Patrick Wiercioch to Ink With Avs

Burnaby, BC native Patrick Wiercioch is expected to sign with the Colorado Avalanche, as first reported by TSN’s Travis Yost.

Defenseman Patrick Wiercioch will be signing with the Colorado Avalanche.

— Travis Yost (@travisyost) July 1, 2016

Wiercioch has spent his entire career in the Ottawa Senators organization, the team that drafted him 42nd overall in 2008. He tallied five assists in 52 games in 2015-16, and in parts of five NHL seasons, the 25-year old has accumulated 12 goals, 50 assists and 115 penalty minutes in 211 games. He set career-highs in goals (five) in 2012-13, and bests in assists (19) and points (23) in 2013-14.

The terms of Wiercioch’s deal with the Avs have not yet been reported.

Wiercioch has been known as a two-way depth defenseman during his career. He’ll join an Avs blue line that only has Erik Johnson, Francois Beauchemin and Chris Bigras under one-way contracts beyond 2016-17.

The deal makes sense for the Avs, after the team traded depth blueliner Nick Holden to the New York Rangers last week for a fourth round pick in 2017. That move was likely made with a contract agreement all but certain with Wiercioch, who the Avs were rumored to be pursuing at the trade deadline earlier this year.