The Avalanche have spent too much time patching together the back end whenever injury or absences forced their hand. That’s why Noah Juulsen feels like such a useful addition. He may not crack Colorado’s top six, but he gives Jared Bednar something the club has been missing: a dependable seventh defenseman who can step in without the whole operation getting scrambled.
That matters because the gap behind Colorado’s elite blue line has been real. The team has prospects on the way, but none of them looked ready to handle a full-time NHL job if a major injury hit.
Last season made that obvious when Cale Makar went down and Bednar had to shuffle through options. Trade deadline pickup Nick Blankenburg got a look, then Jack Ahcan did too.
Neither is with the organization now.
The Avalanche also had to keep digging for short-term fixes. Last season, they claimed Ilya Solovyov off waivers from the Calgary Flames to help fill out the roster.
Solovyov ended up playing 16 games before being dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Colorado got Valtteri Puustinen and a seventh-round pick back. Puustinen was not re-signed this summer, and that draft choice became Ondrej Ruml.
There were even stretches when Colorado was rolling with only six defensemen on the roster. Blankenburg eventually gave the team some cover late in the year, but the bigger issue never changed: the Avalanche needed more depth.
Juulsen looks like the answer. Bednar’s confidence in the 29-year-old says plenty.
When Colorado signed him, the expectation was never that he would force his way into the top six. The point was simpler than that - he could get into the lineup when the situation called for it.
And he’s not arriving as a novelty piece. Juulsen has already logged meaningful NHL minutes, playing 52 games for the Philadelphia Flyers last season and 54 games for the Vancouver Canucks in 2023-24.
The former first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens isn’t being asked to carry the offense, either. Colorado just needs him to be steady and capable in a third-pairing role.
At 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Juulsen has the size to handle that kind of assignment. He could fill in for Josh Manson or Devon Toews if needed, and he gives the Avalanche a much more comfortable fallback if Cale Makar were ever sidelined again.
He’s not Cale Makar. Nobody is pretending otherwise. But for a team that has spent too long improvising its way through defensive depth issues, Juulsen gives Bednar something valuable: a seventh defenseman he can trust.
In Other News...
Beloved Avalanche Favorite Just Found His Next NHL Chapter
Erik Johnsons next chapter is already taking shape, and it keeps him close to the game that made him a fan favorite in Denver. The longtime former Avalanche defenseman has signed a multi-year contract extension with ESPN, where he will continue working as an NHL analyst after transitioning into broadcasting following the 2024-25 season.
Johnsons place in Avalanche history is secure after 18 NHL seasons, including 14 in Colorado, and a Stanley Cup run that ended with the franchises championship in 2022. For a player who spent so much of his career in burgundy and blue, the move gives him a new platform while keeping a familiar voice in the league conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Blue-Line Decisions Are Revealing Colorados Roster Plan
The Avalanche made another round of blue-line trim work on Tuesday, placing defensemen Christian Wolanin and Domenick Fensore on waivers as they continue sorting out the last details of their roster before the regular season. It is the kind of move that can feel routine this time of year, but it also says plenty about where Colorado stands as camp winds down and the lineup picture gets clearer.
If neither player is claimed over the next 24 hours, both are expected to head to the Colorado Eagles, giving the Avalanche more certainty as they lock in their opening-night group. For a team with postseason expectations, these end-of-camp decisions are less about headlines than about fine-tuning depth, and the front office is clearly using every available move to shape the defense the way it wants it. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Camp Decisions Are Tightening Up Faster Than Some Fans Expected
Training camp has already started to feel a lot more orderly than chaotic for Colorado, with the coaching staff splitting the roster into two groups that made the picture pretty clear. One side looked a lot like the Avs expected Opening Night lineup, while the other had more of a Colorado Eagles feel, a setup that suggested the team is wasting little time separating the near-locks from the long shots. Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews and Cale Makar were all part of the projected structure, giving a good sense of how close this group is to being formed.
What remains less settled is the back end of the roster, where the Avs appear to have 21 spots spoken for and only two openings still in play. Those final jobs could go to forwards or defensemen, which keeps the door open for a few different types of camp performers, including names like Taylor Makar and TJ Hughes. For a team that seems to know most of its answers already, the real intrigue now is whether the last decisions are about upside, versatility or simply who fits best into the last few available chairs. [Read more 🡒]