- Colorado signs defenseman Christian Wolanin to a two-way deal at the $850K league minimum
- Wolanin gives the Avs a puck-moving recall option after Jack Ahcan left for Nashville
- Read below for what the 31-year-old brings to Colorado’s blue line depth
The Avalanche added some blue line depth on the Fourth of July. Colorado signed left-shot defenseman Christian Wolanin to a two-way contract, according to PuckPedia. The deal pays him the $850K league minimum in the NHL with a $400K salary underneath it in the AHL.
Wolanin, 31, is switching organizations for the second straight summer. He spent three years in the Canucks’ system from 2022 to 2025, but he hasn’t played an NHL game since he suited up 16 times for Vancouver in 2022-23.
Last season he landed on an AHL-only deal with Providence, Boston’s affiliate, and he made it count. Wolanin put up 31 points on seven goals and 24 assists across 53 games, with a plus-12 rating for the P-Bruins.
That offense is nothing new. He won a Calder Cup with Abbotsford in 2025 and a national championship at North Dakota back in 2016. The one thing missing has been turning that minor-league production into steady NHL minutes.
Colorado gives him a real shot at recall duty. The Avs have watched depth walk this offseason, with puck-mover Jack Ahcan signing in Nashville and Zakhar Bardakov bolting for the KHL, and Wolanin fits that same offensive-minded mold from the back end.
Up top, the NHL group looks locked in with Brent Burns and Brett Kulak back and Noah Juulsen added as a press-box option. Wolanin and Domenick Fensore, whom Colorado grabbed from Carolina this week, give the Avs a pair of call-up options with some upside when the injuries start piling up.
