Former University of Denver teammates Patrick Wiercioch and Joe Colborne signed with the Avalanche on Friday after NHL free agency opened at 10 a.m.
Wiercioch, a 25-year-old defenseman, signed a one-year, $800,000 contract and Colborne, a 26-year-old forward, signed a two-year, $5 million deal.
Wiercioch and Colborne became unrestricted free agents after not being given qualifying offers as restricted free agents by Ottawa and Calgary, respectively. They came to Denver as Pioneers freshmen in 2008, and both left school for the pros after their sophomore seasons, after No. 1-ranked DU was knocked out of the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Rochester Institute of Technology.