Colorado Avalanche Reassign Jason Polin, Tristen Nielsen
The Colorado Avalanche announced today that forwards Tristen Nielsen and Jason Polin have been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
Polin was originally recalled to the Avalanche’s NHL roster on Nov. 21, while Nielsen was recalled on Nov. 20. Nielsen got into three games during this recall, while Polin drew into two.
The Avalanche did not surrender a goal in both games where Polin and Nielsen played, with Nielsen scoring his first NHL point during the team’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday.
Both Polin and Nielsen are undrafted forwards who have spent significant time in the AHL en route to becoming NHL call-up options. Nielsen began his pro career with the Abbotsford Canucks, and won the Calder Cup with the team in 2024-25.
Polin, 26, had a four-year college hockey career at Western Michigan University, where he starred as a senior, scoring 30 goals and 47 points in 39 games. Polin was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as a senior, and was his conference’s player of the year.
While neither player has fully established himself in the NHL to this point, (and their recent recall further underscores that), it’s clear they have at least earned the trust of the Avalanche to the point where they’ll be called on to fill NHL roles in instances where injuries hit.
This season doesn’t carry major financial implications for Nielsen, who remains under contract through 2026-27 at a $775K cap hit (with a two-way structure and total guarantee of $225K next season) it is, however, an important one for Polin. Polin is a pending unrestricted free agent who will have the opportunity in the summer to leave the only pro organization he’s ever known, assuming he does not sign an extension beforehand.
Polin is currently playing out a one-year, two-way contract carrying a league-minimum NHL cap hit and a $140K guarantee at the AHL level. AHL veterans have had some difficulty in recent years securing contracts to continue their career in the AHL due to the league’s development rule, which caps the number of players a team can dress for any game that have cleared a specific threshold of professional games played.
For Polin, this is where his extensive NCAA career comes in handy. By developing his game in the NCAA, he has limited his exposure to pro hockey, leaving him at this point with just 115 total pro games played. That gives him a solid amount of runway before teams will need to consider the AHL’s development rule when signing him, which should alleviate some of the pressure on him heading into an important unrestricted free agency.
Now back in the AHL thanks to this reassignment, it’ll be important for both Polin and Nielsen to continue playing well for the Eagles. Nielsen has nine goals and 14 points in 16 games this season, while Polin has six points through 16 games.
With other call-up options waiting in the wings, such as veterans Alex Barre-Boulet and T.J. Tynan, as well as younger contributors Ivan Ivan and Taylor Makar, it’ll be important for Nielsen and Polin to sustain their momentum in a crowded field of call-up options.
Avalanche Recall Jason Polin
The Avalanche announced they’ve recalled forward Jason Polin from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. They have an open roster spot and thus don’t need to make a corresponding transaction.
Polin’s inclusion on the roster ensures the Avs will have 12 forwards available when they take on the Predators on Saturday. They could be without winger Gavin Brindley, who left Thursday’s win over the Rangers after taking a heavy hit in the first period and didn’t return.
It’s a tough break for Brindley if he’s set to miss any time. The 21-year-old rookie is fresh off signing a two-year extension and has been recently elevated into a top-six role alongside Brock Nelson in place of Valeri Nichushkin, who’s out week-to-week. Brindley’s first game in second-line duties resulted in a two-point performance against the Sabres last week, although he didn’t record a point against the Islanders last Sunday, nor did he get one in less than three minutes of ice time against the Rangers before sustaining the injury.
Injuries to Colorado’s forward group have been commonplace in recent years. That trend is starting to resurface with Nichushkin, Logan O’Connor, and Joel Kiviranta already being unavailable. If Polin’s services are needed this weekend, it likely won’t be as a direct replacement for Brindley on the depth chart. It’s fair to assume a brief elevation to top-six duties could be in order for Victor Olofsson, who saw over 18 minutes of ice time against the Rangers and has a 6-9–15 scoring line in 20 games this year, would be in order.
Polin, 26, has nine NHL games to his name with one goal. He was an undrafted free agent signing out of Western Michigan in 2023 and is now on his third consecutive one-year deal with the Avs. The 6’0″ sniper was an elite goal-scorer in his latter years in college – tickling the twine 30 times in 39 games in his senior season with the Broncos – but hasn’t found that gear since turning pro. He’s still put up a respectable three goals and six points in 16 AHL games this season and has an 18-18–36 scoring line in 104 career minor-league games, but those numbers aren’t seeing him make a serious push for a big-league job outside of a short-term injury replacement.
Morning Notes: Demidov, Avalanche, Drouin, Benoit, Jets
In one of the more violent preseason contests in recent memory, the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens combined for 150 PIMs yesterday evening. Unfortunately, after multiple fights broke out between Hayden Hodgson, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, and Jan Jenik, it was Montreal’s sensation, Ivan Demidov, who would leave the game with an injury after a malicious slash from Senator Nick Cousins.
Fortunately, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there doesn’t appear to be any long-term injury concern for Demidov. The Canadiens may hold him out of the team’s next contest on Saturday, again against Ottawa, though he should be ready to start the season on time. The odds-on favorite to win the 2025-26 Calder Memorial Award has recorded three assists in three preseason contests with Montreal.
Understandably, the Canadiens’ admonishment of Cousins’ actions was clear. In an article from Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, head coach Martin St. Louis was quoted as saying, “There’s no need for that. It’s an exhibition game; both teams are trying to get ready for a long season. I don’t think there’s any need for that in the game.”
Other notes from this morning:
- After recalling five players for their preseason win against the Vegas Golden Knights last night, the Colorado Avalanche have sent nearly the entire group back to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The Avalanche announced that Tye Felhaber, Jason Polin, Alex Gagne, and T.J. Tynan, who were all recalled yesterday, have been reassigned. Additionally, Jayson Megna and Tristen Nielsen will join them en route to the Eagles, while Ronnie Attard will remain on the roster for today’s contest.
- One of the New York Islanders’ freshly signed forwards missed today’s practice. According to Andrew Gross of Newsday, Jonathan Drouin missed this morning’s practice due to illness. The veteran forward has gone scoreless in three preseason contests for the Islanders, averaging 19:02 of ice time per contest.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs got some positive news this morning regarding one of their injured defenseman. David Alter of The Hockey News reported that Simon Benoit has shed his non-contact jersey, indicating he’s nearly recovered from his upper-body injury. The heavy-hitting blue liner skated in 78 games for the Maple Leafs last season, scoring one goal and 10 points with 204 hits.
- Moving to Manitoba, the Winnipeg Jets announced they’ve extended their ECHL affiliation with the Norfolk Admirals through the 2025-26 season. The new campaign will be the Admirals’ third as the ECHL affiliate of the Jets. The team has qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs in each of the last two seasons, losing in the Division Finals both times.
Waivers: 9/27/25
As training camp cuts continue to occur, there will be an uptick in waiver placements over the next week and a half. Today is a particularly busy day on the wire with PuckPedia reporting that 20 players are now on waivers. Meanwhile, all of yesterday’s players cleared, per PuckPedia.
Buffalo Sabres
Calgary Flames
Columbus Blue Jackets
D Dysin Mayo
F Hunter McKown
G Zachary Sawchenko
F Owen Sillinger
Colorado Avalanche
F Alex Barre-Boulet
F Tye Felhaber
F Jason Polin
F T.J. Tynan
Edmonton Oilers
D Josh Brown
F James Hamblin
F Roby Jarventie
New York Islanders
St. Louis Blues
F Nikita Alexandrov
F Hugh McGing
Toronto Maple Leafs
F Travis Boyd
F Benoit-Olivier Groulx
F Vinni Lettieri
Vegas Golden Knights
For the most part, this is a group of veteran players who have cleared waivers multiple times in the past and should expect to do so here as well. That said, Lettieri has gotten into 72 NHL games over the last two seasons and could be appealing to a team looking for some extra depth down the middle. Alexandrov didn’t see any action with St. Louis last season but averaged just over a point per game with AHL Springfield last season and has 51 career NHL appearances under his belt. Boyd was a full-time NHL player as recently as 2022-23 and is one game shy of 300 for his career but has settled in as more of an AHL veteran since then.
At this time of year, it’s sometimes the younger players who might garner some attention and there are some on this list who could draw a look. Cormier and Poirier are only 23 and have shown some offensive upside in the past at both the QMJHL and AHL levels. Jarventie was once a prospect with some upside before an injury derailed his 2024-25 campaign but if there’s a team that thinks he has fully recovered, he could garner attention as well.
These players will be on waivers until 1 PM CT on Sunday.
Avalanche Sign Jason Polin, Matthew Stienburg To One-Year Deals
In separate announcements, the Colorado Avalanche shared that they’ve signed forwards Jason Polin and Matthew Stienburg to one-year deals through the 2025-26 season. According to contract data provided by Puck Pedia, Polin will earn an NHL salary of $775K and $130K in the AHL. No contract details for Stienburg have been disclosed, but his salary will likely fall within a similar range.
Polin’s new deal comes with some surprise. The former Hobey Baker Award finalist hasn’t come close to the scoring output that he demonstrated with the NCAA’s Western Michigan University Broncos. Throughout his tenure with Colorado, the Holt, MI native has scored 15 goals and 30 points in 88 AHL contests, and only one goal in nine NHL appearances. Still, given the improbable number of injuries sustained by the Avalanche throughout the 2024-25 season, it makes sense that the team would like to retain most of their depth pieces in the system.
Like Polin, Stienburg signed with the organization out of college, though he had been previously drafted by the Avalanche in 2019, from Cornell University. Unlike Polin, Stienburg didn’t come to the organization with as much hype, given his career high of 13 goals and 29 points in 28 games with Cornell during his junior campaign in 2021-22.
Similarly to many of his peers, Stienburg earned a call-up with Colorado this past season, due to injuries to players on the NHL roster. Going scoreless in eight games, Stienburg’s only notable play was earning a two-game suspension for elbowing Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Černák.
Avalanche Recall Jere Innala, Jason Polin
The Avalanche recalled forwards Jere Innala and Jason Polin from AHL Colorado on Monday, according to a team announcement. Their active roster is now full with the AHL’s transactions log reflecting that Tye Felhaber was returned to the minors yesterday after a week-long call-up.
Polin, 25, is the fresh face among the two. He made his NHL debut for the Avs last year, skating in seven games in January and recording a goal with a plus-one rating while averaging a paltry 7:25 of ice time per game.
The Michigan native is now in his third season with the organization after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Western Michigan in 2023. The 6’0″, 198-lb right-winger ranks seventh on the AHL club with seven goals through 21 games, adding a pair of assists for nine points.
Despite potting 30 goals in 39 games at WMU in his senior season and being named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, Polin hasn’t been much of a factor offensively yet in his professional career. He’s been limited to 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points in 70 AHL games, so it’s a tad puzzling to see his name in the NHL lineup, even as a fourth-line fill-in piece while Valeri Nichushkin nurses his lower-body injury.
Polin is expected to replace Felhaber in the lineup tomorrow when the Avs host the Rangers. Innala, who was papered down yesterday to help the Avs save a bit of cash, remains in the lineup in search of his first NHL point. The 5’9″ Finn has averaged 7:29 through his first 10 NHL games, recording three shots on goal and a minus-one rating.
Colorado Avalanche Re-Sign Jason Polin
Keeping a bit of internal depth through the system, the Colorado Avalanche have agreed to terms on a one-year contract with forward Jason Polin. As an undrafted free agent, Polin signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Avalanche in late March of 2023.
It is difficult to say anything other than ‘subpar’ regarding Polin’s first full season within the Avalanche organization. This past season Polin dressed in 42 games for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, where he only mustered four goals and 10 points overall. Colorado hoped for much more production coming from Polin considering his collegiate career at Western Michigan University.
Polin spent four years for the Broncos and was named team captain before the 2022-23 NCAA season. In 39 games that season, Polin potted a whopping 30 goals and 47 points while collecting five hat tricks throughout the year. Polin tied the would-be third overall pick of that year’s draft, Adam Fantilli, in goals across the entire NCAA. Adding to his resume; Polin set an NCHC record for goals scored during the regular season and was named NCHC Player of the Year and NCHC Forward of the Year while finishing top-10 in Hobey Baker Award voting.
Polin has already collected seven games at the NHL level with the Avalanche in which he has scored one goal. With Colorado being desperate for cheap depth at the forward position, they may give Polin another chance in the NHL. However, if he cannot produce similarly to his playing days in the NCAA, his time with the Avalanche organization may only last another season.
Transaction Notes: Polin, Bryson, Asplund
Earlier today, the Colorado Avalanche reassigned forward Jason Polin to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, per a team announcement. Polin was originally recalled on January 8th via an emergency loan and factored into six games for the Avalanche, scoring only one goal.
It was a positive sign from Polin to see him score his first professional goal, as he has been unable to score even one with the Eagles over 20 games during this year and last. Colorado is likely holding out hope they he can recoup some of his offensive talent that showed in his last season in the NCAA, when he scored 30 goals and 47 points with Western Michigan University.
Although nothing official has come from the organization, the reassignment of Polin likely spells the much-awaited return of Artturi Lehkonen, who has been on the team’s long-term injured reserve since November 13th with a neck injury. However, with Valeri Nichushkin now enrolled in the NHLPA Player Assistance Program, and captain Gabriel Landeskog still working his way back from knee cartilage surgery, Colorado will have to wait a bit longer to see a complete top-six forward group.
Other notes:
- The Buffalo Sabres announced today that the organization has loaned defenseman Jacob Bryson back to their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. After clearing waivers on December 20th, Bryson would not make his way back up to the Sabres until January 18th but was unable to suit up in a game. During his short span with the Americans, Bryson has tallied one assist in nine games.
- Sticking in the Atlantic Division, the Florida Panthers have loaned forward Rasmus Asplund to their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, per a team announcement. Asplund did not suit up for the Panthers over his emergency loan roster placement, but will return to a Checkers team where he has had some success this season, scoring four goals and 19 points in 33 games.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Jason Polin
The Colorado Avalanche have announced the signing of free-agent forward Jason Polin to a one-year, entry-level contract for the 2023-24 season. The team noted that Polin will report to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on a professional tryout for the remainder of 2022-23.
CapFriendly reports Polin’s deal carries a cap hit of $870,000, broken down into $775,000 in NHL salary, a $95,000 signing bonus, and an $80,000 games played bonus.
Polin, a 23-year-old from Holt, Michigan, just completed his senior year at Western Michigan University and served as captain this season. He tallied 30 goals (leading the entire NCAA) and 17 assists for 47 points in 39 games, marking a serious offensive breakout for the 6-foot, 198-pound forward.
Western Michigan’s season ended last week when they lost 5-1 to Boston University in the quarterfinals of the NCAA men’s tournament. Polin’s efforts this season guided Western Michigan to a ninth-place ranking in the nation to end the season.
With Polin not seeing major offensive success until his age-23 college season, expectations should be tempered for his NHL future. Set to turn 24 this offseason, Polin will likely play a middle-six role on the Eagles next year and attempt to adjust to the pro ranks.