Avalanche coach Patrick Roy scratched defensemen Brad Stuart and Brandon Gormley in Thursday night’s season opener against the Minnesota Wild at the Pepsi Center.
Stuart is Colorado’s third highest-paid defenseman, at $3.6 million. Gormley ($850,500) was acquired last month in a trade with Arizona for defenseman Stefan Elliott.
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The Avs’ top pairing of Francois Beauchemin and Erik Johnson hasn’t changed since the first day of training camp. But Tyson Barrie, who was previously paired with Nikita Zadorov or Gormley in camp and preseason, is back with veteran Nate Guenin — his partner last season.
The third pairing consisted of Zadorov and Nick Holden.
“We were very happy with pretty much everybody, but we think those six were the best in training camp,” Roy said Thursday morning at the Pepsi Center. “Things could change for the next game. Like I said (Wednesday), we’re going to use those eight D all year long. Tonight is just the first game of the season.
Stuart, 35, began last season — his first in Colorado — in the top pairing.
“He’s a leader. He has has a lot of experience,” Roy said of Stuart. “We know he’s going to play a lot of games for us.”
Footnotes. Stuart, Gormley, scratched forward Mikhail Grigorenko and backup goalie Reto Berra were the only Avs to skate Thursday morning. Roy announced Wednesday that those players in the 20-man lineup — excluding the backup goalie — will not conduct morning skates if the team practices the previous day.
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