Avalanche Reassign Keaton Middleton, Jere Innala

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With their pre-holiday break schedule wrapped up, the Avalanche announced this morning that they’ve assigned defenseman Keaton Middleton and right-winger Jere Innala to AHL Colorado. Their active roster is now at 20.Middleton’s demotion seems unlikely to be reversed when the Avs return to action on Friday. That’s because defenseman Josh Manson is expected to return from an upper-body injury after the break and come off injured reserve, knocking Middleton off the roster. All of Colorado’s other demotion options would require waivers, while Middleton hasn’t been on the roster for long enough since last clearing them to necessitate hitting the wire today. The 26-year-old younger brother of Wild defender Jacob Middleton has played in the Avalanche’s last nine games, his first in the NHL since making his debut with the Avalanche in April of 2021. The longtime Colorado farmhand was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 2016 but never signed, waiting until 2021 to land his first NHL contract with the Avs. He’s been in their system ever since, racking up 59 points and 390 PIMs with a +27 rating in 251 showings for the AHL side over the last five seasons.Middleton, who’s slated to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, had four assists in 17 AHL games before being recalled. In his nine appearances with the Avs, he went without a point but logged a +1 rating and 13 hits while averaging 10:31 per game. The Avalanche controlled 47.6% of shot attempts in Middleton’s limited 5-on-5 minutes.Meanwhile, Innala was summoned for the first time on Thursday as Colorado rotates depth forwards in the absences of Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood. The 26-year-old signed with the Avs as a free agent over the offseason after spending the last two seasons with Frölunda HC of the Swedish Hockey League, where he accumulated 54 points in 94 games and represented his native Finland at the 2021, 2022 and 2024 World Championships. He averaged 7:57 across two contests, posting a -1 rating and four shot attempts (none on goal). He had five goals and 10 assists for 15 points in 21 AHL games prior to the recall. He could find himself back on the roster when the holiday break concludes.