Less than 24 hours after having their seven-game winning streak snapped, the Avalanche on Thursday reassigned rookie forward Martin Kaut to the Colorado Eagles and recalled forward Sheldon Dries and defenseman Kevin Connauton.
It was purely a financial move as Kaut, the team’s first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2018 NHL draft, played well in eight games -- two goals, one assist -- following his Feb. 18 recall from the AHL club.
If Kaut, 20, had played in two more games, the first year of his three-year entry-level contract would have kicked in, accelerating his move to (restricted) free agency by one year.
Instead, assuming he makes the Avalanche next year, the first year of his contract will begin then and he won’t be eligible for restricted free agency until after the 2022-23 season.
So Kaut will play a ton with the Eagles, gain more experience, and Dries and Connauton will accompany the Avalanche on the three-game road trip that opens Friday in Vancouver. They play Sunday in San Jose and Monday in Los Angeles.
Off to the West coast!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/4MVzks2ZtR
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 5, 2020
As for Wednesday, the Avalanche dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Anaheim when Rickard Rakell scored with 1.2 seconds remaining. It was his first goal in 16 games, since Jan. 31 against Tampa Bay.
They do have a nine-game point streak (7-0-2) and are two points behind St. Louis for the Central Division and Western Conference lead. MY NHL.com GAME RECAP
The Avalanche needed some reinforcements because coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday night that forward Andre Burakovsky (upper/lower body) and defenseman Cale Makar (upper body) wouldn’t be making the trip.
Burakovsky has missed three games in a row and five of the past six. Makar has missed the past two games.
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov didn’t play in the third period or overtime. He logged just 7:58 in ice time and was a minus-3, on the ice for all three of the Ducks’ regulation goals.