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Patrik Nemeth Traded To Colorado

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The Avalanche have added to their back end as they have acquired Patrik Nemeth from the Red Wings in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2022.  Both teams have announced the trade.

The 29-year-old is certainly familiar with Colorado as he spent two seasons with them in 2017-18 and 2018-19.  It was there that he had the best years of his career offensively (15 and 10 points, respectively) while he emerged as more of a physical presence in his second season, notching 137 hits.  That helped land him earn a two-year, $6MM deal with Detroit in the summer of 2019 with an eye on helping to stabilize their back end.  Colorado won’t be assuming that full price tag, however, as Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Red Wings are retaining the maximum 50% (or $1.5MM) of Nemeth’s deal.

In his first season with Detroit, Nemeth logged just over 22 minutes a night but his playing time has dipped notably this season down to 18:24 per night while notching two goals and six assists in 39 games.  However, he’s still a physical player with an ability to kill penalties and block shots, elements the Avs haven’t had as much of this season with Erik Johnson’s lingering injury troubles and the early-season trade of Ian Cole to Minnesota.

It’s likely that Nemeth will have even more of a limited role with the Avs as he figures to slot in on their third pairing.  But with him already familiar with the system, he should have more of a seamless transition into their lineup than most acquisitions would although he won’t debut for a few more days as he’s currently out with a hand injury.  As for Detroit, this is the first of their three allowable retained salary transactions, a number that may very well increase between now and Monday’s trade deadline and they earn themselves a mid-round pick for doing so; they now have three fourth-round selections already in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Colorado’s Jacob MacDonald Suspended Two Games

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The NHL Department of Player Safety is not in the business of going easy on rookies. The league has announced a two-game suspension for Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jacob MacDonald for an illegal hit to the head. The incident in question took place during Wednesday night’s season series finale with the Minnesota Wild, with MacDonald targeting a defenseless Ryan Hartman in the first period. Player Safety described the hit as follows:

MacDonald delivered a high, forceful hit to [Hartman] that picked his head, making it the main point of contact on a hit where such contact was avoidable… MacDonald, arriving on the backcheck, delivers a high hit that cuts across the front of Hartman and picks his head. This is an illegal check to the head… While MacDonald does make some contact with Hartman’s chest, MacDonald’s shoulder hits through Hartman’s jaw and it is the head that absorbs the brunt of the impact… [Hartman] does not change the position of his head or body in any way that contributes to the head being the main point of contact. If MacDonald wants to deliver this check, he must take an angle of approach that hits through Hartman’s shoulder and core rather than one that cuts across the front of his body and makes the head the main point of contact.

The league notes that MacDonald does not have any history of fines or suspensions in his short NHL career (or in the AHL for that matter) but it didn’t stop them from sitting him for two games as discipline for a dangerous hit. The goal is likely to show a young player that actions have consequences, even when the on-ice officials missed the call. MacDonald was not assessed a penalty, when he likely should have received a game misconduct in the first period, so this likely contributed to his suspension being two games rather than just one, even as a first offense.

The 27-year-old has admirably worked his way from an undrafted prospect at Cornell University, through a number of years in the AHL and ECHL, to a regular role on the blue line this season for one of the league’s best teams. Colorado will have to survive without him for two games – fortunately against the lackluster Anaheim Ducks – but MacDonald has proven himself to be a reliable defenseman and should be back in the lineup as soon as he is eligible. His first bad decision as a pro should not impact MacDonald much as long as he keeps it clean moving forward.

Jacob MacDonald To Have Hearing With Department Of Player Safety

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The Department of Player Safety has some more work to do. The league has announced that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jacob MacDonald will have a hearing today for an illegal check to the head of Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman.

The incident occurred late in the first period last night when the Avalanche were already down 2-0. As Hartman stopped and waited to deliver a pass in the Avalanche zone, MacDonald made a direct line for him with no real concern for the puck. Just as the puck left Hartman’s stick, MacDonald delivered a hard check from his blind side.

MacDonald was not assessed a penalty on the play, but appears to be facing a suspension today. The 28-year-old defenseman is finally receiving an opportunity at the NHL level after grinding his way up from the ECHL. In 27 games this season he has seven points.

Avalanche Sign Nate Clurman To Entry-Level Deal

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April 5: Clurman has officially signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Avalanche. He will report to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.

March 30: With the college season slowly coming to a conclusion, there are quite a few names ready to join the Colorado Avalanche shortly. That group could include players like Alex Newhook and Sampo Ranta. However, the first signing is expected to happen shortly as DNVR Sports AJ Haefele reports that Colorado is expected to sign Notre Dame defenseman Nate Clurman to an entry-level deal. No terms have been revealed.

Clurman spent three years at Notre Dame as a shutdown defenseman with excellent skating skills and served as team captain this past season. He even showed off a little offense, scoring four goals and seven points in 27 games, which may not seem like much, but considering he went scoreless for his first two college seasons, that’s a plus. Clurman was a key cog for the Fighting Irish, but their season ended prematurely as Notre Dame was forced to withdraw from the NCAA tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.

The six-foot-2, 200-pound blueliner was a sixth-round pick in 2016 and is expected to step into the AHL immediately with the Colorado Eagles after he officially signs his contract.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Sampo Ranta

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The Colorado Avalanche are already one of the most dangerous offensive units in the NHL and now they’re adding another talented forward to the organization. Sampo Ranta has signed his three-year entry-level contract and will immediately report to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.

Ranta, 20, is coming off an exceptional junior season with the University of Minnesota where he scored 19 goals and 31 points in 31 games. The 2018 third-round pick (78th overall) has developed into an absolute freight train of a player who routinely barrels down the wing with excellent speed and can drive the puck to the net or beat goaltenders clean from distance with his impressive shot.

While there is still a lot of polish needed to his overall game, there’s no doubting Ranta’s ability to put the puck in the net. He may be best used in a bottom-six role in the future, but he’s a legitimate NHL prospect joining an organization filled with talent. After convincing Alex Newhook to turn pro just a few days ago, the pipeline has received quite the boost in young talent recently.

Logan O'Connor To Miss Several Weeks

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  • Avalanche winger Logan O’Connor was frequently recalled from the taxi squad in recent weeks but that won’t be the case for a while. Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that O’Connor will be out for several weeks due to a lower-body injury.  The 24-year-old has five points in 22 games this season.

Snapshots: MacKinnon, NHLPA, April Fool’s

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Nathan MacKinnon’s comical misconduct on Wednesday night drew plenty of attention at the expense of Arizona Coyotes forward Conor Garland. Even in the midst of an 8-3 blowout in his favor, the Colorado Avalanche superstar lost his head in a scrum late in the third period, grappling with Garland and then picking up his opponent’s fallen helmet and bowling it back into his face. (video) While the helmet toss itself did not appear to do much damage (and has supplied many a laugh on April Fool’s Day), it was clearly a penalty. MacKinnon was handed a ten-minute misconduct and an ejection, but most expected that he could receive some supplemental discipline for the act. Well, the NHL Department of Player Safety has handed down their decision, but it isn’t what many – especially Coyotes fans – expected or hoped for. MacKinnon has been fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct, but will not be suspended. This is the maximum fine for that particular penalty, but in the big picture means little to MacKinnon. There has been mounting scrutiny over the league’s handling of egregious penalties committed by its biggest stars and the recent leniency with MacKinnon and Connor McDavid will not help their cause.

  • The NHLPA is adding a pair of noteworthy names to its staff. The Players’ Association announced today that former NHLers Ron Hainsey and Sean Bergenheim have been hired to executive positions. Hainsey, whose hiring seemingly marks his retirement after playing last season and speaking to team’s this off-season, has been named Assistant to the Executive Director for Special Projects and Development Initiatives. Bergenheim, who hung up his skates in 2018 and last played in the NHL in 2014-15, will hold the title of  NHLPA European Affairs Representative. Bergenheim’s 506 career NHL games with four teams is impressive enough, but pales in comparison to Hainsey’s 1,132 career games with seven different teams. The NHLPA adds plenty of veteran hockey know-how with these additions, while both have held administrative roles in their careers as well. As for their specific duties with the Players’ Association, the press release describes each role as follows:

Bergenheim will work closely with NHL players from Europe, and on behalf of the NHLPA on matters relating to international competitions as well as professional hockey in Europe… Hainsey will work on a variety of matters related to the administration of the CBA, media and broadcast partners, and new opportunities for marketing and sponsorship, all with special emphasis on the enhancement of player communication within the NHLPA.

  • For a daily dose of hockey history, it is worth noting that the last time the NHL had a trade deadline date in April was in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Unlike today, there were a number of April 1 trades that year as well. And it was the Calgary Flames who sadly held the title of April Fools that year. The team dealt star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for prospect forward Mark Cundari, the rights to goaltender Reto Berra, and a 2013 first-round pick. Bouwmeester would go on to play at a high level for seven more seasons with the Blues, going to the postseason six times and winning a Stanley Cup, before retiring this past off-season. As for the Flames’ return? Cundari played eight games over two seasons with Calgary and then never played in the NHL again. Berra played just half a season in Calgary, posting poor numbers, before being traded away for a second-round pick. That second-rounder became Hunter Smith, who played two AHL seasons and two ECHL seasons before retiring, having never seen NHL action. And the first-rounder from the initial deal? That was used to select Emile Poirier, who played just eight games over two seasons with Calgary and is currently playing in Europe. As they say, four strikes and you’re out. This is a trade that the Flames wish had only been an April Fool’s Day prank.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Alex Newhook

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Boston College has lost another key member as the Colorado Avalanche have convinced Alex Newhook to sign his three-year entry-level deal, ending his college career. The top prospect will leave BC after just two seasons and turn pro, giving the Avalanche another explosive weapon to build around. His contract will kick in for this season, meaning the first year will be burned and he’s available to play once through COVID protocols. CapFriendly reports the breakdown of the deal is as follows:

2020-21: $875K salary (including performance bonus), $50K in performance bonuses
2021-22: $925K salary (including performance bonus), $850K in performance bonuses
2022-23: $925K salary (including performance bonus), $850K in performance bonuses

Newhook, 20, was the 16th overall pick in 2019 and dominated the college circuit in his freshman campaign. The winner of the Tim Taylor Award as rookie of the year in 2020, he scored 32 points in 34 games. It was an outstanding debut, but unfortunately, Newhook managed just 12 contests for BC in his sophomore season due to an injury suffered at the World Juniors and reaggravated in early January. Still, he put up seven goals and 16 points in those 12 games, showing exactly why he’s considered one of the top offensive prospects in the world right now.

In fact, back in October, Scott Wheeler of The Athletic listed Newhook 11th among the top-50 drafted prospects, down from fourth before the 2020 draft was held. “Power and explosiveness” is what Wheeler wrote about Newhook then, and indicated he has “no concerns” about the young forward’s future as a top-six option in the NHL.

He’ll have to crack one of the league’s deepest forward units, but the Avalanche do have some big names coming off the books soon enough. Gabriel Landeskog is a free agent this summer, though he’s expected to re-sign at some point given his status with the franchise, but so are Brandon Saad, Matt Calvert and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin are all up after the 2021-22 season, meaning the team will have plenty of room for Newhook if he proves himself worthy of a full-time spot by then.

Colorado Avalanche Sign Keaton Middleton

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Though the deal had already been reported by CapFriendly yesterday, Keaton Middleton has now been officially announced as the latest signing by the Colorado Avalanche. The young defenseman has inked a two-year entry-level contract that will kick in right away, making him eligible for recall by the Avalanche if necessary.

Middleton, 23, was actually a draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016, but after two more years at the OHL level failed to sign a contract with them. After grinding in the AHL for two seasons with the San Jose Barracuda, he arrived in Colorado to play for the Eagles this year on a minor league deal. Now, after 14 games there and nearly five years since being drafted, Middleton has his first NHL contract.

The 6’5″ defenseman has never been a big offensive weapon, recording just 27 points in 116 AHL games, but adds an element of physicality and a calm defensive game. His skating, while not elite, is still good for a player of his size and that can help his long reach end rushes quickly. It seems unlikely that he’ll ever be an impact player for the Avalanche, but the team has a very good history of developing defensemen and perhaps sees a role for him down the line.

Nick Holden, Liam O’Brien Clear Waivers

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March 31: Though Gostisbehere will still claim the headlines, Holden and O’Brien also cleared waivers today. Both players can be assigned to the taxi squad or, in O’Brien’s case, kept in the AHL.

March 30: While Shayne Gostisbehere got all the waiver attention, two more players were put on waivers Tuesday. The Vegas Golden Knights placed veteran defenseman Nick Holden on waivers again, while the Colorado Avalanche sent Liam O’Brien through waivers after signing him to a one-year deal earlier this morning, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Holden already cleared waivers earlier this season, but a player must pass through waivers again if he has played 10 games in the NHL. For Holden, the veteran is at 13 games and with everyday salary meaning so much, the team must attempt to pass him through waivers once again. Whether he will be claimed is a different story as more teams are eager to add to their ailing blueline. However, Holden is making $1.7MM AAV not only for this year, but for next year as well and many teams may want to avoid that second year, considering he is already 33 years old. Holden has one assist in 13 games for the Golden Knights, averaging 15:44 of ice time.

As for O’Brien, the Avalanche signed him and were forced to put him on waivers to either assign him back to the Eagles or put him on the taxi squad.

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