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Injury Notes: Tuch, Lindgren, Blackwood

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The Buffalo Sabres have placed Alex Tuch on injured reserve, according to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News. There has been no official announcement from the team as of yet, but one is expected on Sunday morning before the Sabres face the Washington Capitals in an afternoon contest. Tuch did not play late in the Sabres most recent game on Friday night against the Florida Panthers, but stayed on the bench for the final seven minutes without touching the ice. He was listed as a game-time decision heading into that contest after crashing hard into the boards Thursday night in the team’s previous game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Sabres are pushing to make the playoffs for the first time since 2011. They are currently one point back of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final playoff spot, and are tied with the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Washington Capitals. Tuch has played a big role in the team’s success this season with 28 goals and 62 points in 57 games. His absence, which will be at least seven days if he is placed on injured reserve, will leave a big hole in the Sabres lineup.

  • New York Rangers defenceman Ryan Lindgren left the team’s afternoon game early today after a questionable hit by T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals. Oshie was not penalized for his hit, but contact appeared to be from behind as Lindgren fell awkwardly into the boards. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reported after the game that Lindgren had his left arm in a sling. There was no further update from the team.
  • New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood has been out of the lineup since Tuesday when he reportedly tweaked something at practice. The team has been rather quiet about his absence since, but Ryan Novozinsky of NJ Post reports head coach Lindy Ruff says that a timeline on Blackwood’s recovery will be coming soon. Akira Schmid has been called up to fill in and gets the start tonight against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Colorado Avalanche Extend Keaton Middleton

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The Colorado Avalanche have signed Keaton Middleton to a contract extension through the 2024-25 season, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic. PuckPedia reports that the two-way deal will carry an average annual value of $775K in the NHL, $250K in the AHL, and includes a minor league guarantee of $300K.

The 25-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016. At 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Middleton is a powerful, defensive defenceman who is currently playing for the Colorado Eagles. He has scored three goals and 20 points in 57 games this season, already setting career highs in assists and points in his fifth AHL season.

The Edmonton, Alberta native secures a two-year contract, giving him a bit of financial security and career stability as he continues to grind in the minor leagues. Middleton has played in three NHL contests in his career, suiting up for a trio of games late in the 2020-21 season with the Avalanche. He has become one of the most trusted defenders on the Eagles roster, and is just one point back of Brad Hunt for the team lead in points by a blueliner.

Given his age, Middleton would have qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. Instead, he’ll stay with the Colorado organization and try to earn another chance in the NHL.

Deadline Notes: Capitals, Dumba, Foote

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The Washington Capitals are in unfamiliar territory as they became deadline sellers when they traded Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway to the Boston Bruins. It doesn’t sound like this is the beginning of a massive selloff though. According to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic, general manager Brian MacLellan is not interested in moving pending unrestricted free agents Nick Jensen, Conor Sheary, Trevor van Riemsdyk or Erik Gustafsson for small returns. Quite the opposite, as he is interested in bringing back all four if they are open to an extension. He also has interest in keeping winger Connor Brown who played only four games this season before tearing his ACL.

El-Bashir also notes that the Capitals may flip some of the assets they received in the Orlov/Hathaway deal and try to add before the deadline. Jakob Chychrun is of interest to them. Chychrun has been sitting out for over a week now waiting for a trade from the Arizona Coyotes and has two more years remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $4.6MM.

  • The Minnesota Wild have had an up-and-down season but appear to be firmly entering the buyer category ahead of the deadline. A recent hot streak has propelled them to within two points of Central Division leading Dallas Stars. This should put talk of Matt Dumba’s availability to rest. Joe Smith of The Athletic reports that Wild general manager Bill Guerin said Dumba would be tough to replace and he is not looking to move the right defenceman with his team playing so well.
  • One right-shot defenceman that is available is Cal Foote. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports the Tampa Bay Lightning are open to moving the 24 year-old defender. The Lightning have already traded their first and second-round picks in 2023 and first-round pick in 2024 so they are low on assets at this deadline. Their general manager Julien BriseBois has stickhandled around sticky cap situations before and will have to do the same this season to add before Friday’s deadline.

Trade Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche

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The trade deadline is inching closer and is now just over a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Colorado Avalanche.

Following a Stanley Cup win in 2021-22, expectations were high once again for the Colorado Avalanche this season. However, some key offseason departures headlined by Nazem Kadri and a plethora of injuries have the Avalanche further back in the standings than expected. They have been playing better lately, but are barely hanging on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

An 11-2-2 run in their past 15 games has put them back into a playoff spot, and as the defending Stanley Cup champions, they are sure to be looking to add to the roster before the deadline. Once healthy, they will have one of the most dangerous lineups in the Western Conference, giving them a chance to make another deep postseason run this spring.

Record

31-19-5

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$6.45MM in LTIR relief, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2023: COL 1st, Col 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th

2024: COL 1st, COL 4th, COL 6th, COL 7th

Trade Chips

The Avalanche have traded a lot of their draft pick capital in past seasons, but do still hold all of their own first-round picks. That will allow them to get in on some of the big names as we head toward the trade deadline on Mar. 3. The biggest obstacle in their way is the salary cap.

Gabriel Landeskog has not played a game yet this season and he sits on long-term injured reserve. If the Avalanche get news that he will remain there until the end of the regular season, they can replace his $7MM cap hit and really swing for the fences at the trade deadline in hopes of a repeat.

If they are going to make a big addition, their future first-round picks would need to be put in play. Having traded many of them in recent years, the Avalanche do not have the deepest prospect pool in the league, but they do have a few young players to offer as trade bait.

Alex Newhook would net the biggest return but he is already a full-time NHL player. If the Avalanche want to make a big trade, teams will be asking about the 2019 first-round pick. Newhook has 12 goals and 20 points in 55 games, but rebuilding teams would be interested in adding the 22-year-old center.

Sean Behrens was the Avalanche’s second-round pick in 2021. The two-way defenceman is having a second strong season for the University of Denver. He has three goals and 20 points in 27 games this season after putting up three goals and 29 points in 37 games as a Freshman in 2021-22. Behrens represented USA at the past two World Junior Championships, scoring a combined three points in eight games. Justin Barron was moved in a trade last season that brought back Artturi Lehkonen and helped put the Avs over the top. Behrens would have similar value on the open market right now.

Jean-Luc Foudy is one of the few young players having an impact season for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He was a third-round pick of Colorado in the 2020 NHL Draft and has 11 goals and 31 points in 36 AHL games this season. He is a 20-year-old right-shot center who would have plenty of interest from rebuilding teams.

Other Potential Trade Chips: Oskar Olausson, Matthew Stienburg, Ryan Merkley

Team Needs

1) Second-Line Center: The Avalanche were hopeful that Newhook would step into the second-line center role that was vacated by Kadri when he signed with the Calgary Flames. While Newhook is a skilled young player, he isn’t the ideal fit as a second center on a contending team right now. If Landeskog can eventually return from his injury, he joins Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin and Lehkonen as a dangerous group of top-six wingers. Nathan MacKinnon is obviously the team’s number one center, but they could use an upgrade in the middle of the second unit.

2) Defensive Depth: A team with Cale Makar, Bowen Byram, Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, Josh Manson and Erik Johnson should not need help on the back end. However, injuries have sabotaged what should be the best group of blueliners in the league. Makar is currently out with concussion symptoms, Byram has been limited to 17 games this season, Manson has suited up for just 23 contests and Johnson is on injured reserve. A big name defender is not likely to be on the shopping list, but some depth to fill in for the injured players would be a nice addition.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Snapshots: Marleau, Roy, Olofsson, Murray

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Patrick Marleau spent the majority of his playing career with the San Jose Sharks, and it sounds like he would be open to returning to the organisation in retirement. The legendary Sharks forward is the all-time leader in goals, points and games played for the club. He spent 21 seasons playing for the Sharks, helping them to a Stanley Cup Final in 2016.

Marleau retired following the 2020-21 season and will have his number retired by the team on Saturday night. The city of San Jose was honoring him ahead of his number being retired on Saturday night, and announced Feb. 25 will be Patrick Marleau Day in San Jose. When addressing the crowd, Marleau was asked if he would return to the organisation and said it was something he would definitely be interested in doing. He then joked he would have to find something he is good at first.

  • Nicolas Roy is out of the Vegas Golden Knights lineup with an injury. The center has been listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury as per an update on the team’s Twitter page. The 26-year-old center has 11 goals and 25 points in 54 games this season. The Golden Knights are already a little depleted up front with Mark Stone and Nolan Patrick out long term. It doesn’t sound like Roy’s injury will keep him out for an extended period, but it further weakens the roster as they get set to host the Calgary Flames tonight.
  • The Dallas Stars have sent down a couple of depth players. Fredrik Olofsson and Matt Murray have been loaned to the Texas Stars. Both players were called up on an emergency basis yesterday to face the Chicago Blackhawks. Olofsson had three shots on goal and Murray served as Jake Oettinger’s backup in a 4-3 loss.

Snapshots: Ovechkin, Konecny, Schmid

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Alex Ovechkin is expected back in the Washington Capitals lineup later this week. Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports that the Capitals star will return to the Washington area on Wednesday and could make his return to the lineup as soon as Thursday night. The Russian sniper has been away from the team since February 12th, dealing with the death of his father, Mikhail.

The team has told Ovechkin to take the time he needs before returning to the lineup, but Kaplan reports that he will likely return either Thursday or Saturday. The Capitals host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday before taking on the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. Ovechkin has continued his torrid goal-scoring pace this season with 32 goals and 54 points in 54 games played. He will look to boost the Capitals playoff chances upon his return as they sit just outside the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

  • Travis Konecny will miss tonight’s Philadelphia Flyers contest against the Edmonton Oilers. Flyers beat reporter Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports Konecny has an upper-body injury and will be assessed by medical staff when the team returns home. The Flyers wrap up a four-game western road trip tonight and will be looking to tighten things up defensively after allowing 15 goals in the previous three games. They will miss Konecny’s presence as he is the team’s leading scorer with 54 points this season.
  • The New Jersey Devils have called up goaltender Akira Schmid from the AHL’s Utica Comets as per a team release. Devils reporter Amanda Stein added Mackenzie Blackwood tweaked something in practice this morning, so Schmid will serve as Vitek Vanecek’s backup when the Devils face the Montreal Canadiens tonight.

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