The Colorado Avalanche have cleared a procedural hurdle with depth goaltender Trent Miner, who went unclaimed on waivers Sunday and was promptly assigned to the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles, the team announced.
The 25-year-old had recovered from the undisclosed preseason injury that forced him onto the injured non-roster list to open the 2026-27 season, prompting the club to place him on waivers the previous day so he could be sent down once healthy.
Miner’s brief NHL experience last season offered a reminder of his upside.
Across four appearances with Colorado in 2025-26, he posted a 2.03 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, numbers that included his first career shutout at the highest level.
That limited sample came amid a larger body of work with the Eagles, where he appeared in 32 games and finished with a 17-8-6 record, 2.62 GAA, and .904 save percentage.
Those figures marked a step back from the prior campaign, when he went 22-10-6 with a 2.12 GAA and .918 save percentage in the same league. The dip in the minors is modest, yet it underscores the gap between solid organizational depth and consistent NHL readiness.
Contractually, Miner is in the final year of a two-year, two-way deal that pays him the NHL minimum of $850,000 or $350,000 in the minors.
Barring an unexpected surge of playing time, he is on track to reach Group Six unrestricted free agency next summer. That status requires him to appear in fewer than 22 NHL games this season, with each appearance lasting at least 30 minutes.
For a player who has never held a regular NHL role, the threshold is realistic, and it gives other teams a clear timeline if they view him as a future asset rather than immediate help.
From Colorado’s perspective, the waiver clearance also resolves a small but tangible cap matter. Once Miner is off the NHL roster, the Avalanche remove a $168,229 dead-cap charge that reflected the portion of last season he spent on the active list.
The amount is not transformative, yet it more than doubles the club’s available space heading into the next phase of the schedule. In net, the organization continues to rely on its established tandem, with Miner positioned as the primary call-up option should injuries arise.
Interest elsewhere never materialized into a claim. The New York Rangers, dealing with their own goaltending uncertainty, had been viewed as a possible suitor, but they instead recalled veteran Spencer Martin.
Miner returns to the Eagles as a reliable third option within the Avalanche system, available if the NHL club needs reinforcement later in the year.
For now, the transaction is routine depth management rather than a statement about his long-term place in the organization.
