Colorado Avalanche News

Blankenburg was fighting for a final roster spot in Columbus but has been assigned to Cleveland (AHL) for the start of the 2022-23 campaign. The 25-year-old defensemen had four goals, 10 assists, 50 SOG, 16 PIMs, and a -16 plus/minus through 36 games with Columbus in 2022-23. He will start the season in Cleveland but is expected to play a depth roll with the Blue Jackets as bodies are needed.

Francouz has been placed on the injured reserve as he continues to recover from a groin injury. Francouz battled injuries last season as well, recording a 2.61 GAA and .915 SV% while playing in only 16 games (8-7-1). Justus Annunen will serve as the backup to Alexandar Georgiev to start the season as Francouz's timeline for return remains uncertain.

Makar will miss the start of training camp with an undisclosed injury but is expected to be back on the ice next week and should be good to go for the start of the regular season. The 24-year-old one-time Norris Trophy Winner had 17 goals, 49 assists, 176 SOG, 30 PIMs and a +16 plus/minus through 60 games played in 2022-23 and will be hoping to complete a full 82-game season for the first time in his career this year.

Francouz was 8-7-1 with a .915 SV%, and 2.61 GAA in 2022-23 with Colorado but is likely to not be ready for the regular season as he had off-season adductor surgery with serious concern that he could miss "some time". The 33-year-old netminder has had his career decimated by consistent injuries since coming to the NHL in 2018-19 and has never appeared in more than 34 games (2019-20). The Avalanche have made it known that they are in the hunt for a replacement back-up goaltender while Francouz nurses his latest ailment.

Stienburg was drafted by Colorado in the 3rd round of the 2019 draft (63rd overall) and has signed the center to a two-year, entry-level contract. The 22-year-old made his professional debut in 2022-23 with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) as he had an assist and five PIMs across a brief four-game appearance. Prior to the Eagles, he closed out his NCAA career with Cornell (NCAA) where he had two goals, five assists, 18 PIMs, and a -2 plus/minus through 18 games.

Colton had 16 goals, 16 assist, 153 SOG, 50 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 81 games with Tampa Bay in 2022-23 and has signed a four-year, $16 million contract ($4,000,000 AAV) with Colorado. The 26-year-old centre was acquired for a 2023 second-round pick back in June and brings 47 goals and 83 points across 190 games played to the Avalanche.

Attard had 12 goals, 20 assists, 41 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus with Lehigh Valley (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $1.7 million contract extension ($850,000 AAV) with Philadelphia. The 24-year-old defenseman appeared in two games for the Flyers last season but failed to pick up a point in his brief showing.

Nielsen had 14 goals, 27 assists, 60 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 64 games with Abbotsford (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $870,000 AAV. The 23-year-old centre has yet to make his NHL debut after being acquired as an undrafted free agent from the Vancouver Giants (WHL) after the 2020-21 season.

Ahcan had five goals, 31 assists, 24 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 68 games with Providence (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way deal worth $1,550,000 ($775,000 AAV) with Colorado. The 26-year-old undrafted defenseman did not play in the NHL last season but has a goal, 10 SOG, and a -6 plus/minus through nine career NHL games.

It looked as if Blackwood was going to hit the open market, but the Sharks were able get him under contract after acquiring his rights from the Devils. Blackwood has battled injuries over the last few seasons, most recently appearing in just 22 games in 2023, going 10-6-2 with a 3.20 GAA and .893 SV%.

Colton has been a solid middle-6 forward for the Lightning over the last two seasons, scoring 38 goals with 33 assists (71 points) while compiling 341 hits in 160 games. The Avalanche were in desperate need of bottom-6 help, with J.T. Compher, Lars Eller, Evan Rodrigues, Darren Helm, Matt Nieto and Andrew Cogliano all still unsigned and set to become UFAs on Saturday.

Blackwood's career got off to a strong start, going 32-24-8 with a 2.72 GAA and .916 SV% in his first two seasons (70 games). However, he's struggled more in the last three years, going 33-33-10 with a 3.19 GAA and .897 SV%. He fell behind Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid on the depth chart, so he heads to San Jose, where he'll likely share time with Kaapo Kahkonen.

Puustinen put up 24 goals, 25 assists, 22 PIMs and a -9 plus/minus through 72 games in 2022-23 to lead the Wilkes-Barre Penguins (AHL) in points and has signed a one-year, two-way extension worth $775,000 through the 2023-24 season. The 24-year-old right-winger was Pittsburgh's seventh round pick (203 overall) in 2019 and has played in one NHL game back during the 2021-22 season with Pittsburgh.

Aamodt had three goals, 15 assists, 39 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 52 games played with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension on Tuesday. The 25-year-old was signed as a free agent out of college in 2022 and will hope to grow off a strong first full AHL season.

Landeskog missed the entire 2022-23 regular season as he recovered from knee surgery and will now go back under the knife for a cartilage transplant in his right knee which will cause him to miss the 2023-24 season as well. It is a tough loss for the Avalanche as their captain has not played since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2022. The 30-year-old has 571 points (248G/323A) and a +77 plus/minus across 738 career NHL games played.

Drury has been out since Game 4 of round one due to an upper-body injury but is expected to return to Carolina's lineup for Game 1 of round two on Wednesday. Drury has yet to pick up a point in his four playoff games played this year, but has six SOG, 10 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus.

Manson left Game 5 after just 15 shifts and 8:27 TOI due to an undisclosed injury and will be out for Game 6 in Seattle Friday. The 31-year-old has yet to pick up a point through five games in the playoffs but has eight PIMs, four SOG, and a -3 plus/minus.

Drury left Game 4 last weekend after just two shifts and 1:20 TOI due to an upper-body injury and did not play in the Hurricanes' previous game and will also miss Game 6 as he did not travel with Carolina. The 23-year-old is considered day-to-day for the time being and has yet to pick up a point in four playoff games so far, with 6 SOG, 10 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus.

Nichuskin has missed the Avalanche's previous two games due to a personal matter and has already been out for Game 5 in Colorado as he is considered out indefinitely. The 28-year-old had a goal, Six SOG, and a -2 plus/minus through 2 games prior to his unexpected absence.