Avalanche Signs Middleton to Two-Year Extension

The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has signed 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 Feb. 25, 2023.

Middleton, 26, has split his 2024-25 campaign with the Avalanche and the club’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. He’s appeared in 10 games and logged 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 and has chipped in 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-shot rear guard has competed in the Calder Cup Playoffs in each of the last four seasons and has tallied 10 points (4g/6a) in 25 such contests since turning pro in 2018-19.

Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fourth round (101st overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft, Middleton played four seasons for 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 later earned an NHL deal on March 30, 2021.