Avalanche promote Andrew Cogliano to assistant GM

Cogliano, 39, had served as a special assistant to general manager Chris MacFarland in Colorado for the last two seasons. With MacFarland moving to the Nashville Predators this offseason, Cogliano stayed with the Avalanche and has now received this promotion under current general manager Joe Sakic.

The Toronto native was a longtime forward in the NHL, known for providing a valuable combination of speed and grit. He played for five different teams over a 17-year NHL career.

He was initially selected 25th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. After two years for the University of Michigan, Cogliano made his NHL debut for the Oilers in the 2007-08 season, playing all 82 games and putting up 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points. This rookie campaign would stand as his career-best season in terms of individual production.

After four seasons in Edmonton, Cogliano signed with the Anaheim Ducks as an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in July of 2011. He went on to spend the heart of his career in Anaheim, playing seven-plus seasons with the Ducks while making the playoffs six times.

Midway through the 2018-19 season, Anaheim traded Cogliano to the Dallas Stars, where he spent the next two-plus seasons. In July of 2021, he signed with the San Jose Sharks as a UFA, and was later dealt to the Avalanche at the 2022 trade deadline. He went on to win a Stanley Cup with Colorado that season, and would retire as a member of the Avalanche following the 2023-24 season.

Colorado will host the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday for their season opener.