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Trent Miner

Avalance Reassign Trent Miner, Scott Wedgewood Expected To Return

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The Colorado Avalanche reassigned goaltender Trent Miner after Sunday’s win over New York. The move clears way for Scott Wedgewood to return from injury in Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators per Corey Masisak of the Denver Post.
Wedgewood missed Colorado’s last three games with a back injury. He sustained the injury in the second period of Colorado’s December 2nd win over the Vancouver Canucks.
The Avalanche have leaned heavily on Wedgewood this season. He has appeared in 19 games to starter Mackenzie Blackwood’s – who missed the start of the season with injury – 10 games. Both goalies have a .920 save percentage, tying them for third-highest in the league among goalies with double-digit appearances.
Blackwood has been stellar as of late. He has five wins, two shutouts, and a .944 save percentage in his last six games. That performance – including back-to-back wins this weekend – should be enough to hang onto Colorado’s starting role. That will default Wedgewood to the backup spot, though Colorado will again relish in the chance to have two of the league’s hottest hands in their goaltending room.
Meanwhile, Miner will return to the minors, where he’s already posted four wins and a .908 save percentage in six games. He has also posted a .909 save percentage in two NHL games this season. His return to the AHL will challenge Isak Posch for the starting role. Posch – an AHL rookie – has 10 wins and a .917 save percentage in 14 games this year.

Colorado Avalanche Recall Trent Miner

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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.

Avalanche Assign Trent Miner To AHL

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Oct. 29th: Colorado announced that they’ve reassigned Miner to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, indirectly confirming he made it through waivers unscathed.

Oct. 28th: The Avalanche placed goaltender Trent Miner on waivers today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports. He’ll head to AHL Colorado if he clears.

While doing so will open a roster spot, that’s not of concern to the Avs, as they already have one. It instead ushers the formal return of starting netminder Mackenzie Blackwood, who will be backing up Scott Wedgewood tonight as he’s healthy enough to dress for the first time this season, per Bailey Curtis of DNVR Sports. He’s missed 10 games with a lower-body issue and has continued to sit out after being recalled from his conditioning loan to the AHL over a week ago.

Only recently has Miner played a factor in Blackwood’s absence. He played two of the last three, one in early relief and one as a start, for Colorado to give the overtaxed Wedgewood some rest. The veteran backup performed as well as could be hoped for in spot-starting duty, logging a 5-1-2 record and a .904 SV% with a 2.42 GAA in nine appearances. He’s faltered recently, though, logging a 0-1-1 record and .825 SV% in his last three outings. That explained Colorado’s decision to give Miner his first start of the season and second of his career in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Devils. In his two appearances this month, the 24-year-old managed a 0-0-2 record with a .909 SV% and 2.12 GAA. He saved one goal above expected, per MoneyPuck.

The Avs’ third-stringer now returns to the AHL – assuming he clears waivers – where he had great success last season. The 2019 seventh-round pick made a career-high 38 appearances for the Eagles and came away with a 22-10-9 record, .918 SV%, 2.12 GAA, and three shutouts. His solid showing in brief NHL action this year likely quiets any concerns that may have existed about Miner being a capable No. 3 option.

While Miner’s recent numbers may generate some interest on the wire, he’s still under contract through 2026-27. While he’s on a league-minimum, two-way deal, that could be enough to dissuade any potential claimers.

Avalanche Re-Sign Trent Miner To Two-Year Deal

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The Avalanche have re-upped depth netminder Trent Miner on a two-year deal, per a team announcement. Although financial details weren’t disclosed in Colorado’s announcement, Miner likely only commanded a league-minimum salary on both years of the deal, given the Avalanche already has their tandem squared away for next season.

The Brandon, Manitoba, native made an unexpected debut in the NHL this past season. Due to injuries and significantly poor play at the beginning of the season, Colorado utilized six different netminders last year. Still, Miner only registered two games, managing a 0-1-0 record with a .879 SV% and 2.62 GAA.

Given their lack of depth and available capital to spend, it would make sense for Miner to start the year as the Avalanche’s third-string option. Ilya Nabokov is a more talented goalie, but Colorado has decided he will spend another year with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, making Miner the top available option for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

Still, given Miner’s performance with the Eagles last year, Nabokov may not have been given the starting gig to start the campaign. In his first full year as the team’s starting goaltender, Miner managed a 22-10-9 record in 38 games for the AHL Eagles, with a .918 SV%, 2.12 GAA, and three shutouts. He did everything he could to deepen the Eagles’ playoff run, earning a 5-4-0 record in nine postseason contests with a .925 SV% and 2.15 GAA.

In any other year, Miner might not have been given the backup role, but he would at least have had the chance to try out for the position during training camp. Unfortunately for Miner, there’s no legitimate argument to put him over Scott Wedgewood to begin the 2025-26 campaign, leaving him as the next best available option.

Minor Transactions: 4/18/25

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There will be several small roster moves today as playoff teams recall their required third goalie for practice and emergency backup purposes, and non-playoff teams conduct some end-of-season roster trimming. We’ll cover all those moves here:

  • The Blues announced they’ve recalled goaltender Will Cranley from ECHL Florida to serve as their emergency backup. St. Louis selected the 23-year-old in the sixth round of the 2020 draft. He was previously added to the Blues’ practice roster for a day during the 4 Nations break while Jordan Binnington was traveling back from the tournament. He finished his second professional season with a 2.71 GAA, .896 SV%, two shutouts, and an 11-9-3 record in 23 ECHL games. He also logged a .867 SV% in a pair of appearances for AHL Springfield, the first of his career.
  • The Stars added defensemen Lian Bichsel and Alexander Petrovic back to the active roster after reassigning them to AHL Texas yesterday for cap purposes. They needed the space to activate Tyler Seguin from long-term injured reserve for the final game of the regular season. They’re expected to serve as the third pairing in Game 1 of the first round against the Avalanche tomorrow, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. It’ll be the postseason debut for Bichsel, Dallas’ first-round draft choice in 2022. They also recalled goaltender Ben Kraws from ECHL Idaho as their EBUG. An undrafted free agent signing out of St. Lawrence last year, the 24-year-old impressed with a 2.88 GAA, .910 SV%, five shutouts, and a 23-12-5 record in 40 games for Idaho. He also posted a 3.01 GAA and .889 SV% in three appearances for AHL Texas, logging a 2-1-0 record.
  • Serving as the Avalanche’s EBUG will be Kevin Mandolese, the team announced. The 24-year-old has spent the year as Trent Miner’s backup with AHL Colorado after being acquired from the Senators over the offseason. He has a 2.87 GAA, .903 SV%, 11-6-0 record, and one shutout in 19 games.
  • Since the Wild’s AHL affiliate is one of the few to miss the cut for the Calder Cup Playoffs, they’re going with a higher-profile option for their EBUG. Top prospect Jesper Wallstedt will fill the role for them, according to a club announcement. The 2021 first-rounder is expected to succeed the retiring Marc-André Fleury as Filip Gustavsson’s backup next season, but is coming off a disastrous injury-plagued campaign with Iowa. He finished the year with a 3.59 GAA, .879 SV%, one shutout, and a 9-14-4 record in 27 showings.
  • The Panthers summoned Evan Cormier from ECHL Savannah to be their EBUG, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 27-year-old struggled with a 3.38 GAA, .887 SV%, one shutout, and a 17-13-4 record in 36 showings in 2024-25. He filled the same duties for the Cats in the first half of last year’s playoff run, signing a two-way deal at the trade deadline for the second season in a row.
  • The Penguins returned forwards Ville Koivunen, Joona Koppanen, Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin, Valtteri Puustinen, and defenseman Filip Král to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after their late-season call-ups. They’ll aid the Baby Pens as they aim to capture a Calder Cup. Not joining them is top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who sustained a lower-body injury last week and isn’t yet ready to return.
  • The Flames assigned forward Sam Morton and defenseman Hunter Brzustewicz to AHL Calgary after they made their NHL debuts in last night’s regular-season finale. Morton scored his first NHL goal in the outing, while Brzustewicz impressed with a plus-two rating. They’ll join the Wranglers for the postseason.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled enforcer Ryan Reaves from the minor leagues. Reaves recently played in his first AHL games since the 2010-11 season. He recorded one goal and, surprisingly, no penalty minutes in three games of play. The 38-year-old also recorded two assists and 28 penalty minutes in 35 NHL games this season. He’ll provide a boost of muscle to the Leafs lineup as they head towards a First Round matchup against the Ottawa Senators.
  • Defenseman Emil Andrae has been reassigned to the minor leagues after holding down a routine role on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup since early March. Andrae split his time between the major and minor rosters this season, with seven points in 42 NHL games and 16 points in 25 AHL games. He was primarily a minor-leaguer last season and managed a stout 32 points, 66 penalty minutes, and minus-10 in 61 games. With the Flyers season over, Andrae will look to again support the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in a late-season push.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have recalled depth forward Derek Ryan from the minor leagues. Ryan split time between the NHL and AHL this year, with one goal and six points in 36 games in the Oilers lineup. He also managed eight points in 13 AHL games. Ryan has played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on five different occasions, racking up 10 points in 60 games. That includes appearing in 19 games of Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ryan contributed one assist to the effort. He’ll now be returned to the NHL roster to support another long run.
  • The Rochester Americans are getting a wave of strong recruits, as the Buffalo Sabres have reassigned each of Jiri Kulich, Tyson Kozak, Noah Ostlund, and Isak Rosen back to the minor leagues. Rosen leads Rochester in scoring this season with 28 goals and 55 points in 60 games. Ostlund has 36 points in 44 games, while Kozak has 14 points in 31 games. Kulich has been the only of the bunch to spend the bulk of the season in the NHL. He carved out a top-six role through points of the season. Kulich finished what was his rookie NHL season with 15 goals and 24 points in 62 games.

This page will be updated throughout the day.

Colorado Avalanche Reassign Trent Miner

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The Colorado Avalanche made a small roster move in the early hours of Saturday morning. Colorado announced they’ve reassigned netminder Trent Miner to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, leading up to their two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Miner has been rostered on the Avalanche for much of January and February due to the injuries to backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood. The latter missed just over a week in early January with a lower-body injury and the last few days with an upper-body injury.

However, this hasn’t resulted in increased playing time for Miner. The 24-year-old goalie has only played in two games for the Avalanche this season and has been credited with just one loss. His .879 save percentage and 2.62 goals-against average aren’t horrible numbers for a backup but it doesn’t appear Colorado is willing to extend his leash just yet.

His production with AHL Colorado has understandably been more fruitful. Miner owns a 9-5-7 record in 19 AHL contests with a .905 SV% and 2.49 GAA. It’s a positive development given he spent much of last season with the ECHL’s Utah Grizzlies and has five more opportunities with the Eagles over the 4 Nations Face-Off break at the very least. There’s no indication the Avalanche will recall Miner after the international tournament so he’ll likely stay in Loveland for the foreseeable future.

Avalanche Activate Scott Wedgewood, Reassign Trent Miner

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The Colorado Avalanche have activated backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood off of injured reserve. Wedgewood was controversially injured in Colorado’s January 2nd matchup against the Buffalo Sabres, after Sabres forward Zach Benson fell awkwardly on his right leg and then scored seconds later. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared strong words over the incident, telling ESPN that letting the goal stand was “insanity” to him. Wedgewood was placed on injured reserve the next day, and has missed five games since.

The Avalanche’s goaltending room has shored up in Wedgewood’s absence. Newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood has been near-unbeatable, posting a 2-1-1 record and .951 save percentage in four games without the veteran backup. Blackwood was acquired to be Colorado’s go-to guy, a move they doubled-down on by signing him to a five-year, $26.2MM contract extension quickly after his fifth game with the club. Blackwood has totaled eight wins and a .939 save percentage in 11 games with the Avalanche. That strong performance will take the load of of Wedgewood, who appeared in six of the team’s 13 games through the month of December while they acquired and acclimated Blackwood. Wedgewood performed well in the pseudo-starting role, posting a 4-2-0 record and .932 save percentage – enough to pull Colorado into strong winning tendencies after a 13-12-0 record through October and November. Those strong performances will make Wedgewood a strong number-two, should Blackwood cool down.

To make room for Wedgewood’s activation, Colorado has assigned goaltender Trent Miner back to the minor leagues, per Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now. Miner received the first start of his NHL career on Wednesday. He allowed three goals on 20 shots to Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, ultimately enough to lose the game 3-1. Miner also stepped into 35 minutes of Colorado’s November 15th matchup against Washington and allowed one goal on 13 shots. He has otherwise been a minor-league starter, stepping into 16 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He’s set an 8-5-3 record and .903 save percentage in the top role, stout numbers but surprisingly the lowest save percentage of the Eagles’ four goalies this year. Miner worked his way up to heavy AHL minutes last season. He spent the bulk of the early season in the ECHL, but soon earned a shift to the AHL after posting a .917 in 11 games. Miner didn’t squander his AHL opportunity, tallying a 9-6-1 record and .930 in 18 games to end the year. With this move, he’ll get a chance to repeat that process again this year – looking for enough footing in the minors to challenge Wedgewood’s spot as NHL backup.

Avalanche’s Scott Wedgewood Out Week-To-Week

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The Avalanche will be down one-half of their new goaltending tandem for more than a few games. Netminder Scott Wedgewood will likely be listed as week to week after leaving the third period of Thursday’s win over the Sabres with a lower-body injury, head coach Jared Bednar told Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now.

No. 3 option Trent Miner will be recalled from AHL Colorado to back up Mackenzie Blackwood for the time being, Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports reports. With no open active roster spots, Wedgewood will likely land on injured reserve.

Wedgewood, 32, sustained the injury when Sabres winger Zach Benson fell on his right leg while in a crease battle with Colorado forward Parker Kelly. Buffalo scored on the play, which officials did not blow dead, and Bednar ended up fielding an unsuccessful goalie interference challenge.

Acquiring Wedgewood was the first of two trades Colorado made earlier this season to replace their struggling opening-night tandem of Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev. They sent Annunen and a 2025 sixth-rounder to land the veteran from Nashville, where he’d struggled to the tune of a .878 SV% in five games after signing a two-year, $3MM contract in free agency.

Wedgewood’s play has improved drastically since arriving in Denver. The Ontario native, now with his fifth NHL franchise, has a 4-2-0 record with a .917 SV%, 2.35 GAA and one shutout in seven appearances so far as an Av.

But that rebound has been overshadowed by Blackwood, who was picked up from the Sharks a couple of weeks later in a trade that sent Georgiev the other way. The 28-year-old recently played his way into a five-year, $26.25MM extension with Colorado and now has a 6-1-0 record with a sparkling .932 SV% in seven showings since the trade.

They should be fine with Blackwood handling the overwhelming majority of starts in the interim given how well he’s played this season, but a workload that heavy may be a struggle for a goaltender who’s only started more than 40 games twice in his career. Miner arrives as an inexperienced but intriguing option, stopping 12 of 13 shots he faced in his NHL debut in relief of Annunen against the Capitals on Nov. 15.

Miner, a 2019 seventh-rounder, has a .903 SV% and a 2.47 GAA in 16 AHL games this season, good for an 8-5-3 record. He’s set to be a restricted free agent next summer.

Minor Transactions: 12/11/24

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As has been the case throughout the season, there have been a bunch of minor moves around the NHL, primarily for roster management purposes.  Here’s a rundown of those that haven’t already been covered.

  • The Kraken announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Ryan Winterton from AHL Coachella Valley. The 21-year-old has been shuffled back and forth multiple times in the early going this season.  Winterton has played in six games with Seattle, picking up an assist while averaging 10:45 per game of ice time.  With the Firebirds, Winterton has been quite productive, recording seven goals and eight assists in 16 games so far.
  • The Canucks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned defenseman Mark Friedman to AHL Vancouver. The 28-year-old was recalled in late November but only got into one game while on recall.  After clearing waivers in training camp, Friedman got into eight games with Abbotsford, notching a goal and three assists.
  • The Avalanche continued their trend of near-daily transactions. Colorado assigned forward Ivan Ivan, defenseman Keaton Middleton, and goalie Trent Miner to the minors, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Ivan has played exclusively with the Avs this season and has eight points in 30 games so it’s safe to say this is another paper move for salary cap reasons.  The others aren’t as certain.  Middleton has seen limited action in his three games and with the Avs having seven other healthy blueliners, they could opt to keep him down.  Miner, meanwhile, was brought up with newcomer Mackenzie Blackwood being sick so his assignment could mean that Blackwood is ready to make his debut with Colorado in which case Miner would stay with the Eagles.
  • After being named to Czechia’s preliminary World Junior roster yesterday, the Kings have loaned defenseman Jakub Dvorak to the national team, per the AHL’s transactions log. Considering that he’s seeing regular action with the Reign, it’s likely that he’s going to make the team so Los Angeles could have tried to see if they could keep him a little longer before loaning him out like Seattle intends to do with winger Eduard Sale but instead, Dvorak will join the Czechs for their full training camp.

Avalanche Notes: Miner, Blackwood, Prishchepov

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The Colorado Avalanche will likely be down a goaltender when they face Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Avalanche are awaiting the arrival of Mackenzie Blackwood, after being traded for Alexandar Georgiev. To split the gap, Colorado has recalled AHL starting goaltender Trent Miner.

This is Miner’s second call-up of the season. His first was a one-day stop with the NHL roster on November 15th, in response to an injury to Georgiev. Miner backed up Justus Annunen for one game, and would end up taking over the crease just one minute into the second period after the latter allowed three goals on six shots. Miner stopped 12 of 13 shots in what was inadvertently his NHL debut – but Colorado couldn’t climb out of the hole Annunen dug, and ultimately lost the game 5-2.

Aside from the spot fill-in, Miner has proven the consistent in a Colorado Eagles goaltending room that also features Kaapo Kahkonen and Kevin Mandolese. Miner leads the team in games played with 11 appearances, but his 5-4-2 record and .895 rank behind Mandolese, who has a 6-2-0 record and .915 in nine games. Miner will likely be headed back to the minors once Blackwood arrives in Colorado, giving him a chance to maintain his spot over Mandolese on Colorado’s call-up list.

Other notes from Denver:

  • Blackwood hasn’t arrived in Colorado yet, but the team is apparently already looking forward to his future. They’re hoping to land an extension before Blackwood hits free agency this summer, general manager Chris MacFarland told Max Miller of The Hockey News. Blackwood is near the end of a two-year, $4.7MM contract signed with San Jose on July 1, 2023. It was a sort of ’prove-it’ contract, giving Blackwood a chance at hardy minutes after he lost the starting role in New Jersey. He didn’t start the deal too promising, posting a 10-25-4 record and .899 save percentage through 44 games with the league-worst Sharks last season. But his 2.4 goals-saved-above-expected (GSAx) – a stat that ranked 17th in the league per MoneyPuck – spoke to Blackwood’s hidden upside. He’s started to reveal that this year, with six wins and a .910 save percentage in 19 games so far. Blackwood has also posted 3.9 GSAx – again ranking him 17th in the league among goalies with 10-or-more starts. He’ll look to keep that momentum going behind a much stronger Colorado team, and earn a bit more certainty on his next deal.
  • As they’ve done many times before, Colorado has also sent a waiver-exempt player to the minors on their off-day to accrue daily cap space. The target this time is forward Nikita Prishchepov, who hasn’t managed any scoring through 10 NHL games this season. Prishchepov was a seventh-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft and became just the third draftee to make his NHL debut – behind first-round picks Macklin Celebrini and Jett Luchanko. Prishchepov has yet to record his first NHL point, though he’ll enter conversation with just Celebrini if and when he does. He’ll likely be back on the Avlanache roster ahead of their Tuesday matchup, but he’d get a chance to build on six points in 12 AHL games should he stay in the minor leagues.

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