The Colorado Avalanche reassigned defenseman Stefan Elliott to the Lake Erie Monsters on Wednesday, the team announced on Twitter.
The #Avs have reassigned Stefan Elliott to @monstershockey.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 25, 2015
The 24-year-old was called up from Lake Erie on Jan. 28, but failed to score a single point in five games played. Elliott was healthy scratched for five of the 10 games during his stint with the Avs. He registered 10 shots on net and a minus-2 rating while playing just under 14 minutes per contest in that time.
The offensive defenseman has six goals and 18 points in 63 NHL games since being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 draft by the Avalanche.
Unfortunately, Elliott’s demotion doesn’t necessarily signify the imminent return of Erik Johnson (knee), despite leaving the Avalanche with just six healthy defenseman. After Elliott was sent down, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reported that the Avs have “no update” on their top defenseman – who has been out of the lineup for over four weeks after undergoing a knee scope on Jan. 26.
The timing of Elliott’s reassignment likely had more to do with avoiding passing the defenseman through waivers and risking losing him to another team for nothing. Because Elliot cleared waivers earlier in the season, the Avalanche were permitted to have him up for 30 days after they recalled him and still be able to send him back down without having to clear waivers. With the 30-day deadline fast approaching, the Avs elected to send Elliott back down to Lake Erie where he has flashed great potential this season.
Elliott was Lake Erie’s lone-representative in the AHL All-Star Classic on Jan. 26 in Utica, NY.
Nathan is a staff writer for Mile High Sports. He can be reached on Twitter at @TheRealNatron.