Avalanche put Marko Dano back on waivers after eight games

The Avalanche put up a much-needed, decisive victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday evening.

The entire league is off on Thursday, with only a handful of practices and zero games. As the Avalanche await their final southwest road trip game against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday, though, they’re still making moves.

It was reported on Thursday morning that Marko Dano has been put back on the waiver wire, potentially ending his stint in Denver after just eight games.

The 23-year-old two-way center wowed his first club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, with a dominant rookie season back in the spring of 2015. In just 35 regular season games, he was good for eight goals and 21 points — a 19-goal and 50-point pace over a full 82-game season.

Thrilled by his potential, they managed to package him in a deal to pick up a slightly more seasoned forward in Brandon Saad, but that rookie showing turned out to be the exception, not the norm. He put up just one goal and two points in 13 games for the Chicago Blackhawks before getting moved in the trade deadline package for Andrew Ladd, and he’d finish his sophomore campaign with just five goals and 10 points in a 34-game stretch between Chicago and Winnipeg. The following year saw his point totals drop to four goals and 11 points in 38 games, and after putting up just three points in 23 games last year he found himself on the waiver wire earlier this fall.

The Avalanche claimed Dano with the hopes that his defensive proficiency would serve them well, and banking on the potential for his scoring to return in a less-competitive depth chart than he’d seen in either Chicago or Winnipeg.

He’s been a negative relative possession impact player for Colorado, though, despite getting more offensive zone time than he’d seen since his short stint with Chicago, and zero points in his first eight games has left Dano the odd man out as Colorado returns to full health.

It’s possible that another team will claim Dano in hopes that they can finally be the one to reignite his offensive spark, but the more likely option is that he’ll end up clearing and end up with the Eagles just in time for the start of December.