A year after Colorado claimed Conner Bleackley with the 23rd overall choice of the 2014 NHL draft, the Avalanche hasn't yet signed the center to a three-year, entry-level contract.
That's not alarming or unusual, given that he probably will play one more season of major junior with the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels, but if he isn't signed by then, he could re-enter the draft in 2016.
Bleackley, 19, could sign an entry-level deal and still return to Red Deer — roughly halfway between Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta — this season. In that case, the deal would "slide" back a year and the clock wouldn't start ticking toward restricted free agency until he's with the Avalanche for more than nine games.