Avalanche sign Middleton to two-year extension

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed a contract with the defenseman Keaton Middleton to a two-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season. He is in the final year of his current two-year deal, signed on 25 February 2023.

Middleton, 26, has split his 2024-25 campaign with the Avalanche and the club’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He has appeared in 10 games and earned a plus-one rating with the parent club since being recalled on Dec. 2. The blueliner has also suited up in 17 games for the Eagles on the campaign, picking up four points (0g/4a) .

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Middleton has dressed in 13 career NHL games, all with the Avalanche. He made his NHL debut on April 9, 2021 and skated in three contests that season. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound defenseman has also played in 333 career AHL games with the Eagles and San Jose Barracuda, recording 85 points (21g/64a). He posted an AHL career-best 23 points (3g/20a) with the Eagles in 2022-23. The left-handed defenseman has competed in the Calder Cup Playoffs in each of the past four seasons and has tallied 10 points (4g/6a) in 25 such contests since turning pro in 2018-19.

Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Middleton played four seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit from 2014-18, collecting 58 points (11g/47a) in 255 career outings while serving. as team captain in his final two seasons. He added two points (0g/2a) in 12 career playoff games with Saginaw.

Middleton originally signed an AHL contract to join the Colorado organization on July 7, 2020, and was later given an NHL deal on March 30, 2021.