Avalanche blue-liner Sean Walker was limited to 16:48 of ice time in yesterday’s Game 2 win, missing most of the third period. Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed today that he won’t carry an injury designation moving forward, as his absence was due to being pulled from the game by a concussion spotter (via NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding). He’s cleared protocol and will take his normal spot in the lineup in Friday’s Game 3. Walker is without a point in his two playoff appearances with Colorado thus far after being picked up from the Flyers ahead of the trade deadline ..read more

The Avalanche have assigned defenseman Brad Hunt, forward Chris Wagner and goaltender Ivan Prosvetov to AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement. None of the three played in last night’s 5-2 win in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Jets to tie the series. Hunt and Wagner were scratched, while Prosvetov served as the backup to starter Alexandar Georgiev. Rookie Justus Annunen, Georgiev’s backup for much of the last few months, has missed both postseason contests so far due to illness. They’ll provide significant reinforcements to the Eagles, who begin their best-of ..read more

The Colorado Avalanche placed forward Chris Wagner on waivers today (as per CapFriendly) after he was called up from the AHL just three days ago. The 32-year-old played 13 NHL games with Colorado this season as he split time between the Avalanche and the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Wagner served as Colorado’s healthy scratch for game 1 and will serve in the same capacity for game 2 despite being on waivers. Wagner signed a two-way contract with Colorado on July 1st of last year and proved to be a decent call-up option for the Avalanche filling in during absences and injuries. In 21 AHL games t ..read more

Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis told reporters today (via Sound of Hockey) that he intends to start talking with restricted free agents Matty Beniers and Eeli Tolvanen and fully expects that the sides will be able to come to agreements. Beniers is the reigning Calder Trophy winner but suffered a dramatic drop in his offensive production, posting just 15 goals and 22 assists in 77 games after posting 57 points in 81 games last season. While his play dropped off this season, he should still receive a sizeable raise on his $897,500 cap hit. Tolvanen was acquired off waivers by the Krak ..read more

The Colorado Avalanche have swapped third-string goaltenders, recalling Ivan Prosvetov and assigning Arvid Holm (Twitter link). These moves come after backup Justus Annunen sat out of the team’s Monday morning skate, with head coach Jared Bednar sharing that the goaltender is “still sick”, per DNVR’s Meghan Angley (Twitter link). Annunen wasn’t available for Game One against the Winnipeg Jets yesterday, with Holm stepping in as the backup. Starter Alexandar Georgiev would go on to allow seven goals on 23 shots in the eventual 7-6 loss. Prosvetov was playing in his own game while Holm fill ..read more

Colorado Avalanche defender Samuel Girard has returned full practice, wearing a regular jersey at the team’s Sunday morning skate per Colorado Hockey Now’s Evan Rawal (Twitter link). Girard has been battling a concussion that held him out of the team’s final two regular-season contests. They seem to have benefited from taking their time with the defender, who is now possible for Sunday’s Game One – though nothing has been confirmed. Girard has once again provided stout depth for Colorado, scoring 18 points in 59 games and averaging over 19 minutes of ice time ..read more

While there has been plenty of speculation over the last calendar year that the Colorado Avalanche may see the return of their captain Gabriel Landeskog by the beginning of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, it appears this theory may have legs. In a report today from Colleen Flynn of The Hockey News, Landeskog will be traveling with the team to Winnipeg to start their first-round series against the Jets. Infamously, Landeskog’s last game came on June 26th, 2022, the same date that the Avalanche unseated the Tampa Bay Lightning at the top of the hockey world, claiming their third Stanley Cup Champ ..read more

The Avalanche will be without a key part of their forward group for the opening round against Winnipeg.  The team announced today (Twitter link) that winger Jonathan Drouin will miss the first-round series due to a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old suffered the injury in the second period of Colorado’s regular season finale against Edmonton and did not return.  It was a game where Edmonton elected to sit as many of its key players as possible while the Avs elected to dress pretty much their intended playoff lineup, a decision that clearly wound up not working out for them. After a r ..read more

The Colorado Avalanche have signed University of Denver defenseman Sean Behrens to his entry-level contract (Twitter link). It’s a three-year deal, set to begin in the 2024-25 season. Behrens will finish this season on an amateur try-out with the Colorado Eagles, who play their final two regular-season games this weekend. Behrens is coming off a National Championship win with the University of Denver, where he’s spent the last three seasons. He’s earned a prominent role with the Pioneers, ranking third on the team’s blue line in scoring this season with 31 points in 44 games and rotating into ..read more

After losing his backup spot midseason, it appears Avalanche goalie Ivan Prosvetov’s days in the NHL are over. He’s set to sign a three-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League upon reaching Group 6 unrestricted free agency this summer, reports Pavel Panyshev of Championat. Prosvetov hadn’t played an NHL game since February, when he was placed on waivers and subsequently assigned to AHL Colorado. While he’s two years away from standard UFA eligibility, he qualifies for a Group 6 exemption this summer because he’ll be 25 on June 30th and has played fewer than 28 NHL ..read more