Since signing Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a professional tryout last month, the assumption had been that he had the fourth-line center job all but locked up on the Avalanche.

That assumption was wrong.

In a surprise move, the Avalanche announced Thursday they had released Bellemare from his tryout, signaling they hadn’t seen enough to give him an NHL contract. His locker had already been cleared out by the time the media entered the room after morning skate. There’s always the possibility they circle back to him at some point — like they did with Joel Kiviranta last year — but for now they are moving on.

Bellemare dressed in three preseason games for the Avalanche and didn’t pick up any points, but he was a staple on the penalty kill. During the first intermission of the game Tuesday, general manager Chris MacFarland was interviewed by the TNT crew. When asked about Bellemare, MacFarland mentioned footspeed as something they were keeping an eye on with the veteran.

It’s possible that played a role in them moving on from the 39-year-old center.

What does this mean for the team moving forward? There are still two preseason games left to be played to finalize the roster, and Colorado is currently carrying 14 healthy forwards. Parker Kelly has played center for most of camp and is an obvious option to start the year on the fourth line, but there are a few other interesting players left that could also start the year in the NHL.

T.J. Tynan and Chris Wagner are veterans who could be trusted for a short period of time in a fourth-line role, while 21-year-old Ivan Ivan continues to hang around. He surprised in camp last year and Jared Bednar has spoken highly of him over the last week.

There’s also the possibility the Avalanche will be dressing someone on opening night who isn’t currently on the roster. The Avalanche have claimed players on the waiver wire in the past and could go down that road again.