The Colorado Avalanche traded away Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to the Columbus Blue Jackets in a salary dump earlier this offseason to create more cap room. Coyle had been in Denver for just a few months after the Avalanche acquired him at the trade deadline, while Wood had spent two years in Colorado after playing in New Jersey for the first eight seasons of his career.

Coyle has one year left on his contract with a $5.25 million cap hit, while Wood still has four years left, with an AAV of $2.5 million through the end of the 2029 season. That’s the contract that Colorado had to get off after an underwhelming two years with the Avalanche.

The Avalanche were taking phone calls for Coyle, as he was the trade candidate who other teams were interested in. However, according to recent reports, Chris MacFarland and the front office had a condition for teams that were looking to get Coyle on their side.

Elliotte Friedman: Re Charlie Coyle: Colorado made it clear that if you were going to get Coyle, you were going to have to take Miles Wood too; Wood needed a change of scenery – 32 Thoughts Podcast

— NHL Rumour Report (@NHLRumourReport) July 11, 2025

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman said that Wood needed a “change of scenery” after just two years in Colorado. It was clear that fans were frustrated with him, and with so much time left on his contract, people were frustrated that he was going to be tied to the club for so long.

In the 2023-24 season, Wood played in 74 games for the Avalanche, scored 26 points (9 goals, 17 assists) and was a -5 on the ice. In this past season, he only managed to get on the ice for 37 games, as he put up just eight points (four goals, four assists) and was a -5 once again. In the playoffs this past season, he played in just one game, Game 2, in which he was a -3 on the ice in a 4-3 overtime loss that swung the momentum of the series.

He was an okay depth piece for the Avalanche, but this report shows how the organization felt about him after this last season that was injury-riddled. The front office got their wish, as he was paired alongside Coyle in the trade to Columbus, as both sides now get a fresh start from each other.