The NHL salary cap compliance deadline has passed and the Colorado Avalanche have identified the 23 players who comprise their initial opening night roster.
It is important to note just how temporary this set roster now is and what is true today could be different next week or even tomorrow. There could be additional shuffling even prior to the first game but on paper this looks to be a roster that will at least make the lineup for game one
in Los Angeles.
First, the injuries as five are included as transactions to arrive at the final roster of 23. Both Jacob MacDonald and Logan O’Connor were previously known but the injuries to Ronnie Attard, Sean Behrens and Nikita Prishchepov occurred during preseason games with the Avalanche and therefore they can’t be sent down to the AHL until healthy. There has been no update on the severity of their ailments nor timetable for return. Because MacDonald and Prishchepov played for the Avalanche last season they carry a minimal cap charge on Season-Opening Injured Reserve until they are sent down to the AHL.
Both depth defensemen Jack Ahcan and Keaton Middleton cleared waivers and the latter was sent to the Colorado Eagles. They both have a $775K cap hit so it doesn’t really explain why Ahcan got the nod for now as the seventh defenseman but the availability of the newly claimed Ilya Solovyov will probably settle that position once his work visa comes through. For now he is not on the 23-man roster and is indicated as Non-Roster (not on injured reserve as indicated by PuckPedia) but will have to get activated to play.
On the forward side, the biggest news is Gavin Brindley making the squad. He looks likely to make his Avalanche debut on opening night but where he goes from there is up in the air. With the NHL restricting paper transactions beginning on October 10th, which means anyone sent down off the NHL roster can’t return without participating in one AHL game first, there might be a lot more real shuffling of rosters to bring up or send down extra players.
Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood does not need to be placed on Injured Reserve unless the Avalanche need roster space for an additional player. Considering right now they are carrying an extra forward and defenseman, there is buffer room for a little while. Blackwood is progressing in his rehab but his return is not imminent. Keeping him off IR does provide flexibility in the short term.
PuckPedia indicates the Avalanche have $277K cap space with the current roster but could gain over $2 million more if they placed Logan O’Connor on LTIR. Since the organization prefers to bank cap space this is probably not a move they will make unless the cap space is absolutely needed through injury or other aquisition.
