The Colorado Avalanche announced today that goalie Trent Miner has been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. This roster move comes in the aftermath of an injury suffered by netminder Scott Wedgewood. Wedgewood left the team’s Dec. 2 contest with an upper-body injury and did not return.
Head coach Jared Bednar said last night that he wasn’t sure whether the organization would need to recall a third goalie for its upcoming road trip, but today’s recall indicates that the organization is at least preparing for the possibility that Wedgewood could miss time. The Avalanche play tomorrow on Long Island and continue on the road until their Dec. 11 game against the Florida Panthers.
Miner, 24, returns to the Avalanche’s NHL roster for the second time this season. Miner was in the NHL in October, playing in two games and recording a .909 save percentage. Since being sent down to AHL Colorado, Miner has gone 4-1 with a .908 save percentage. He’s proven himself to be a capable AHL goalie over the last few years, posting an impressive career save percentage of .919 in more than 70 games played.
Miner is under contract through next season on a two-way basis with a $775K NHL AAV, and looks poised to serve as the Avalanche’s organizational No. 3 goalie through the end of this season at least. Looking forward to next year, the one-year, $2.5MM AAV contract extension Wedgewood signed on Nov. 13 does appear at this point to block Miner’s path to becoming part of Colorado’s NHL tandem.
But if he can keep putting together quality AHL performances, and find a way to show his talent in his limited NHL opportunities, he could get looks this summer as a potential candidate to become an NHL backup outside of Colorado.