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Colorado Avalanche Activate Josh Manson

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The Colorado Avalanche activated defenseman Josh Manson from injured reserve Wednesday, per CapFriendly.

Manson returns after missing over two months and 31 games with a lower-body injury. The move couldn’t come at a better time, as Colorado was down to no lineup-regular right-shot defenders after placing Erik Johnson on injured reserve earlier this week.

A high-end shutdown defenseman, Manson excelled in last year’s Stanley Cup-winning playoff run after a trade deadline move from the Anaheim Ducks. He made a sizable offensive impact on top of his normally steady defensive play, recording eight points in 20 games.

Nearing his 500th NHL game after a largely injury-plagued career, Manson will return to a second-pairing role alongside youngster Bowen Byram. Before going down with the injury, Manson had two goals, four assists, and six points in 21 games while averaging 16:57 per game. Expect that second figure to increase as the season progresses.

Manson, 31, is in the first season of a four-year, $18MM extension signed with Colorado last offseason. He’s slated to make his first appearance of the 2023 calendar year tonight in Minnesota.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Ben Meyers, Brad Hunt

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With Erik Johnson moving to injured reserve, the Colorado Avalanche have recalled Ben Meyers and Brad Hunt to give them a little more depth. The club had been carrying barely enough players to dress a full lineup and went with only 11 forwards over the weekend (plus Kurtis MacDermid, who plays both defense and forward).

Meyers, 24, has played in 28 games for the Avalanche this season but can’t seem to find his way onto the scoresheet. He has just one goal and has yet to record an assist in the NHL. During his time in the minor leagues, he had eight points in 14 games for the Colorado Eagles. The undrafted college free agent is still getting his feet wet in professional hockey and will get another chance with the Avalanche.

Hunt, meanwhile, has played 27 games for the Avalanche this season and 22 more for the Eagles, playing in the minor leagues for the first time since 2016-17. The depth defender can rack up points at will in the AHL, and has six on the year with the Avalanche so far. Now 34, he certainly isn’t the long-term answer for Colorado, but Hunt is a reliable veteran call-up that can play games without much risk.

Johnson suffered a lower-body injury over the weekend but no timeline has been given for his return yet.

Jonas Johansson Recalled From AHL

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  • The Colorado Avalanche have listed Pavel Francouz out with a lower-body injury, and recalled Jonas Johansson from the AHL to replace him. It is not clear how long the former will be out, but it likely means that Alexandar Georgiev will be starting tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Avalanche on a back-to-back Wednesday in Minnesota, Johansson’s services may be required.

Brad Hunt Clears Waivers

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02/12/23: Hunt has cleared waivers, according to an announcement from the Avalanche. He has been re-assigned to the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, and will likely resume his important role there as the Eagles look to solidify a playoff spot.

He has 20 points in 22 AHL games this season, which still ranks first among all Eagles blueliners despite the fact that Hunt has split time between Denver and Loveland this season.

02/11/23: The Colorado Avalanche placed defenseman Brad Hunt on the waiver wire Saturday, reports Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Colorado signed Hunt, 34, to a two-year, two-way contract before this season. He’s played in 26 games for the Avs, called into action with a slew of injuries affecting the team. He has three goals and three assists for six points and has been restricted to a bottom-pairing role.

Hunt had played in every game for Colorado after he was recalled in early December. It’s unclear why Colorado has opted to place Hunt on waivers, although the team has made a habit out of waiving players but not sending them down purely to create roster flexibility in advance.

It could also be a sign that Josh Manson, who’s been on injured reserve with a lower-body injury since December 3, will be ready to return soon. There were whispers that he could return on the team’s current road trip, but he’s not expected to play in their final game of the trip today against Florida.

Erik Johnson Suffers Lower-Body Injury

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  • The Colorado Avalanche announced that veteran blueliner Erik Johnson would not return to tonight’s game due to a lower-body injury. Dater on Hockey’s Adrian Dater added that the “worry is it might be broken foot,” but no further information beyond that has been released. A broken foot would obviously be a massive blow for the Avalanche as they look to climb the standings down the stretch, so all involved will likely be hoping that what knocked Johnson out of the game ends up being only a minor obstacle.

Makar To Miss At Least Two Games With Head Injury

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The Colorado Avalanche won’t have Cale Makar for at least the next two games, as he deals with a head injury. Peter Baugh of The Athletic confirms that it is from the collision with Jeff Carter, and notes that while the star defenseman passed the initial concussion protocol, he woke up feeling unwell the next day. So far, he has only been ruled out through the rest of this road trip, which ends on Saturday against the Florida Panthers.

Makar has 45 points in 45 games so far this season and is playing an incredible 27 minutes a night for the Avalanche. The 24-year-old has maintained a point-per-game pace through his first four seasons in the league and will likely once again receive Norris Trophy votes. Here are some more minor notes from around the league:

Byram And Nichushkin To Return Tuesday

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  • There’s some good news on the horizon for the Avalanche when it comes to the injury front. Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Valeri Nichushkin will return on Tuesday against Colorado.  Byram has missed the last 38 games due to a lower-body injury but had been logging nearly 21 minutes a night in his first ten appearances where he picked up five points.  Nichushkin, meanwhile, returns from his second ankle injury of the year.  He has been quite productive when he has been in the lineup, collecting 18 points in 20 games.  Meanwhile, it’s also possible that blueliner Josh Manson accompanies the team on the trip; he has been out for more than two months with a lower-body injury.

Avalanche Reportedly Interested In Potential NCAA Free Agent

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  • The Colorado Avalanche could be eyeing some potential college free agents. Dater on Hockey’s Adrian Dater reports that the Avalanche are interested in Western Michigan center Max Sasson. Sasson, 22, is an undrafted player who has scored 31 points in 28 games so far this season. Should Sasson sign in Colorado, he would add to the Avalanche’s record of picking from the college free agent ranks, something they did last year when they inked Olympian Ben Meyers to his entry-level deal.

Colorado Avalanche Re-Assign Ben Meyers

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The Colorado Avalanche have assigned former University of Minnesota standout Ben Meyers to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, according to a tweet Saturday evening.

The move allows Meyers to get some games in with the Eagles over the NHL All-Star break after filling in as an injury substitute for the Avalanche for most of the season. In the minors, he has a goal and four assists in 10 games.

It hasn’t been the smoothest of transitions for Meyers, who was a Hobey Baker finalist last season and represented the United States at the Olympics and World Championships. He has just one point, a goal, in 27 games with the Avalanche, and he’s seen very few minutes under head coach Jared Bednar.

The 24-year-old could very well gain some confidence with more playing time in the minors, which would be highly beneficial for Colorado’s bottom six. They recently moved to fortify it, re-acquiring Matt Nieto in a trade with the San Jose Sharks.

Colorado plays next on February 7, a road matchup in Pittsburgh.

Latest On Gabriel Landeskog

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  • Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season so far recovering from injury, and still isn’t quite close to returning. That doesn’t mean he isn’t inching closer, though. The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando reports that there is a “tentative plan” in place for Landeskog to “start skating under team supervision after the NHL All-Star break.” Getting Landeskog back in time for the stretch run of the season would come as a huge boost to an Avalanche team that has dealt with major injury issues this season.

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