When the Colorado Avalanche signed Brent Burns this offseason, it immediately raised some questions as to how the defense group would work. With four right-handed defensemen in Cale Makar, Josh Manson, Sam Malinski, and Burns, somebody will have to play on the left side. Jared Bednar announced at the start of training camp that Malinski would be the guy they try on his off-side.
Jared Bednar said they will try Sam Malinski on his off-side with so many RHDs
— Meghan Angley (@megangley) September 17, 2025
Why Bednar chose Malinski to switch to the left for the Avalanche
To me, the reasoning for choosing Malinski has a couple of levels. If you look at the other three right-handed defensemen, it doesn't make sense to move them. You want Makar to do Makar things, Manson is prone to mistakes even on his normal side, and Burns is 40. So, moving him at that age in a new (and faster) system just doesn't work. Malinski is a young, smart defender who has developed pretty well. He's got the skill and smarts to make the switch. It just might take some time.
Of course, another reason is that there really isn't anyone else right now. At the start of the preseason, there was only Keaton Middleton to really compete on the left side. He's a serviceable third-pair defenseman, but not a guy you'd run out there every game. Now that preseason is over, there are a couple more options as Jack Ahcan impressed enough to make the opening night roster and the Avalanche claimed Ilya Solovyov off waivers from the Calgary Flames. Both Ahcan and Solovyov are left-handed and could easily take the spot from Malinski.
Bednar can give Malinski a long leash
The results in the preseason for the Malinski experiment were not great, though that's a bit expected, considering he's learning a position he's never really played before. This type of thing has become common practice for Bednar. He did this same thing with former defeneman Bo Byram. And we all remember the Parker Kelly experiment from last season. Bednar pushes these players into different roles to increase their versatility and provide the team with some flexibility.
This experiment is different than Byram or Kelly because there just weren't any other options for the team. The Avalanche currently have Malinski, Middleton, Ahcan, and Solovyov as their options for the sixth defense spot. Malinski is easily the best defenseman of that group at this point, but the other three are all left-shot defensemen. Instead of forcing him to pick it up quickly, the team can opt to give him time to work through it. I think Malinski has a high ceiling as a defender and improving his versatility would be a big step towards reaching that ceiling.
Malinski must prove he can adapt
The Avalanche are bound to move a defenseman at some point this season just because of how many bodies they have. If Malinski can solidify himself, it could force the Avalanche to move on from someone else. Girard and Manson are often talked up as trade pieces. Brent Burns is only on a one-year deal and Malinski can earn that spot with a solid campaign while learning to play the left side.
Malinski has an opportunity to win himself a contract and solid roster spot on this team. Both Byram and Kelly had significant time to learn with their new roles. Both ended up being serviceable at these spots and used this versatility to establish themselves as NHL players. Byram was traded to Buffalo and received a solid payday this past offseason. Kelly had a strong season with the Avs last year and earned himself a four-year contract extension. He doesn't have to be perfect, he just has to show that he can be versatile and adaptable in his on-ice performance no matter where he's playing.