The Colorado Avalanche, parent club of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters, announced on Friday that the club has agreed to terms with defenseman David Liffiton, forwards Greg Mauldin, Julian Talbot and David Van der Gulik, and goaltenders Jason Bacashihua and John Grahame, all to one-year deals.
Liffiton, 25, was Colorado’s first selection (second round, 63rd overall) in the 2003 Entry Draft. He spent the 2009-10 season with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, where he collected 20 points (5g, 15a) and 118 penalty minutes in 72 games.
A native of Windsor, Ont., Liffiton has played in 256 career AHL games with Syracuse and Hartford, totaling 11 goals, 39 assists and 602 PIM. He has also appeared in three NHL games with the New York Rangers, one in 2005-06 and two in 2006-07.
Mauldin, 28, spent most of this past season with the New York Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he led the team in scoring with 54 points (25g, 29a) in 77 games. He also appeared in one game with the Islanders.
Originally selected by Columbus in the seventh round of the 2002 Entry Draft, the Boston native has played 363 games in the AHL with Bridgeport, Binghamton, Houston and Syracuse, notching 84 goals and 114 assists for 198 points. Mauldin has also played seven career NHL games, six with the Blue Jackets and one with the Islanders.
Talbot, 25, was acquired by Colorado from St. Louis on June 17. He spent the past three seasons with the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, where he collected 32 points (17g, 15a) in 76 games in 2009-10.
In 226 career AHL games with Peoria and Providence, Talbot has recorded 62 goals and 66 assists for 128 points. The Wahnapitae, Ont., native was originally signed by St. Louis as a free agent on Mar. 19, 2008.
Van der Gulik, 27, spent the last four seasons in the Calgary organization after being drafted by the Flames in 2002. Last season with his hometown Abbotsford Heat, Van der Gulik tallied 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points.
In 297 AHL games with Abbotsford, Quad City and Omaha, Van der Gulik has registered 68 goals and 93 assists for 161 points. He appeared in in six NHL games with the Flames in 2008-09, collecting two assists.
Bacashihua, 27, spent last season with the Hershey Bears, posting a 17-3-1 record in 22 games with a 2.48 goals-against average, a .911 save percentage and one shutout for the eventual Calder Cup champions.
Bacashihua, who spent the 2007-08 and 2008-09 campaigns in the Avalanche’s system, was originally a first-round pick (26th overall) by Dallas in the 2001 Entry Draft. In 233 career AHL appearances with Hershey, Lake Erie, Peoria, Worcester and Utah, he shows a record of 99-103-18 with 15 shutouts.
Bacashihua has also appeared in 38 NHL games as a member of the St. Louis Blues, compiling a 7-17-4 career mark.
Grahame, 34, ended the 2009-10 season in the Avalanche’s system, appearing in 14 games with Lake Erie. He also played in 12 games with the AHL’s Adirondack Phantoms, and was a combined 6-17-3 with a 3.17 GAA between the two stops.
A Calder Cup champion with Providence in 1999, Grahame has played 176 games in the AHL with Lake Erie, Adirondack, Albany and Providence, posting a record of 77-80-13 with seven shutouts. A native of Denver, Grahame has appeared in 224 career NHL games, posting a 97-86-18 record with a 2.79 GAA and 12 shutouts and winning a Stanley Cup with Tampa Bay (2004).
