Avalanche sign Christian Wolanin to one-year contract

The Colorado Avalanche are bringing in some veteran depth for their blueline.

On Sunday, the Avalanche signed defenseman Christian Wolanin to a one-year contract.

The deal will carry the NHL-minimum cap hit of $850,000.

Wolanin, 31, spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins, where he had seven goals and 24 assists for 31 points in 53 games. He then had an assist in two playoff games for Providence.

The Rochester, Michigan native was initially selected by the Ottawa Senators out of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He then went on to a three-year collegiate career with the Univeristy of North Dakota. With North Dakota, he proved to be a quality offensive defenseman, putting up 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points over 40 games in his final season of 2017-18.

Wolanin jumped to the NHL at the tail end of the 2017-18 season, when he a goal and two assists for three points in a 10-game stint with Ottawa.

The 2018-19 season is when he got his longest look at the NHL level, as he notched four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 30 games with the Senators. Over the next two seasons, Wolanin played 18 more games for Ottawa, in which he put up just three assists, while seeing most of his action with the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

In March of 2021, Ottawa traded Wolanin to the Los Angeles Kings for winger Michael Amadio. He has since played 28 more NHL games, split between the Kings, Buffalo Sabres, and Vancouver Canucks, in which he had a goal and four assists for five points.

Wolanin is the son of former NHL defenseman Craig Wolanin.