the season for him, and just the second game in which he had two points.

Parker Kelly chases down O'Connor's clearance and beats Wolf, doubling Colorado's lead to 2!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/WvHMTjx7KT

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) March 15, 2025

Given the limited cap space that Colorado has to work with, even after the deal the front office made to ship out Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle to save some cash, this is a solid signing for the Avs. Kelly has a winner’s mentality and can make a big impact on both the fourth line and the penalty kill.

The Avalanche still have around $7.5 million in cap space to work with. They need to find a third-line center after the Coyle trade, and likely another winger given the departure of Wood and the likely departure of Jonathan Drouin in free agency.

Related

Cale Makar voted NHL’s best defenseman a fifth year in a rowAvalanche name new head coach for AHL affiliate EaglesFive most important Avalanche games during the 2026-27 seasonNHL drops schedule for 2026-27 Avalanche seasonFirst Avalanche game of 2026-27 season announced, it’s in SeptemberAvs make three more depth signings, including forward with 477 NHL games