The Colorado Avalanche are giving Andrew Cogliano another rung on the ladder.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Cogliano has been promoted to assistant general manager. The 39-year-old had spent the last two seasons as a special assistant to general manager Chris MacFarland in Colorado, and he remained with the organization after MacFarland moved to the Nashville Predators this offseason. Now he’ll work under current general manager Joe Sakic in a bigger role.
Cogliano’s rise inside the Avalanche front office comes after a long NHL playing career that stretched across 17 seasons and five teams. The Toronto native built his reputation as a forward who brought speed and grit every night, and his path through the league included stops in Edmonton, Anaheim, Dallas, San Jose and Colorado.
His NHL journey started when the Edmonton Oilers selected him 25th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. After two seasons at the University of Michigan, he jumped into the league in 2007-08 and played all 82 games as a rookie, finishing with 18 goals and 27 assists for 45 points. That remained the most productive season of his career.
After four seasons with the Oilers, Cogliano hit free agency and signed with the Anaheim Ducks in July 2011. Anaheim became the longest stop of his playing days; he spent more than seven seasons there and helped the Ducks reach the playoffs six times.
The Ducks later traded him to the Dallas Stars during the 2018-19 season, and he stayed there for a little more than two seasons. In July 2021, Cogliano signed with the San Jose Sharks, then was moved to the Avalanche at the 2022 trade deadline. He went on to win a Stanley Cup with Colorado that spring and retired as a member of the Avalanche after the 2023-24 season.
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