It should be noted that like most players, the majority of his shifts started in the neutral zone, and he only started 14 more shifts in the offensive zone compared to the defensive zone. I expect him to get that opportunity with the Avalanche, but he’s an unknown there. And just like Wood, he doesn’t kill penalties. Like Miles Wood, the numbers don’t look great in his own end. The money part? That may have caught some people (myself included) by surprise, but when you dig a little deeper, you can see why the Avalanche are betting big on Colton in an increased role. After the Miles Wood contract, you knew term was going to be on the table. Order now.When the Colorado Avalanche announced a four-year contract for Ross Colton on Monday, the least surprising part of it all was the four-year part.Īfter all, the Avalanche had clearly targeted the 26-year old forward when they traded for him last month. The Tampa Bay Times has commemorated the Lightning’s second consecutive Stanley Cup title with a new hardcover coffee table book, Striking Twice. And Ross has done a good job of kind of bringing everyone together.” You can’t just rely on your all stars all the time. “He shows up in big times and big moments,” Maroon said. Veteran forward Pat Maroon called Colton “a gamer.” He had one of his best performances of the regular season against Toronto, a two-goal, one-assist effort in an 8-1 trouncing of the Leafs April 21 in Tampa. He scored 11 of his 22 goals in the final 18 games, including three two-goal games. Who’s gonna step up after that?”Ĭolton has carried a strong finish to the regular season into the playoffs. “But you can see the assignments he’s been on and what they’ve had to do, and and he’s been worthy of all the ice time and the accolades he’s been getting because those are the guys you win with in the playoffs - especially when those top guys kind of cancel each other out. “I think at times here, you’re when you have some of the forwards we have up front that gobble up some of the ice time, you’ve got to make the best of what you get,” Cooper said. I don’t know, I just get excited to come to the rink and work with the rest of the guys.” “So now, I just get super excited even more to be a part of it and kind of do whatever I can to help the team. “Growing up, just watching playoff hockey, there’s just a different kind of energy that I’ve always wanted to be a part of,” he said after Game 4. But now, he’s showing he is doing it again.”Ĭolton clearly is embracing the spotlight of the postseason. “He scored one of the most historic goals, a game-winner, in the Stanley Cup final, yes, but that doesn’t make him a big-time playoff performer,” Cooper said. He’s been the glue that’s bonded a line with newcomers Nick Paul and Brandon Hagel that seems to get better with each game. He’s established himself as a 20-goal scorer while continuing to play a brand of disciplined, hard-nosed hockey that allowed coach Jon Cooper to trust him across any of the team’s four forward lines.Ĭolton has scored three goals in the first four games of this postseason, including the eventual game-winner in a 7-3 victory over the Maple Leafs Sunday in Game 4. But Colton has come a long way in the time since.
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