Francois Beauchemin
Defenseman, 6-foot-1, 208 pounds
In his first season with the Avalanche, Beauchemin played in all 82 games and produced eight goals and 34 points. His 26 assists and 34 points matched career-highs, both tying what he had in his rookie season in 2005-06 when the Anaheim Ducks were Mighty. Beauchemin scored eight goals that season, giving him an identical 8-26-34 line in his first season with Anaheim and Colorado. For the Avs, Beauchemin was the second-leading scorer among defensemen, behind Tyson Barrie, and he led the team in average ice time (25:04). Beauchemin undoubtedly helped the team defend and move the puck up ice — he offered improvement in all areas — thus his free-agent signing on July 1, 2015 is considered a good one. That said, Beauchemin is approaching his 36th birthday and there is concern about his ice time, given his age. He was used as a top-pairing defenseman for the Avs but might be better suited on the second or third pairing in the final two years of his contract.
Highlight: Beauchemin played 28:31 and had both goals in a 2-1 victory over the visiting New York Islanders on Dec. 17.
Lowlight: Beauchemin was minus-3 in that ugly 6-2 loss to Boston in Game 3 of the season on Oct. 14 in Denver.
Future: Beauchemin’s $4.5 million annual contract goes through the 2017-18 season, at age 37. The trade-deadline addition of defenseman Eric Gelinas temporarily moved Beauchemin off the power play to allow him to focus on even-strength and penalty killing, but Gelinas season-ending elbow injury forced Beauchemin back into his do-everything role. Gelinas is under contract next season and Beauchemin might again be moved off the power play.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers
