Avalanche recall pair of forwards

According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have recalled forwards Ivan Ivan and Jere Innala to the NHL roster. The transaction marks the 10th time this year Ivan has been promoted to the Avalanche the fifth time for Innala.

Even though he’s been formally reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, nine times, Ivan has only suited up in two AHL contests this season. Most of his playing time has come with the Avalanche where he’s scored five goals and eight points in 39 games averaging 10:09 of ice time per game. Ivan hasn’t been without value for the Avalanche this season, sitting 13th out of all 25 forwards used by Colorado this season in CorsiFor% (51.6%) while starting 67.3% of his shifts in the defensive zone.

The same can’t be said for Innala. He’s been a physical presence in Colorado’s bottom six this season over 14 games but has yet to tally his first NHL point. He ranks 23rd of all forwards used in CorsiFor% with a 45.1% mark. Innala will likely have a full-time role in the AHL carved out by the end of the season should the Avalanche add to their forward depth at the trade deadline.

Additional paper transactions:

• The Tampa Bay Lightning have again reassigned defenseman Maxwell Crozier to their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch. Crozier has been filling in for the injured Erik Černák managing a +1 rating in the last three games while averaging 17:06 of ice time per game. Remarkably, thanks to a consistently healthy roster, Crozier is only the eighth defenseman to play more than two games for the Lightning this season.
• Finishing off the list of paper transactions are the Dallas Stars who have reassigned forward Matěj Blümel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. It is the fifth time Blümel has been reassigned to AHL Texas in a season where he’s scored one goal in seven NHL contests. Since he’ll be 25 and won’t hit 80 career games by the end of the season, Blümel will become a ’Group 6’ unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.