Perhaps he explored the restricted free agency market. Perhaps he was planning to return to the Avalanche the entire time. Either way, Marek Svatos has, as expected, signed with the Avs. It’s a 1-year deal for $1,200,000 (a small raise from the previous season’s $1.05 million contract).
The Avs have added almost $12 million in salary this week…and still look to be about $6 million under the cap. I’m not 100% sure they are done adding players at this point.
Well the more I think about it, the more i like it. He deserves one more shot, he’s still young and he should have the talent around him to open up some space. He now has every opportunity.
I agree with Jibbles. If we cut him loose and he develops into anything he resembled his first year for another team, I’d be sick about it. I’m a big fan of the youth movement in Colorado with Wolski, Svatos, and Statsny being the core. I hope he regains his form, and maybe playing with some of the top line guys more will return him to form.
Remember that the term “sophomore slump” exists for a reason—it’s relatively common for good young players to perform poorly in their second year, especially if they did very well their rookie season and lots of pressure is put on them.
Svatos will hopefully regain his touch this season. The good thing about his contract is that if he doesn’t, the Avs don’t have to keep him around. I think that’s fair.