Avalanche Re-Sign Veteran Center For One More Season

Chris MacFarland just had a dynamite trade deadline, reshaping his Colorado Avalanche in hopes of a long playoff run. It’s never too early to start thinking about next season, though.

On Wednesday, the Avalanche announced that they had re-signed veteran center Chris Wagner to a one-year contract for the 2024-25 season. Terms of the contract aren’t immediately available through CapFriendly, but once they do become available, I will make sure to update. I can’t imagine it’s for much more than league minimum, but the real question will be whether or not it’s a one-way deal.

Wagner signed with the Avalanche over the summer, but immediately suffered a torn achilles while training, which knocked him out until Jan. 13. He explained how the injury occurred when he was called-up in February.

“I was doing extra sprint work back home before I was going out to skate,” Wagner said, recalling how the injury occurred. “Doing skater hops…hop, hop, land. I don’t know if you saw the guy on the 49ers do it on the sideline, it was the exact same movement.”

Wagner has played in 10 games this season in the NHL for Colorado, and has picked up a goal and an assist. His only goal just came the other night, as he tipped home a Sean Walker shot. That’s not why he’s up in the NHL, though. He’s here to provide a physical, steady presence for the fourth line, and he’s done exactly that when in the lineup. It makes sense to lock him up for next season. Even if he doesn’t make the NHL squad out of camp, he can be a very useful player in the AHL for the Colorado Eagles.

In 17 games with the Eagles this season, he has eight points.

Wagner may draw back into the lineup on Thursday night against the Wild, depending on the health of Yakov Trenin. That’s the value of having a guy like Wagner in your organization.