Maple Leafs Recall Former Avalanche Forward Who Delivered Playoff Heroics

Miles Wood could be back in the NHL on Saturday, and his next game might come against the team he used to call home.

The Toronto Maple Leafs recalled Wood from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies on Friday. The former Colorado Avalanche forward could make his Toronto debut when the Maple Leafs visit Ball Arena to face Colorado.

Wood spent two seasons with the Avalanche before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the summer of 2025. He played 111 regular-season games in Colorado, scoring 13 goals and adding 21 assists for 34 points. He brought plenty of speed and physicality to the bottom six.

But Wood will probably be remembered by Avalanche fans for one goal in particular.

In Game 1 of Colorado’s second-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars in 2024, the Avalanche found themselves down 3-0. They fought their way back with four unanswered goals, and Wood ended the night in dramatic fashion. He broke in alone on Jake Oettinger and buried the overtime winner, sending Ball Arena into a frenzy.

Colorado eventually lost the series in six games, but Wood’s goal was one of the biggest moments of his time with the Avalanche.

His time in Denver ended the following summer. Colorado sent Wood and Charlie Coyle to Columbus in exchange for forward prospect Gavin Brindley and two draft picks. Wood appeared in 54 games with the Blue Jackets last season, finishing with eight goals and six assists for 14 points.

The 31-year-old has spent much of his career in a bottom-six role. Before joining Colorado, he played for the New Jersey Devils, where he reached double-digit goals five times, including seasons with 19 and 17 goals.

Toronto acquired Wood from Columbus shortly before the start of the season as part of the trade involving Kirill Marchenko and Matthew Knies. The Maple Leafs sent him to the Marlies, where he had yet to play in either of the team’s first two games before Friday’s recall.

Toronto enters Saturday’s game with a 2-2-1 record after losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout. Wood could now get his first chance to play for the Maple Leafs against a familiar opponent.

If he makes the lineup, he’ll return to Ball Arena as a visitor less than two years after scoring an overtime goal that Avalanche fans won’t soon forget.