Confirmed Signing with Link: [COL] F Jere Innala signs ELC with the Avalanche (1 year, $870k)
- Thread starter MMC
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Brunkmeister
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- Sep 4, 2021
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This is great news!
As a fellow Jere, we have been massively underrepresented in today’s NHL!
As a fellow Jere, we have been massively underrepresented in today’s NHL!
Leon Lucius Black
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- Nov 5, 2007
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Jere Innala sounds like how i pronounce Jarome Iginla after 14 beers.
mattihp
Registered User
Wait. Why? Not good enough for the NHL and like pretty much all Finns his age will bolt home rather than play in the AHL
I will call him Jere Iginla from now on
Wait. Why? Not good enough for the NHL and like pretty much all Finns his age will bolt home rather than play in the AHL
I will call him Jere Iginla from now on
Yes, this is very surprising. Perhaps they see some improvements in his two way play. Colorado's Finnish players have been good on high ratio and maybe this encouraged Colorado to give a long shot on Innala as well. Guessing that AHL will indeed be where Innala will head and he has to be a top guy there in order to play for Colorado Avalanche.
Now and in the past, Donskoi, Rantanen, Lehkonen, Kiviranta have all been pretty good for Colorado and Annunen will probably get there. Sampo Ranta perhaps is a more arguable case.
JoeSakic13
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SoundAndFury
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- May 28, 2012
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I think "encouraged Colorado" is the wrong take on the situation.
Innala is guaranteed 170k in bonuses/salary and that's pretty much the only risk Colorado is taking. If you can call that a risk as even additional AHL depth is good for that price. Like mattihp is saying, for the most part established pros are ones who do not want to play in the AHL for that kind of salary but if one does, surely plenty of NHL teams are happy to accommodate them. Especially ones like Colorado who trade so many picks away that they need to look at the FA market just to fill the AHL roster.
I'd imagine they don't want to take just any player to hang around in their AHL team. They are hoping for some upside on the player they sign and I don't see that potential with Innala being very high. That's why it feels surprising to me. There are probably at least 30 Finnish players in FEL/SEL (without a contract with an NHL organization and no draft rights) who are Innala's level or better and you can sign and give them that same 170k.
Innala is a scorer first and his stats in SEL last season don't seem that amazing, so there has to be an improvement in his overall play, thus Jukka Jalonen gave him a chance in the Finnish WHC team & Colorado's organization showed interest on him. Can't say more on him because I'm just basing my assumptions on stats and logic. I haven't watched his SEL games.
SoundAndFury
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- May 28, 2012
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That's the point, most established FEL/SEL players don't want to play in the AHL for 170k because they get close to double that in Europe. And from Colorado's perspective, the upside is nice but they are down to 28 players under contract in their system. They literally need some warm bodies to fill the AHL team and naturally, if you get a chance to take a decent-to-good SHL player to fill that slot - you take it because even journeymen AHL vets ask for more money.
