Avalanche Recall Alex Gagne, Place Josh Manson On LTIR

The Avalanche have made a pair of roster moves to kick off the week.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Alex Gagne from AHL Colorado.  Meanwhile, PuckPedia relays (Twitter link) that blueliner Josh Manson has been transferred to LTIR to make the cap space to bring Gagne up.

Gagne was a sixth-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2021, going 194th overall.  He played his college hockey at the University of New Hampshire but ultimately didn’t sign with the Lightning.  Instead, three days after becoming a free agent back in 2025, the Avs inked the 24-year-old to a two-year, entry-level deal.  This is the second season of that contract.

Gagne spent all of last season with the AHL’s Eagles, picking up a goal and 12 assists in 58 games during the regular season.  He was a bit more productive in the playoffs though, tallying five points in 17 appearances.  This year, he has a pair of goals in 14 contests.  This technically isn’t his first recall as he was brought up briefly twice during the playoffs last season but Gagne didn’t see any game action.  That could be different this time around.

As for Manson, it’s not surprising that he landed on LTIR.  He’s dealing with an ankle injury that could keep him out for eight weeks.  Given that Colorado lacked the cap space to recall a blueliner to replace him, it was only a matter of time before that move happened.  The downside to using LTIR is that the Avs now stop banking in-season cap room for the time being but it’s a necessary move to make to have some extra insurance on the back end in Gagne.

Colorado still has two available spots on its roster at the moment.  Accordingly, now that they’re in LTIR, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see another extra player brought up in the coming days.