Desperate times call for ... well, you know.
As much as the Avalanche would have preferred to keep young defensemen Chris Bigras and Nikita Zadorov with their AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, to play a ton and gain experience, both were called up Wednesday and will be in the lineup Thursday against New Jersey at the Pepsi Center.
"There's some urgency right now, isn't there?" coach Patrick Roy said after he put on a mask and pads to practice for next month's alumni game against Detroit at Coors Field. "I mean, we positioned ourselves in a playoff spot right now. We're tied with Nashville and we want to make the playoffs. We'll see how it goes with these guys in the next game. It'll be up to them to push guys out of the lineup."
Roy also said that goalie Calvin Pickard will start against the Devils.
Moves were made on three other defensemen: Erik Johnson (knee) was placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 4; Nate Guenin was placed on waivers; and Brandon Gormley, who last week cleared waivers, was assigned to the Rampage.
(The Avalanche worked out off the ice Wednesday. Pickard and Roy took shots from Brad Stuart and Chris Wagner. There's no timetable for Stuart to return. He's been out with a back injury since Nov. 10.)
#Avs Patrick Roy practicing for alumni game. #Avalanche pic.twitter.com/Y0nFR4rYFU
— Rick Sadowski (@RickS7) January 13, 2016"Not bad, it's getting there," Roy said of his workout. "My second day today. It's coming. If I could lose 30 pounds, that'll help," he said, laughing. "I think it’s going to be fun going on the ice with these guys. You never know how it’s going to turn, but you know one thing, there’s a lot of respect deep inside every one of us."
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Guenin, 33, has no points, two penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating in 29 games this season. He was minus-1 in 15:07 of ice time Tuesday in the Avalanche's 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay, after which Roy was critical of the entire team's play and defense.
"Obviously it's not a very good sign when you're put on waivers, but Nate hasn't played as well as he did in the past years and it gives us some flexibility," Roy said. "He's going to remain with the team. I said to him this morning, 'If you have a chance to play another game, you're going to have to make the best of it and bring your game to the level that we expect.'
"We sat down after the game and we felt that we need a spark and these two guys are part of the future with this team," Roy said of Bigras and Zadorov. "We feel that these guys can help us create that spark. We're certainly curious to see how 'Z' and Chris will play tomorrow night. There's no guarantee for these guys.
"If tomorrow they don't play up to (a high standard) we might go back to Guenin and whoever is going to be scratched tomorrow night. These guys are going to have to push guys out of the lineup. That's the competition that we try to create, certainly with our defensemen."
Bigras, 20, was the Avalanche's second-round pick (No. 32) in the 2013 NHL draft. A 6-foot-1, 190-pounder, he has six goals, 13 assists, six penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating in 37 games with the Rampage.
Zadorov, 20, was acquired June 26 from Buffalo as part of the Ryan O'Reilly trade. A 6-5, 220-pounder, he had two assists, eight penalty minutes and a minus-5 rating after starting the season with the Avalanche. He had eight goals, 10 assists, 48 penalty minutes and a minus-5 rating with the Rampage.
Roy still has to decide between Andrew Bodnarchuk and Zach Redmond for Thursday; one will play, the other will be scratched.
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Guenin was signed by the Avalanche as a free agent on July 5, 2013. He had two goals, 13 assists, 32 penalty minutes and a minus-1 rating last season when he played in a career-high 76 games. He had one goal, eight assists, 46 penalty minutes and a plus-3 rating in 2013-14.
"It's happened to me before in the past, and it's part of the business," Guenin said. "We'll wait to see here. If you get picked up, you get picked up. If not, stick around and see what happens next. We'll take the next 24 hours and see what happens."
Was Guenin surprised when Roy delivered the news?
"Guys in my position, it's always in the back of your mind, so I can't say I was totally surprised by it, but it's part of the business," Guenin said.
I asked Guenin how he thought he had been playing.
"I haven't been happy with my play," he said. "I look in the mirror every night and feel I could be playing better, and if I was playing better, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
Guenin spent most of his first seven seasons as a pro in the minors before the Avalanche signed him as a depth player. He and Nick Holden, who signed the same day, weren't expected to make the NHL team in 2013-14 but did and have been here ever since.
If Guenin clears waivers, he could be assigned to San Antonio within the next 10 games or 30 days without having to go through waivers again.
"You have to be a pro about it," he said. "You're still getting paid a lot of money to do a job. And one thing I pride myself on is being a really good teammate and part of this organization. So whatever they see for me, I'll do."
Guenin, who is making $800,000 with the Avalanche, will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Holden is in the first year of a three-year, $4.95 million contract extension.