It appears that the end of the road for Pierre-Edouard Bellemare may be closer than some people expected, after all. The Colorado Avalanche have unfortunately parted ways with the 39-year-old, releasing him from his PTO on Thursday.
With a couple of preseason games remaining for the Avalanche, it’s a disappointing, but not too surprising, decision by the team.
From 2019-2021, Bellemare played in 119 games and recorded 18 goals and 13 assists for the Avalanche.
Bellemare was an undrafted free agent signing of the Philadelphia Flyers in 2014. He has 64 goals and 74 assists during his career, while playing in 700 career regular season games. Bellemare was never a true goal scorer or point getter. He never eclipsed 10 goals in a season. He did eclipse 100 shots in a season three times.
The Avalanche were willing to give him another chance by signing him to the PTO, but it appears that, even with Jared Bednar’s displeasure with the efforts of players trying to make the team, Bellemare just wasn’t able to make it.
Some of the players who could still fight for the fourth-line center spot, the spot Bellemare saw time at, is Calum Ritchie, Ivan Ivan, and Parker Kelly. Ritchie, of course, was the team’s first-round pick from last year’s NHL Draft. Ivan was deemed as Mile High Hockey’s 11th-best Avalanche prospect under the age of 25.
Kelly was signed this offseason to a two-year contract this past offseason. The 25-year-old had 35 points in 177 career games for the Ottawa Senators.
The fourth line of the Colorado Avalanche might be a problem for them early on in 2024-25, but as time goes on and games are played, hopefully they continue to develop into a strong line. The fourth line won’t have to play too many minutes, and hopefully they will be able to make a strong contribution, making it easier on the other lines.
Perhaps Bellemare might try to see if he can find a new home to play at. If not, He’s had a long career as it is and might be happy to call it a career.