Denver, CO (Best E Casino) - The Colorado Avalanche re-signed forward Marek Svatos to a two-year contract on Friday, avoiding an arbitration hearing scheduled for the same day.

Svatos played in 62 games last season and totaled 26 goals and 11 assists. The 26-year-old Slovak ranked third among first year players in 2005-06 with 32 goals, trailing only Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. He finished second on the team with 26 goals in 2007-08 despite missing the last 16 games with a torn ACL.

"Svatos has been a key ingredient to our success the last few years," Avalanche executive vice president and general manager Francois Giguere said. "He's scored many big goals for this club and we expect him to be a strong force for us again this season."

A seventh-round selection by Colorado in the 2001 Draft, Svatos has 75 goals and 44 assists over a total of 193 games, all with the Avalanche.