Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Avalanche Rumors

Colorado Places Josh Manson On IR

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The injury list continues to grow for the Avalanche as the team confirmed to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link) that defenseman Josh Manson has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Thursday.  He has left the team to be re-evaluated and is listed as week-to-week.

The 31-year-old is in his first full year with the Avs after being acquired in a trade near the deadline from Anaheim last season.  After being a top-four defender with Anaheim, Colorado has opted to use Manson in a bit of a lower role so far as he’s logging just shy of 17 minutes per game (a career low) through his first 21 contests.  Despite that, he has chipped in with six points while averaging more than two hits per contest.

Andreas Englund, who was recalled from AHL Colorado yesterday, is taking Manson’s spot on the active roster.

The defending Stanley Cup champions have been hit hard by the injury bug this season.  Gabriel Landeskog and Darren Helm are on LTIR while Valeri Nichushkin, Kurtis MacDermid, and Shane Bowers will join Manson on injured reserve.  Meanwhile, Evan Rodrigues and Bowen Byram are also currently injured but remain on Colorado’s active roster.  In spite of all the injuries, the Avalanche enter tonight’s game against Boston with 27 points in 21 games, good enough to place them third in the Central Division.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Andreas Englund

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Colorado Avalanche have recalled defenseman Andreas Englund from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The news was first reported by Colorado Hockey Now’s Adrian Dater.

The recall comes after blueliner Josh Manson missed the third period of yesterday’s game with an undisclosed injury.

The 26-year-old Englund has played in four NHL games for Colorado this season and has played in 37 total NHL games in his career. Englund, a former Ottawa Senator, has spent most of this year so far with AHL Colorado. There, he has three points and 47 penalty minutes in 15 games.

Englund is a 2014 second-round pick who has settled into a role as a minutes-eating, physical AHL defenseman who sits closer to the top of his team’s list in terms of first call-ups in the case of injury trouble.

After not playing at all during the 2020-21 season, Englund re-established himself in North America after being non-tendered by the Senators thanks to his performance with the Eagles.

He earned a one-year two-way NHL contract this past summer and will look to provide the Avalanche with steady play as they await additional news on Manson’s status.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Jean-Luc Foudy

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Colorado Avalanche continue to make changes to their group, this time recalling prospect Jean-Luc Foudy. The young forward will be joining the team on a regular for the first time in his career; his only other NHL experience was as a Black Ace last spring during Colorado’s playoff run.

There is real excitement about the 2020 third-round pic, who has five goals and 14 points in 18 games with the Colorado Eagles, especially because of the way he has been able to develop the last few years. Normally (as new Seattle Kraken fans are learning), a player selected out of the CHL is not able to be assigned for an extended period of time to the AHL until they are 20 years old. It is either the NHL or back to junior, a difficult decision for some that have shown an ability to dominate their peers through a specific skill.

Some hockey minds wonder whether it is good for their development at all, to continue playing at a level that doesn’t challenge them to find other ways to compete. Foudy was potentially going to be one of these players, given the elite speed and athleticism that he possesses. He had been an offensive force from the moment he entered the OHL, scoring 49 points as a rookie.

Because of the way COVID-19 restrictions played out, however, Foudy never played a game in junior after he was drafted. The 2020-21 OHL season was canceled, leaving players eligible to suit up in other leagues. The Avalanche sent their young forward to the AHL, where he played 34 games for the Colorado Eagles. Overmatched as an 18-year-old for much of the season, he would score just three goals, 14 points, and finished with a -17 rating.

In 2021-22 he still wouldn’t have qualified for AHL play, but a one-time exemption was made for players who suited up at least 20 times in the previous COVID-affected season. Since Foudy had played 34 games for Colorado, he was allowed to spend last year with the Eagles as well. While things still started out difficult, by the end of the season he had learned how to play at that level, and was a strong performer in the playoffs, scoring four goals and seven points in nine games.

It was no surprise that he came back this year even better, and has now earned a call-up to the big squad. As one of the first players with a development path like this, Foudy will be an interesting case to watch in the coming years.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Alex Galchenyuk

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After a training camp tryout and an AHL PTO, Alex Galchenyuk has secured another NHL deal. The Colorado Avalanche have signed the veteran forward to a one-year contract for the rest of this season. According to Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets, the deal is worth a pro-rated $750K, the league minimum. If the team wants him to continue in the minor leagues, he would have to clear waivers.

This may well have come a few months earlier had Galchenyuk not suffered an injury in camp that ended any chance of him starting the year with Colorado. At the time of his injury, head coach Jared Bednar had explained that the team would reconsider a deal when the injury was dealt with. Earlier this month, that resulted in an AHL tryout with the Colorado Eagles, where Galchenyuk managed seven points in seven games.

The 28-year-old forward has had a fascinating career thus far, one which includes a 30-goal season and seven different NHL stops. The third-overall pick from 2012 has the obvious skill required to compete at the NHL level and over the years developed a strong work ethic, but his game is still rife with inconsistency. He will look like a difference-making player for three shifts in a row, and then be completely out of position on the next.

Still, over the last few years, Colorado has built up a reputation for finding the perfect fit for players who may have been cast off from other organizations. Valeri Nichushkin may be the best example – the big Russian was once bought out by the Dallas Stars after going an entire season without scoring a goal, only to develop into an elite two-way winger for the Avalanche. Players like Ryan Graves, Jacob MacDonald, Kurtis MacDermid, and Jack Johnson have all found fits with the Avalanche after other teams moved on, learning how to play a specific role.

If Colorado can do the same with Galchenyuk, there is at least enough history to suggest that he can become a valuable piece this season. Given how their forward depth has been tested with injury so far, there will certainly be an opportunity for him to prove he still belongs. There is probably no better chance coming for Galchenyuk, so he’ll have to make the most of this one.

Evan Rodrigues Listed As Week To Week

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues is officially listed as week to week but is expected to miss two to four weeks due to the lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday against Vancouver, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link). The timeline won’t allow Colorado to transfer him onto LTIR to add to their pool unless the team learns that he will be out for the longer end of that timeline.  Rodrigues has been a useful addition this season as he has notched six goals and three assists through his first 18 games while spending some time both on the wing and down the middle.

Sampo Ranta And Anton Blidh Recalled

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • As expected, the Avalanche have recalled wingers Sampo Ranta and Anton Blidh from the minors, per the AHL’s transactions listing. Colorado has been shuffling waiver-exempt players back and forth all season long in an effort to try to bank some extra cap space, something that is harder to do with the team currently in LTIR.  Ranta and Blidh have played in three and four games respectively with the Avs so far this season.

Today’s Nashville-Colorado, Tomorrow’s Nashville-Columbus Game Postponed

at CDT | by 8 Comments

3:16 pm: Not much of a surprise, the NHL has announced that tomorrow’s game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena has been postponed as well. Like today’s game, this one also has not yet been rescheduled. The Blue Jackets host the New York Islanders tonight, but will now stay home to take on the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. Nashville’s next game is currently scheduled for Tuesday at home against the Anaheim Ducks, but the team hits the road after. The NHL hasn’t announced a decision on Tuesday’s game just yet.

8:58 am: Happy Thanksgiving, Nashville – the rink is flooded. The NHL has announced that because of a water main break in Bridgestone Arena, today’s game between the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche will be postponed. There has not yet been a makeup date announced.

The “significant impact” on the event level has even put tomorrow’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in jeopardy, though the league has not made a decision yet on whether it will be held.

That means it could be a rather significant break for the Predators, who last played on Wednesday and wouldn’t again until Tuesday if tomorrow’s match is also postponed. With that much time off now, it just means that later down the road the schedule will be even tighter.

After losing on Wednesday, Nashville is now treading water with a 9-9-2 record and sit sixth in the Central Division.

Colorado, meanwhile, got the rare opportunity of spending Thanksgiving in a Nashville hotel – flying in, staying overnight and now leaving for their home game against the Dallas Stars tomorrow night.

Lower Body Tweak For Evan Rodrigues, Won't Play Friday

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

  • The news appears to be pretty good for Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the 29-year-old has a lower-body “tweak” but is feeling okay.  Rodrigues won’t accompany the team to Nashville for Friday’s game but it looks like he might not be out for too long.  He’s off to a nice start in his first season with Colorado with six goals and three assists in 18 games so far.

Colorado Avalanche Re-Assign Oskar Olausson To AHL

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

10:40 am: This morning, the team has made those corresponding moves, recalling Anton Blidh and Sampo Ranta from the minor leagues.

7:40 am: After their game last night, a 4-3 loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Colorado Avalanche announced they’ve re-assigned winger Oskar Olausson to the Colorado Eagles, their AHL affiliate. No corresponding move was announced. The transaction leaves the team with only 11 forwards, however Colorado does not play again until tomorrow afternoon.

A first-round pick of the Avalanche, 28th overall, back in 2021, Olausson was called up just yesterday, mere hours before he was re-assigned, but didn’t go away without getting to make his NHL debut in last night’s game, in which he played just over seven minutes. Sending Olausson back to the AHL certainly isn’t an indictment on his performance last night, with Colorado needing the twelfth forward and Olausson being waiver-exempt.

Olausson, 20, has impressed since coming to North America after being drafted. The winger played last season in the OHL, his only season there, splitting time between the Barrie Colts and Oshawa Generals, where he combined for 26 goals and 23 assists in 55 games. The Swede made his AHL debut this season with the Eagles, where he’s posted four goals and four assists through 16 AHL games. While he now represents a capable fill-in for the Avalanche as needed, one would expect Olausson to continue to work on his game in the AHL as he’s still one of the organization’s top prospects.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top