Following their victory over Seattle on Friday to extend their first-round series, the Avalanche made a roster move, assigning defenseman Brad Hunt to Colorado of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log.
The 34-year-old is no stranger to being sent to the minors this season as this is the seventh time it has happened. In between those assignments, Hunt got into 47 games with the Avs this season, picking up four goals and six assists in limited minutes as he averaged just over 11 minutes a night. He has been quite productive in his first season of AHL action since 2016-17, tallying seven goals and 14 helpers in just 24 contests.
While it may seem odd that a team that was missing a defenseman (Josh Manson) due to injury Friday night would then turn around and send a blueliner down, this was done at least in part for waiver-related purposes.
Hunt cleared waivers back on April 1, resetting his clock. Players can’t spend more than 30 days cumulative on an NHL roster without needing to pass through waivers again, and days in the playoffs do count as it is part of their playing season. Accordingly, Colorado is sending Hunt down now to keep him eligible to play with the Eagles for their playoff run, rather than running the risk of losing him if they had to waive him to send him down after the Avalanche get eliminated. That's an outcome that could come as soon as Sunday if they aren’t able to win in the series-deciding game against the Kraken.
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