Avoiding an arbitration hearing that was pending, the Colorado Avalanche and forward Matt Nieto agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract Tuesday morning. Nieto’s signing means the Avs have only one remaining unsigned restricted free agent: Defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
Nieto, a left wing, never signed his qualifying offer of $771,000, and became the only Avs player to elect for arbitration. Most arbitration cases don’t “got to trial”, however, and it was no different with Nieto.
“Matt brought speed and offensive depth to our team in the second half of last season,” Avs general manager Joe Sakic said in a team release.