The Avalanche placed defensemen Jack Ahcan and Keaton Middleton on waivers on Sunday. If they clear, they’ll be eligible to be sent down to the AHL Monday before the 3 p.m. MT deadline for rosters to be set.
Ahcan is not surprising. He ultimately stuck around longer due to the injury to Samuel Girard, which kept him out until the final preseason game. Ahcan is likely to be one of the first defense call-ups for the Avs if they need extra bodies.
Middleton presents a slightly different scenario. I wondered yesterday in my roster projections if the Avs would start the season with Mackenzie Blackwood on IR to have space for all of Ilya Solovyov, Gavin Brindley, and Keaton Middleton to make the team. But Middleton being waived gives them the flexibility to send him down while carrying three goalies to start the year.
READ MORE: Preseason is Over. Here’s My Projected Avalanche Opening Night Lineup
If they do send Middleton down on Monday, it would mean that they’re potentially confident Blackwood is healthy enough to play before the fourth game of the season, and they’d rather keep him on the 23-man roster to start the year.
This is because Blackwood being placed on IR on Monday would mean he’d have to stay there for a minimum of seven days, which means he’d be ineligible to play the first three games.
If Middleton is not sent down right away, just clearing waivers gives the team flexibility to send him down over the next month without him having to go back through waivers.
The Avs claimed Solovyov from the Calgary Flames earlier this week and, like John Ludvig last year, are likely going to give him a shot to be one of the top seven defensemen throughout the season.
Colorado begins the 2025-26 season on the road on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Kings. The team will practice one final time Monday before boarding a flight for L.A.
