Saad Brings Championship Pedigree to Avalanche

When the Colorado Avalanche added Brandon Saad to its roster, the organization acquired a forward that knows what it takes to win.
Saad is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, having won the title with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015, and is just 27 years old.
"We think he's going to be a great fit and do a tremendous job," said Colorado executive vice president and general manager Joe Sakic. "He is a really good two-way player. He goes to the net; he gets his goals. We have a lot of great shooters, perimeter shooters, but he will be getting to the front of the net and getting those dirty goals. And we just think that he is a versatile player, can play anywhere in the lineup, and we think it's going to be a great addition."

Saad has recorded 347 points (169 goals, 178 assists) in 588 career regular-season games for the Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets, while adding 42 points (18 goals, 24 assists) in 81 career postseason contests.
Along with Sadd, Colorado acquired defenseman Dennis Gilbert from Chicago in exchange for blueliners Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm.
Having spent six of his eight NHL seasons with the Central-Division rival Blackhawks, Saad has seen firsthand the growth that the Avalanche has taken in the past few years.
"I think just playing against them, I am going to learn more as we go here, but just the elite talent that they have. It's one of those teams where they could not even be having their best night, but they come through with just talent, with scoring goals, playing well defensively," said Saad. "They have a good system, they have a lot of depth as well, I think all those lead into championship teams. Back when we were winning in Chicago, that was kind of the formula. When you have that depth, on any given night someone is going to pull through. Then obviously with the elite talent that they have as well, we had that as well in Chicago.
"I know in Chicago when we were winning, [the Avs] weren't really at their peak, but they were a growing, good, young hockey team. Now, years later, you can see it's a really tough team to play against and a tough building to go into, so it's kind of reverse effects. I'm happy to be a part of them at the peak now with playing with some great players and having a chance to win every year."
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native has hit the 20-goal mark five times in his career, including this past campaign. He recorded 21 markers and added 12 assists in 58 games in 2019-20 before adding two goals and three helpers in nine playoff outings.

Saad is expected to play a role on one of the Avs' top two lines, possibly alongside Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky, another player on the Avalanche roster who has lifted the Stanley Cup. Kadri and Burakovsky were both acquired by Colorado via trades last offseason and helped the squad add secondary scoring to its roster in 2019-20, an area that the team wants to continue to develop.
In fact, in addition to Burakovsky and Kadri, the Avalanche also added Joonas Donskoi and Valeri Nichushkin last summer and all four forwards finished among Colorado's top-seven goal scorers, accounting for almost 30 percent (68 of 236) of the club's goals.
"We just felt this was the best thing for us. We were looking for a second-line player, I think that's the one thing that we wanted to address," Sakic said of the transaction. "We are extremely happy to have Brandon with us. He is a guy that we watched for years, and we think he is going to be a great fit as one of our top six. We feel like we've solidified our top-six group and also our bottom six, so we are pretty content with the depth that we have up front, for sure."
Since joining the Avalanche organization on Saturday, the left wing has connected with captain Gabriel Landeskog as well as alternate captains Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon. Saad was a teammate of MacKinnon's on Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and he has competed against Landeskog since they both played in the Ontario Hockey League in 2010-11.
"Over the past few days I've talked to Johnson, MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog. Those three players reached out to me," Saad said. "Obviously hockey is a tight-knit community, so the guys have been great whether I just need help with knowing the area or things like that, so they are always there for you. I am looking forward to getting to the city and getting to know it and playing with a great hockey team."
It is unknown when exactly next season will start, but Saad is excited to don the Avalanche's burgundy and blue sweater and for the opportunity to try and bring the Stanley Cup back to the Mile High City.
"I think coming to Denver, you see how good the team is playing against them, just to be a part of that group I couldn't be more excited to get things going here," Saad said. "I know it's a little bit weird of an offseason, but I just couldn't be more excited to join a great group of a hockey team."