Colorado Avalanche Sign Jean-Luc Foudy
The Colorado Avalanche have a few days off between playoff series, so why not do a little planning for the future. The Avalanche announced today that they have signed prospect Jean-Luc Foudy to a three-year entry-level contract.
Foudy, 19, split this season between Sweden’s Hockey Ettan (third tier) and with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, eligible for minor league hockey only because the OHL never returned to play. The third-round pick from 2020 scored three goals and registered 14 points in 34 games for the Eagles, playing almost every game as an 18-year-old before his birthday earlier this month. Though he was a team-worst -17, even playing at the AHL was an impressive development step for the young forward.
He is now stuck in that unique spot with several other OHL prospects who are too young to be eligible for the AHL again next season. If Foudy fails to make the Avalanche out of camp, he would be forced to return to his junior team the Windsor Spitfires. That is the most likely scenario, but still an odd one after playing an entire (albeit shortened) professional season.
Consider him a strong candidate for Canada’s World Junior team next winter after winning a Hlinka-Gretzky silver medal. His older brother Liam Foudy is currently suiting up for his country at the IIHF World Championship.
West Notes: Thomas, Blues, Kadri, Pacioretty
The St. Louis Blues have struggled mightily in its first-round playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche with little offense to show for itself. The team has scored just five goals over three games and needs some players to step up.
Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that one player the team needs more from is Robert Thomas. The 21-year-old looked like a promising youngster in his second season last year when he posted 10 goals and 42 points, but has struggled this year after missing 19 games with a broken hand, hasn’t produced on the ice. The center scored just three goals and 12 points in 33 games and has just two secondary assists so far in the playoffs.
“I think he’s gotta play with more energy and confidence in my opinion,” said Blues coach Craig Berube. “That’s a big thing I think I see with him, is the energy level’s a little low for him. He’s gotta find a little more emotion in his game and go out and play with some energy and emotion in the game. It’s hard to play the game in the playoffs without energy and emotion. And if he gets his energy levels up and gets more emotionally involved in the game, he’s gonna play better.”
- Sticking with the Blues, injuries continue to be a problem for St. Louis. Berube said that the team will be without Vince Dunn, Robert Bortuzzo and Justin Faulk for a pivotal Game 4, the team announced. There is a chance that Jake Walman could be available for the game, and Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports he will play in Game 4 after coming off the COVID-19 protocol list. Dunn is expected to miss his 15th straight game with an upper-body injury. Bortuzzo and Faulk will each miss their second straight with upper-body injuries.
- John Shannon of NHL.com reports that there still is no decision from forward Nazem Kadri about whether he intends to appeal his suspension. Kadri received an eight-game suspension Friday after his hit on Faulk in Game 2. If Kadri wants to appeal, it would go into the hands of commissioner Gary Bettman. If he doesn’t like Bettman’s response, it could go to a third-party arbitrator, but that could take quite a bit of time, according to the scribe. A decision likely will be made later today.
- Still no word on the status of Vegas Golden Knights’ Max Pacioretty as Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen reports that the top-scoring winger remains day-to-day. In fact, the forward has been day-to-day with an undisclosed injury since being injured on May 1. “We don’t know game to game whether he’ll be in, but it’s turned into obviously longer than we hoped,” said head coach Peter DeBoer.
Nazem Kadri Suspended Eight Games
The Department of Player Safety has reached a decision regarding Nazem Kadri and the Colorado Avalanche forward will not be available to the team for a while. Kadri has been issued an eight-game suspension for his hit on St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that while we accept Kadri’s arguement that he was attempting to deliver a full body check, the head was the main point of contact on this hit. While Kadri does make some contact with Faulk’s right shoulder and chest, the brunt of this impact is absorbed by the head of Faulk.
Kadri, 30, had already been suspended five times in his career before this incident, which occurred on Wednesday night in game two of the first-round series between the Avalanche and Blues. A five-minute major was assessed and Kadri was given a match penalty, which initiates an automatic review from the league. Faulk, who was immediately taken from the game, will not play in game three tonight but head coach Craig Berube did tell reporters including Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic there is a “chance” he returns at some point in this series.
Blues GM Doug Armstrong spoke with Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and indicated that though he doesn’t believe the time is now, a meaningful discussion about the state of player safety in the league needs to be had. He pointed directly to the hit on Robert Bortuzzo which also caused an injury but did not receive any supplementary discipline. Armstrong “isn’t looking to make headlines” according to LeBrun, but is “genuinely concerned.”
Kadri meanwhile will be replaced in the Avalanche lineup by Carl Soderberg for tonight’s game, a trade deadline acquisition that has played just 11 games since returning to the organization. Though Colorado has a stranglehold on the series after outscoring the Blues 10-4 in the first two games (both Avalanche wins), Kadri’s absence will be significant. The veteran center recorded 32 points in 56 games this season, averaging more than 16 minutes a night. Only Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen logged more powerplay time among Avalanche forwards.
In 2013, Kadri was suspended three games for interference. In 2015, he was given a four-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Matt Fraser. In 2016, he was suspended the final four games of the regular season for a cross-check to the face of Luke Glendening. In the 2018 playoffs he received a three-game suspension for boarding Tommy Wingels. The following year he was suspended in the playoffs again, this time for the remainder of the first round (five games) for a cross-check on Jake Debrusk.
Colorado Recalls Eight Players
With Colorado’s AHL team falling 5-1 to San Jose in Wednesday’s play-in game, the Avalanche have made their end-of-season recalls to join their ‘Black Aces’. Per CapFriendly, the following players have been brought up from the Eagles:
Goalies: Justus Annunen, Adam Werner
Defensemen: Kyle Burroughs, Keaton Middleton
Forwards: Martin Kaut, Sampo Ranta, Miikka Salomaki, T.J. Tynan
The majority of these players likely won’t see any action for the Avs during the postseason barring a rash of injuries but will continue to skate to stay in playing shape unless they’re called upon. Three of the eight – Burroughs, Middleton, and Kaut – saw NHL action this season with Burroughs being the only one to record a point, notching an assist in five games. Among the others, Annunen and Ranta are two of their better prospects but are highly unlikely to suit up and are just up for the experience.
Tynan was one of the top scorers in the AHL this season, averaging an assist per game while picking up eight goals in 27 contests. Among players who played in at least 20 games this season, his 1.30 points per game average was the best in the league. Salomaki has the most NHL experience among the group with 167 appearances spread across six seasons with Nashville but hasn’t yet had an opportunity to suit up for Colorado.
Nazem Kadri Offered In-Person Hearing With Department Of Player Safety
May 21: The hearing has been scheduled for this afternoon.
May 20: It has happened again, Nazem Kadri will be suspended in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The Colorado Avalanche forward was given a match penalty and a five-minute major for his hit on St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk last night and today was offered an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety. The in-person hearing gives the league the option to suspend Kadri for more than five games, a likely situation given his history.
Kadri, 30, has been suspended five times in his career, including twice in the playoffs when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2019, he was banned for the remaining five games of the Maple Leafs first-round series against the Boston Bruins for a cross-check on Jake Debrusk.
The incident occurred in the third period of last night’s game. As Faulk received a drop pass in the high slot and tried to release a shot, Kadri came across the middle and delivered a hard check. The blow appeared to catch Faulk’s head, as he spun and stayed down on the ice. Faulk would leave the game and the Blues did not yet update his status.
This kind of incident is a big part of the reason why the Maple Leafs traded Kadri, despite him being a very impressive player at both ends of the ice. In 56 games this season he scored 11 goals and 32 points, giving the team some strong depth scoring and physicality. The Avalanche will likely have to navigate the rest of the first round without him.
Nikolai Kovalenko To Leave Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Considering Signing Entry-Level Contract
- Avalanche prospect Nikolai Kovalenko told Championnat’s Alexander Kozhevnikov that he is leaving Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL due to unhappiness over his role. The 2018 sixth-rounder had a limited role this season but still managed to notch five goals and six assists in 41 games. The winger indicated that there are a couple of options he’s currently considering – signing with Colorado and coming to North America or staying in Russia and joining Ak Bars Kazan. As Kovalenko was drafted out of Russia, his NHL rights will be held indefinitely.
Mikko Rantanen Fined For Diving/Embellishment
The NHL has issued a $2,000 fine to Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen for diving/embellishment, meaning that he has been flagged twice this season for the act. The league issued a warning following the first such incident, which occurred on March 23 against the Arizona Coyotes. The second happened on April 30 against the San Jose Sharks–an incident which resulted in a tripping penalty for Mario Ferraro–triggering the fine.
For Rule 64, the supplementary discipline is on a graduated scale that also includes fines for a head coach:
While Jared Bednar is certainly not going to bench a player like Rantanen, costing the coach money is never a good idea. The league will be keeping a close eye on the Colorado star and his teammates for the rest of the season. Coach fines start kicking in after four are issued to either one player or a club collectively.
Setbacks For Byram And O'Connor; Rantanen, Grubauer, And Donskoi Could Play Friday
- Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram and winger Logan O’Connor have both suffered setbacks in their recoveries from upper- and lower-body injuries respectively, reports Mike Chambers of the Denver Post (Twitter link). Byram was recently taken off the COVID-Protocol Related Absences (CPRA) List but his injury preceded his placement there. As for O’Connor, he has been out since the end of March. Both players are now listed as week-to-week.
- On the other hand, Colorado is set to get several key regulars back as com’s Rick Sadowski mentions that wingers Mikko Rantanen and Joonas Donskoi plus goalie Philipp Grubauer could all return to the lineup on Friday. Those three were on the CPRA list until recently as well and would undoubtedly provide a boost to the Avalanche’s lineup as they look to chase down Vegas for the top seed in the West.
Colorado Avalanche Sign Justin Barron
Just when you thought the Colorado Avalanche had enough young defensemen, here comes Justin Barron. The 2020 first-round pick has signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Avalanche after a strong (albeit shortened) season in the QMJHL. Barron will report to the Colorado Eagles immediately.
CapFriendly reports that the deal carries a $925K cap hit (the entry-level maximum) in all three seasons with performance bonuses of $212.5K in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and $275K in 2023-24.
When the Avalanche took to the (virtual) podium last October to make their first-round selection, many expected them to go with a forward. The team already had names like Samuel Girard and Cale Makar leading the way in the NHL, with Bowen Byram set to debut soon enough and Conor Timmins working his way back from injury. But instead of drafting for organizational need, the Avalanche went with the player they deemed the best available, a right-handed defenseman from the Halifax Mooseheads.
Soon after, concern emerged over Barron’s future as he was diagnosed with a blood clot. The Mooseheads announced he would be out indefinitely, but after missing some time, he received a clean bill of health. Barron would join Canada at the World Juniors and captain Halifax this year, scoring 31 points in 33 QMJHL games. The 6’2″ defenseman doesn’t have the offensive upside of someone like Byram, but is a rock-solid two-way option that you can rely on to eat big minutes in all situations.
That kind of style could make him a perfect fit on the Avalanche in the coming years, who will have more than enough offense generated from their other young guns. Barron will turn 20 in November and should climb the depth chart quickly once he jumps into professional hockey.
Patrick Roy Interested In NHL Return
Patrick Roy is a Hall of Fame goaltender and a former NHL head coach and executive. However, since 2016 he’s been out of the league entirely. He’s now hoping to change that. According to agent Neil Glasberg, who was recently hired by Roy, the experienced hockey mind is looking for a way back to the top league in the world and he’ll take any opportunity that presents itself.
Roy is currently the head coach and general manager of the QMJHL’s Quebec Ramparts, a role he returned to in 2018 after previously working in those roles for the team since 2003. Of course, Roy was also the head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Colorado Avalanche from 2013 to 2016.
With so much experience in various departments, Roy is not looking to focus on just one type of NHL opportunity. “He could be a president of hockey ops. He could be a GM. He could be a co-GM. He could be a head coach,” Glasberg stated. “It’s going to be situational.”
Roy had previously been linked to head coach and president opening with the Ottawa Senators and could circle back with the team on a potential role. His hometown Montreal Canadiens are currently operating with an interim head coach, as are the Buffalo Sabres, while there could be openings with the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets among other this summer. In the front office, any number of teams could have openings – or make openings – in order to add Roy to the staff. As Glasberg notes, they will wait to see what becomes available this off-season and make a decision from there. With so many possibilities, the hope is to see Roy back in the NHL soon.