Avalanche’s Chris Wagner, Devils’ Justin Dowling placed on waivers

On Tuesday, the Colorado Avalanche placed forward Chris Wagner on waivers, with New Jersey Devils forward Justin Dowling also being made available to the other 31 teams in the NHL.

Minnesota Wild forward Devin Shore, the only player put on waivers on Monday, cleared and will stay on the Wild roster.

If Wagner and Dowling clear on Wednesday, they can be assigned to their respective team’s American Hockey League affiliates.

Wagner has already gone up and down a couple of times this season between the Avalanche and their primary affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The 33-year-old has spent the majority of the 2024-25 campaign with the Avs, appearing in 22 of the team’s 33 games so far this season. He scored his first goal of the season on Nov. 5 against the Seattle Kraken.

That’s Wagner’s lone point of the year to date, having averaged seven minutes of ice time per game, posting a plus/minus of -7. The Walpole, Massachusettes native has one goal in five games with the Eagles this year.

Dowling has spent the last two months with the Devils after beginning the 2024-25 season with their AHL farm team, the Utica Comets. The 34-year-old has played in 21 of New Jersey’s 33 contests, potting two goals and an assist, with his last goal coming against the Washington Capitals on Nov. 30. Dowling has a -2 rating while playing 8:30 per game.

In six games with the Comets, Dowling has registered three assists, last playing for the team on Oct. 26.

The Avalanche (18-15-0) are hanging onto the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference while sitting fourth in the Central Division, nine points behind the first-place Winnipeg Jets. The Devils (20-10-3) are second in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Capitals for first.