The Colorado Avalanche announced that they cut their roster to 23 (active) players by sending goalie Sami Aittokallio, right wing Guillaume Desbiens and center Brad Malone back to Lake Erie. Desbiens needs to clear waivers before becoming a Monster once again.

Last season Brad Malone played 13 games for the Avs recording 1 goal, 1 assist and 16 penalty minutes. In his last season with NHL experience Desbiens played 10 games for the Flames during the 2012 season. In that time, he had no points and 25 penatly minutes.

Perhaps more importantly, and not surprisingly, the Avalanche placed Ryan Wilson on the injury reserve list, retroactive September 15th. Last season Wilson only managed to play 12 games due to injuries. Wilson has recently been plagued with injuries, and it must be a frustrating start to the season for him and the team.

The Colorado Avalanche start their regular season on Wednesday night against the Ducks.