The Avalanche closed out the 2025 preseason on Saturday, falling 3-2 to the Dallas Stars in a game where five defensemen had to carry the load after an early injury departure for Sean Behrens.
Sam Malinski played 31:03, Jack Ahcan played 22:59, and Samuel Girard, in his preseason debut, logged 22:49 ahead of Tuesday’s regular-season opener.
The Avs are off on Sunday before practicing on Monday and departing for Los Angeles to get the season started. After more than two weeks of training camp and six preseason games, the lineup looks to be all but completed for the deepest Avalanche October roster in years.
Here’s what I project we’ll see on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena. This offseason felt long, but it’s finally over.
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Jack Drury — Victor Olofsson
Parker Kelly — Zakhar Bardakov — Joel Kiviranta
Gavin Brindley
Defensemen
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Sam Malinski — Brent Burns
Ilya Solovyov, Keaton Middleton
Goalies
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Minor
Injured: Mackenzie Blackwood and Logan O’Connor
This would give Colorado a full 23-man roster on opening night with just under $400,000 in cap space. That number includes both Mackenzie Blackwood and Logan O’Connor too. So once those guys are healthy, the Avs would clear up probably around $1.6 million from the their cap by sending down or waiving other players on the roster.
If this 23-man roster were to happen, Blackwood would have to start the season on IR to clear up a spot for Miner. NHL rosters are due on Monday, which means Blackwood wouldn’t be available for Tuesday’s game at L.A., or either of the first two home games on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth and Saturday’s matchup against the Dallas Stars.
The next game after that is on Monday, Oct. 13 on the road at Buffalo. That would be Blackwood’s first eligible return date, if he’s healthy and ready by then.
I assume that IR is the plan for Blackwood given that the Avs just claimed Ilya Solovyov off waivers. I don’t think they claimed him to waive him a few days later, nor do I think Keaton Middleton is getting waived. And if they’re carrying eight defensemen and three goalies, it would mean they’d travel to L.A. with only 12 forwards. That doesn’t sound like it would make sense, either.
Once Blackwood returns, Miner would return to the Eagles. And then the Avs would have another decision to make when Logan O’Connor is eventually healthy. Is Gavin Brindley getting enough playing time to stick around? Is Solovyov looking like a worthwhile pickup and someone they’d like to keep?
The Avalanche have rarely carried 23 roster players during the flat cap era since COVID. So it’s a nice change for them to still have roughly $400,000 in cap space while carrying 23 players and two other injured players that account for 7.75 million in cap space.
