The Colorado Avalanche announced their full training camp roster Tuesday, revealing that former New Jersey Devils forward Jiri Tlusty will join the team on a professional tryout (PTO).
The 28-year-old Czech winger has been a reliable depth scorer through most of his career and fits in with Colorado’s move toward rounding out their lineup with an eye toward analytics. Tlusty has a 2.17% adjusted CF%Rel over the last two seasons.
The big question mark with him is whether or not he’s 100 percent healthy and if he’s able to return to form. His production fell off a cliff last year in an injury-riddled season that was ultimately cut short by wrist surgery. He scored just two goals and four points in 30 games for the Devils, though there was speculation that he was playing at less than 100 percent for a good chunk of that.
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The prior season he put up 14 goals and 31 points in 72 games. If he’s able to return to something close to those numbers and with his strength as a possession driver, he could be a good addition for Colorado’s bottom-six.