Miles Wood wanted term in free agency. The Avs took a 6-year gamble.

Miles Wood was paying attention to the contracts. He noticed how most of them were shaking out Saturday around the NHL.

“This free agency, a lot of one- and two-year deals were handed out,” the new Avalanche wing said Monday.

He didn’t want that. He had spent his entire eight-year career in the same organization, experiencing the virtues of familiarity. So when it was time to leave New Jersey, “my goal heading into free agency was trying to get term.”

Colorado offered term — to a startling extent. Wood is signed for the next six years with a $2.5 million average annual value. The Avs have a likely bottom-six forward locked up longer than Cale Makar and for as many years as captain Gabriel Landeskog.

“I feel very fortunate in the sense that I got a six-year deal,” Wood said. “And from the start, Colorado was always a team that I would love to play for. I love the mountains. I’m an outdoor guy. And whenever we would go out and play them, it was just such a great spot.”

Wood doesn’t know his new teammates at all — his only prior connection to an Avalanche player was offseason skating with Alex Newhook, who was just traded to Montreal — but he said that general manager Chris MacFarland told him he had been on Colorado’s radar for “a few years” before this.

The long-term contract is a leap of faith reflecting that. Wood is known as an outstanding skater, which the Avs love in a forechecker. But he has never averaged more than 15 minutes of ice time per game in a season, and the penalty minutes throughout his career jump off the stats page. Colorado is rolling the dice that $2.5 million — an AAV $700,000 less than his previous deal — will become a bargain for the majority of his contract, after the league salary cap increases.

With a toothless grin, Wood described himself as a player who will “stick up for my teammates” and provide a physical net-front presence while also contributing to the Avalanche’s past-paced system.

“That was our structure in New Jersey as well,” he said. “We were a fast transition game. We were a fast team. I know the Avs have a lot of speed too, so hopefully I can fit right in there and the transition won’t be that hard.”

The transition will begin in late August or early September, when Wood plans to try getting situated in Denver. The process of finding a new home is one he hasn’t had to go through in years, so he wants to give himself time to do that before training camp. Plus, a little extra offseason time near the mountains never hurts for a self-labeled outdoorsman like Wood.

“The big trip I do once a year is up to Big Sky, Montana,” he said. “So being in Colorado, it’s right up my alley there.”

Drouin excited for reset, reunion with MacKinnon

Jonathan Drouin signed a one-year deal with the Avalanche shortly after Wood inked his Saturday afternoon, but Drouin had a feeling before free agency opened that he might end up in Denver.

He had been in touch with former Halifax Mooseheads teammate Nathan MacKinnon, whom Colorado consulted about Drouin before signing the forward.

“We definitely were texting quite a bit in the past couple weeks,” Drouin said.

The six-year Montreal Canadien is an $825,000 rental for now. His offense has dipped in recent years, but the Avs have an opportunity to surround him with other talented offensive players to spark his confidence.

“I think I needed a fresh start,” Drouin said. “Obviously, a lot of ups and downs. … I’m just hoping to help them in any way I can and to find my game again. I know it’s there. It’s just a matter of confidence.”

Guest coaches at development camp

Avalanche development camp started Monday, and Colorado brought in Kim Weiss and Kelsey Cline to help facilitate the event as part of the NHL Coaches’ Association Diversity Guest Coach Program.

Both will be guest coaches for the duration of development camp, at preseason training camp and during parts of the 2023-24 season, according to a team release. Weiss is an associate head coach for the Maryland Black Bears in the North American Hockey League — she’s the first female coach of a North American men’s junior hockey team. Cline is an assistant coach for the Ohio State women’s hockey team.

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