The Avalanche made more cuts today, trimming the roster to 27. Going to Cleveland (AHL) is winger Cody McLeod and defensemen Jeff Jillson, Kyle Cumiskey and Johnny Boychuk. Cumiskey in particular had a strong camp, but couldn't pass any of the existing players on the depth chart.
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The Avs roster appears to be set for both goalies and defensemen, but the forwards are still unsettled.
The goalies:
- Peter Budaj
- Jose Theodore
- Tyler Wieman
Budaj is a lock, of course. The hope is that Theodore will be recovered from his knee surgery and ready to play by next Wednesday's home opener. If he is, Weiman will go to Cleveland. If not, Weiman stays until Theo is ready to go.
The Avs have 7 defensemen on the roster:
- Scott Hannan
- Brett Clark
- John-Michael Liles
- Jordan Leopold
- Karlis Skrastins
- Kurt Sauer
- Jeff Finger
The healthy scratch will probably be between Sauer and Finger, with Cumiskey as the first call up in case of injury.
There are still 17 forwards on the roster. The locks would seem to be:
- Joe Sakic
- Ryan Smyth
- Andrew Brunette
- Paul Stastny
- Milan Hejduk
- Ian Laperriere
- Wojtek Wolski
- Tyler Arnason
- Brad Richardson
- Marek Svatos
Assuming Theodore gets healthy and Weiman gets sent down, that leaves 4 roster spots for the rest of the forwards...5 if Brad Richardson starts the season on the IR. Fighting for those final 4 or 5 spots:
- Jarslav Hlinka
- TJ Hensick
- Scott Parker
- Wyatt Smith
- Cody McCormick
- Ben Guite
- Mark Rycroft
I think Hlinka is pretty much set. That leaves 5 4th liners and Hensick battling for the final 3 or 4 spots. My guess? McCormick and Smith (or perhaps Rycroft) are the last two cuts, with Hensick sticking around for a taste until Richardson gets back.