Avalanche sign Keaton Middleton to two-year contract extension

On Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche announced the team had signed defenseman Keaton Middleton to a two-year contract extension. The details and cap hit of the deal, which will kick in next season and go through 2026-27, have not been released.

Middleton is in the final year of his current contract, a two-year deal with a cap hit of $775,000 that he signed in Feb. 2023.

This season is the first campaign that Middleton has seen time in the NHL since the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season. Since he was called up in early December, the 26-year-old has appeared in 10 games, having yet to register a point. He has registered a plus/minus of +1 while playing an average of 10:31 per game.

In 13 career NHL appearances, all coming with the Avalanche, Middleton has zero points and even plus/minus.

Middleton has spent the majority of his pro career in the American Hockey League. Originally taken by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft, he didn’t sign with the team but eventually joined the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda for two seasons. The Edmonton native then came to the Avs organization for the 2020-21 season and has been with them ever since. He spent the past three seasons in the AHL, playing for Colorado’s primary affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Before he was called up by the Avs, Middleton had posted seven assists in 17 games with the Eagles this season. In 333 AHL appearances, he has scored 21 goals and 64 assists for 85 points, including 10 points in 25 Calder Cup Playoff games.

The Avalanche (23-15-0) are third in the Central Division, nine points back of the first-place Winnipeg Jets. Colorado is set to host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.