Jaden Schwartz is returning to Colorado. He’ll just be a little further north this time around.

Darren Dreger of TSN reported on Wednesday that the Avalanche had signed the 34-year-old Schwartz to a three-year contract that will carry a cap hit of $3.25 million. Schwartz spent two years with Colorado College from 2010-2012.

Schwartz has played 861 career NHL games over the course of his 15-year career. He has spent the last five seasons playing for the Seattle Kraken, where he played 50 games last season, amassing 11 goals and 26 points. The 5-foot-10 forward brings speed and versatility to the Avalanche lineup but has struggled to stay healthy over the course of his NHL career.

The Avalanche traded away forwards Jack Drury, Ross Colton and Valeri Nichushkin this summer, so Schwartz will help bring depth to the lineup. With the additions of young forwards Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux, the Avalanche now have 12 NHL forwards on their roster as things currently stand.

In addition to Schwartz, the Avalanche are bringing in depth defenseman Noah Juulsen on a two-year contract that will carry a cap hit of $1.1 million. The 29-year-old spent last season with the Philadelphia Flyers, picking up 10 points in 52 games. He currently sits seventh on the depth chart with the Avalanche. Juulsen is another right-handed defenseman, bringing Colorado’s total to five.

With both these signings, the Avalanche now have just under $1.3 million in cap space with 21 players.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic is expected to meet with the media on Wednesday with NHL free agency underway.

This story will be updated