Overview
- Mike Reilly was placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes after Jordan Staal was activated from injured reserve on Nov. 14 and was claimed by the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.
- The Avalanche pursued Reilly to provide immediate defensive depth because they lost Nathan MacKinnon for about a month and Cale Makar for roughly two weeks, and Colorado had an open spot on its 23-man roster so no corresponding move was needed.
- Reilly is a 33-year-old journeyman who has played 468 NHL games with 135 career points and had appeared in eight games for Carolina this season, recording two assists and a plus-4 rating with his last game on Oct. 18.
- Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour framed the transaction as the pragmatic side of roster management, saying the move was 'the business part of hockey' as Carolina cleared space when Staal returned.
- For Colorado, Reilly offers short-term minutes and defensive reliability but not a like-for-like replacement for Makar’s offense, and he could make his Avalanche debut within days as the team reshuffles coverage on the blue line.