Avalanche make decision on left wing amid his ugly pointless streak

The Avalanche placed left wing Fredrik Olofsson on waivers Saturday for the purposes of assignment to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

With no pending IR activations or corresponding roster moves, this is likely a performance-based demotion for the 27-year-old. He was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Red Wings and is mired in a 12-game pointless streak.

If he clears waivers Sunday, assigning Olofsson to the minors will trim the Avalanche roster to 22 and create $775K in cap space. This is the first time he has been sent down in nearly a year; he was last assigned to the AHL on March 5, 2023, when he was a member of the Dallas Stars, and was recalled the next day.

Olofsson has three goals, six assists, nine points and a -3 rating in 55 games for Colorado after they acquired his signing rights from Dallas in June 2023 and subsequently signed him to a one-year, two-way contract. A fourth-round pick of the Blackhawks in 2014, Olofsson never signed with Chicago and only made his NHL debut last season after signing with the Stars in free agency.

While he was valuable in a fourth-line shutdown role for Dallas in 28 games, he hasn’t provided the same value to the Avs. Averaging 9:53 per game, Olofsson has a 39% faceoff win rate, a Corsi-for percentage at even strength of 45.8, and an expected rating of -1.6. He’s been tasked more at center in Colorado than in Dallas, potentially contributing to his significantly reduced possession impacts.

Without Olofsson, 32-year-old Chris Wagner is centering Colorado’s fourth line between enforcer Kurtis MacDermid and former Star Joel Kiviranta. Wagner has no points in three games after missing the first three months of the season while rehabbing an Achilles injury. He spent most of the last two months on assignment with the Eagles, readjusting to game pace, posting three goals and seven points in 11 games.

Olofsson will be paid at a $300K salary rate while in the minors, and his minimum guaranteed salary this season is $350K. He will be a UFA this summer.