The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the organization has signed defenseman Jacob MacDonald to a two-year contract through the 2025-26 season and forward T.J. Tynan to a one-year deal for the upcoming 2024-25 campaign.
This marks a return to Colorado for both MacDonald and Tynan, as MacDonald spent parts of four seasons with the Avalanche organization from 2019-20 to 2022-23, while Tynan played two years from 2019-20 to 2020-21. MacDonald skated in a total of 74 games with the Avalanche (1g/10a) while Tynan appeared in 16 outings (0g/1a).
MacDonald, 31, spent most of this past season with the San Jose Sharks where he set a career high with seven goals and tied his personal-best with nine points (7g/2a) in 34 games. MacDonald, who missed some time due to injury, also dressed in six games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda (0g/4a).
A native of Portland, Oregon, MacDonald has appeared in 135 career NHL games with the Florida Panthers, Avalanche and Sharks, tallying 27 points (10g/17a). He has also produced 193 points (68g/125a) in 277 career AHL contests with the Springfield Falcons, Albany/Binghamton Devils, Springfield Thunderbirds, Colorado Eagles and Barracuda.
MacDonald was named to the AHL Second All-Star Team in 2019-20 with the Eagles and the AHL First All-Star Team in 2017-18 with Binghamton. He led all league defensemen with 16 goals in 2019-20 and with 55 points and 20 goals in 2017-18. The 6-foot, 200-pound blueliner played four seasons of college hockey for Cornell University from 2011-15 and followed that up by being named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team during his first full professional season with the Elmira Jackals in 2015-16.
Tynan, 32, was named the AHL’s most valuable player (Les Cunningham Award) in back-to-back years from 2020-21 to 2021-22, just the fifth player in league history to take home the honors in consecutive seasons. His 2020-21 MVP campaign came as a member of the Eagles, the first player in franchise history to win the Les Cunningham Award. He was named to the AHL First All-Star Team in 2021-22, Second All-Star Team in 2022-23 and the Pacific Division All-Star Team in 2020-21.
A native of Orland Park, Ill., Tynan spent the past three seasons with the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he has led the club in scoring every year. He recorded a team-best 66 points (9g/57a) in 71 games this past year and paced the AHL in assists for the third straight season. In fact, he has led the league in assists a total of four times in his career, one of only two players in AHL history to do that.
Selected by Columbus in the third round (66th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Tynan has skated in 21 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets, Avalanche and Kings, posting one assist. He has totaled 593 points (102 goals and 491 assists) in 641 career AHL games. The 5-foot-8, 160-pound center won a Calder Cup championship with Lake Erie in 2016 and has 35 points (7g/28a) in 59 AHL postseason games.
Internationally, Tynan represented his country at the 2022 and 2023 IIHF World Championship, finishing second on Team USA with 11 points (1g/10a) during the 2023 tournament. He also competed for the United States at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Tynan played four seasons of college hockey at the University of Notre Dame (2010-14), tallying 161 points (54g/107a) and still shares the school record for career games (164). As a freshman in 2010-11, he led the team with 54 points (23g/31a) in 44 contests, earning CCHA Rookie of the Year and National Rookie of the Year honors. He followed that up by being named to the CCHA First All-Star Team as a sophomore in 2011-12. Tynan joined the Fighting Irish after one season with the Des Moines Buccaneers of the United States Hockey League (2009-10) where he was named to the league’s All-Rookie Team.
