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Tyson Jost Out “Extended Period” With Injury

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Things haven’t gone perfectly for Tyson Jost since he left the University of North Dakota after just a single season. Since joining the Colorado Avalanche, Jost has just 38 points in 119 games and now finds himself in the minor leagues. Even things down there aren’t going well, as according to Adrian Dater of BSN Denver Jost will now be out an “extended period” after taking a big hit while playing for the Colorado Eagles. It’s not clear exactly what Jost’s injury is but it is extremely unfortunate given he was expected to be recalled by the Avalanche for this weekend’s action.

Jost, 20, was the tenth overall selection in 2016 following an incredible 104-point season for the Penticton Vees of the BCHL. That league is well known for its high level of competition and the fact that players maintain NCAA eligibility, meaning Jost could head to UND in 2016-17 without issue. He did just that and found immediate success, recording 35 points in 33 games while also winning a silver medal with Canada’s World Junior team. Unfortunately that offensive success hasn’t carried over to Colorado, and Jost has found himself seeing less and less ice time and responsibility as a result.

There’s work to be done to get Jost to the level many expected him to be at three years after his draft, and a serious injury doesn’t do anything to help that. If he can’t get back on the ice soon there could be a good chunk of development time missed, important time for him, especially with just one year left on his entry-level contract. Jost is scheduled to become a restricted free agent in 2020.

Snapshots: Mock Draft, Arizona State, Jokinen

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Itching for the NHL Entry Draft already? Several fan bases are, as many teams are beyond a reasonable shot at the postseason as the unofficial second half of the season begins. After a recent rash of mid-season draft rankings were published, NHL.com writers Adam Kimelman, Mike Morreale, and Guillaume Lepage tried their hands at a mock draft of the first round for the upcoming draft. They did not conduct a lottery simulation nor did they try to predict how the playoffs would unfold, so the mock is strictly the current standings inverse. However, each of the trio made their own selections and interesting trends can already be spotted. Of course, all three had the Colorado Avalanche, using the Ottawa Senators’ first-rounder, taking U.S. National Team Development Program phenom Jack Hughes first overall. Regardless of who picks first, Hughes is the unanimous pick to go No. 1 in any scenario. There was also a consensus for Finnish winger Kaapo Kakko going second to the New Jersey Devils and Russian winger Vasili Podkolzin going third to the Los Angeles Kings. However, there was not much agreement the rest of the way. Western Hockey League centers Dylan Cozens and Kirby Dach and USNTDP forwards Alex Turcotte and Trevor Zegras went early for all three writers, but no two agreed on the fit for any one team. There was also dissent over the first defenseman taken and where, as Kimelman placed Swedish rearguard Philip Broberg at No. 6 to the New Jersey Devils, while Morreale and Lepage had Canadian blue liner Bowen Byram going No. 7 to the Florida Panthers or No. 8 to the Edmonton Oilers, respectively. One of the biggest surprises was Morreale’s selection of wunderkind goaltender Spencer Knight to the Panthers. While many consider Knight to be the best draft-eligible goalie prospect in some time, no keeper has been taken in the top ten since Carey Price in 2005. The other two writers had Knight at No. 14 to Colorado and No. 24 to the Vegas Golden Knights. Later in the round, opinions differed greatly on OHL defenseman Thomas Harley and hyped overage forward Brett Leason as well. There is still a lot to be decided about the upcoming draft board, not to mention the draft order and the impact of trades, but it is interesting to get a good look at this point in the season as the picture becomes more clear for both the teams and prospects.

  • Arizona State University continues to make waves this season in college hockey. In just their fourth year of existence as an NCAA program, ASU is currently ranked No. 17 in the country and could push for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. As AZ Central’s Jeff Metcalfe writes, the play of forward Johnny Walker and goalie Joey Daccord is making all of the difference and beginning to draw national attention. After blanking the immensely talented Boston University Terriers 3-0 on Saturday night, Walker’s two tallies put him in the NCAA lead for goal scoring, while Daccord’s shutout was his NCAA-best seventh of the year. Daccord, 22, was a seventh-round pick of the Ottawa Senators back in 2015 out of Cushing Academy and it is beginning to look like the Sens’ late-round waiver on the long-term project could pay off. Daccord is a junior and could be enticed to turn pro this off-season if Ottawa hopes to avoid him becoming a free agent after another year. Walker, 22, went undrafted as a Phoenix native playing in the NAHL and is only a sophomore at ASU. However, that won’t stop NHL teams from trying to pry him away from college to get a look at his near goal-per-game pace at the pro level. A tournament run by Arizona State would only further amplify the status of these unlikely heroes of the collegiate campaign.
  • Veteran forward Jussi Jokinen has been unable to find NHL employment this season. The fact is somewhat amazing considering Jokinen played in 14 or more games with four different NHL teams last season. The well-traveled 35-year-old signed a PTO with the Detroit Red Wings this summer, who would have become his tenth different NHL team, but it did not pan out and no one else has come calling. Finally, Jokinen has decided to move on. Finnish reporter Pasi Tuominen reports that Jokinen is set to sign with Karpat of the Liiga in his native Finland for the remainder of the season. Jokinen will be a valued mentor for top NHL prospects like Rasmus Kupari (LAK) and Aleksi Heponiemi (FLA) while with Karpat and may even lead the first-place team to a championship. Regardless, it is highly likely that Jokinen’s days in the NHL are done. The well-liked and respected forward leaves a great legacy behind him in North America, but will surely continue to play overseas for a few years to come.

 

New York Rangers Almost Traded Ryan McDonagh To Edmonton In 2016

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In his most recent 31 Thoughts column earlier this week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman mentioned that now-former Edmonton Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli was close to making a blockbuster trade back in 2016, just days before he traded Taylor Hall to New Jersey for Adam Larsson. Friedman, however, had no knowledge of the details of that blockbuster. However, New York Post’s Larry Brooks got a confirmation from multiple sources that the trade would have been with the New York Rangers.

Brooks reports that just before pulling the trigger on the Hall-Larsson deal, Chiarelli was close to a deal that would have sent the 2016 fourth-overall pick (used to take Jesse Puljujarvi) to the Rangers for defenseman Ryan McDonagh. The belief is that New York was interested in drafting Clayton Keller of the U.S. National Development Team with the fourth pick to begin the rebuild process then. Brooks adds there were other pieces to the deal, but points out that after the team’s first-round exit to Pittsburgh that year, the team felt it needed to re-tool their team with McDonagh being the most marketable player on the Rangers at the time.

Instead, Chiarelli turned the deal down, took Puljujarvi and sent Hall to New Jersey for Larsson, while the Rangers instead packaged Derick Brassard to Ottawa in a deal to get Mika Zibanejad. The team did discuss McDonagh with other teams at that time, including a deal with Colorado for either Nathan MacKinnon or Gabriel Landeskog, but the Avalanche weren’t that high on McDonagh’s value.

Considering how Puljujarvi has turned out in Edmonton thus far and how successful Hall has been since leaving the Oilers, the trade could have altered the outcome for Edmonton as well as Chiarelli, as McDonagh could have helped stabilize the team’s defense. However, there is no guarantee that Chiarelli still wouldn’t have moved Hall later on anyway.

Of course, the Rangers team may look quite a bit different with Keller on their team now as the 20-year-old put up a 23-goal, 65-point campaign in his rookie season last year and currently has 11 goals and 35 points this year and would have been a great piece to build around. Instead the franchise held onto McDonagh until last year’s trade deadline when they sent him and J.T. Miller to Tampa Bay in exchange for Vladislav Namestnikov, propects Libor Hajek and Brett Howden as well as a 2018 first-round pick (Nils Lundqvist) and a conditional 2019 second-rounder.

 

Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche

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With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Colorado Avalanche.

The Colorado looked to be clearly the third best team in the Central Division until recently, but the team has struggled in December and even more so in January with a record of 7-14-3. However, despite that, the team has 52 points, tied with Dallas and is right in the mix for a playoff spot. However, despite their top line and team’s surrounding success over the past couple of seasons, the team is continuing build their team and remains a young squad. The team has the Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick in 2019 which could provide them with a superstar prospect and general manager Joe Sakic has made it clear the team isn’t going to trade away future assets to add temporary help for this team.

Record

22-20-8, fifth in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Moderate Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$58.142MM in a full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: OTT 1st, COL 1st, COL 2nd, OTT 3rd, COL 3rd, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th
2020: COL 1st, COL 2nd, COL 3rd, COL 4th, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th

Trade Chips

It’s actually hard picturing the Avalanche selling anything from their team as well, but they do have some assets they could move in the right deal. While the team might never consider to move Ottawa’s No. 1 pick, they might be more open to moving their own first-round pick, which would likely be late lottery to mid-level first-rounder.

However, among current assets, the team could consider moving some of their unrestricted free agents like Colin Wilson and Patrik Nemeth, two players who the team must decide whether they intend to keep them after this season. The team also is likely to lose starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the offseason after picking up Philipp Grubauer, so the team could consider sending Varlamov off to a team in need of a rental starter, although it’s far more likely the team will keep Varlamov for the remainder of the year in hopes of pushing for a playoff spot.

 

Five Players To Watch For: F Sven Andrighetto, D Patrik Nemeth, G Semyon Varlamov, F Colin Wilson, D Nikita Zadorov

Team Needs

1) Secondary Scoring: The team’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog has been impressive all year, but the team needs to build up their second line and has received little help from any of the players they have put there other than Carl Soderberg, who was meant to be more of a third-line player. Prospect Tyson Jost was sent to the AHL to work on his game, while many of their other young talents like J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot haven’t shown enough consistency so far. The team could use a solid impact player that can be the offensive focus of the second line. Whether the team is willing to pay for that at this point in the team’s development is another question.

2) More young talent: One thing that Sakic has done over the past few years is he has avoided handing out too many bad contracts with the possible exception of defenseman Erik Johnson’s seven-year, $42MM contract he signed back in 2015. In fact, the one given to MacKinnon seems like a bargain at $6.3MM for another four years after this one. While the team will have to lock up Rantanen this summer, the team has an awful lot of cap space they could use to bring in future assets. They did this last summer when they took on the contract of Brooks Orpik and was able to bring in Grubauer to help the team in goal. They could be that team that helps some of those cap-challenged teams to bring in more picks or young players to further invest in Colorado’s long-term development.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Poll: Which Team Is Under The Most Pressure To Make The Playoffs?

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When the NHL’s unofficial second half kicks off this week, there will be substantially fewer teams with playoff hopes than when the first half began back in October. Of course, no team has been statistically eliminated yet, but a quick look at the standings can help to rule out more than a handful of the league’s bottom-dwellers. In fact, The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn had seven teams with less than a 5% chance of reaching the playoffs in his latest model: the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks, and Philadelphia Flyers.

On the other hand, there are also quite a few teams whose first-half success has given them near certainty of playing beyond the regular season this year. Luszczszyn’s projections give eleven teams an 85% chance or better of qualifying for the postseason: the Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Bruins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Islanders.

This leaves 13 clubs remaining – the “fringe” teams – who are vying for a possible five playoff spots. Eight of these teams will miss out. Who least wants to be part of that group?

Well, the team who has been a member of the early off-season club the longest would certainly like to change things up. The Carolina Hurricanes have gone nine seasons since making a postseason appearance and have come close the last few years but fallen short. The team could crack 90 points this season for the first time in eight years, but it might not be enough in the tight Eastern Conference wild card race. The two other teams who are desperate to get back to the playoffs are the Buffalo Sabres, who are on a seven-year drought, and the Arizona Coyotes, who are six years out from a postseason appearance. The Sabres got off to a hot start this season and looked to be a surprise playoff team, but have regressed recently, with three wins in their past then games, and are now tied with Carolina for ninth place in the East. The Coyotes have been resilient in the deep Western Conference wild card race, battling injuries and inconsistency to stay in the mix, but Arizona has their work cut out for them the rest of the way.

Then there are the teams who have made the playoffs recently but not performed. The Blue Jackets – who have never won a playoff series in franchise history – will almost certainly have another shot this year, but what about the Florida Panthers? Many have dismissed the team this season, but the Panthers have plenty of talent and have fallen short of expectations until recently. They face an uphill battle to make the postseason but if they do, the team would have a chance to snap the league’s longest streak without a playoff series win. Florida has not won a round since 1996, a whopping 21 seasons without postseason success and longer than the Blue Jackets have even existed. That’s a substantial mark on the franchise. It’s been a decade now since the Colorado Avalanche have won a postseason series as well and now that they are armed with one of the league’s best forward lines, have a chance against anyone if they can win a spot. The Avs looked like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender early this season and with some trade deadline reinforcements could be a factor this spring. However, recent struggles have plummeted them into the thick of the wild card race in the West and they are in danger of missing the playoffs entirely.

Then, there are teams that simply entered the 2018-19 campaign with high expectations and need to meet them. The defending champion Washington Capitals are of course part of this group. Among the most likely fringe teams to make the postseason, it is nevertheless hard to ignore the disastrous play of the Capitals of late. Three wins in their past ten games, including a number of blowout losses, has begun “Stanley Cup hangover” talk and has legitimately injured Washington’s playoff odds. The team needs to right the ship soon or risk falling out of the current playoff picture. A team on the opposite trajectory are the Minnesota Wild, who have improved their play of late and have pulled away in the race for the final Central Division berth. Minnesota is another team that entered the season with high expectations and are still searching for the franchise’s first ever Stanley Cup final appearance. With hopes reaching new highs this season, a collapse for the Wild would be devastating.

Unlike the Capitals and Wild, there are also teams with high expectations who don’t have promising playoff outlooks right now. The Edmonton Oilers and the league’s best player, Connor McDavid, sit atop that list. Edmonton is currently in 13th in the Western Conference and in danger of dropping out of the playoff conversation sooner than any fringe team. The organization has already fired their head coach and general manager this season amid another year of disappointing results and face slim odds that this campaign will end any differently. McDavid and company maintain that the Oilers are a playoff-caliber team, but something has to change with this team down the stretch for that that hypothesis to be tested this postseason. The St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars certainly look like playoff teams on paper, but both have been mediocre at best this season. The Blues, a popular dark horse Stanley Cup pick before the season, have been disappointing in every regard and there has been talk that the team could blow it up this season. A recent improvement paired with the struggles of others in the Western Conference playoff race have revived postseason hopes, but few expected that making the playoffs would be this difficult for St. Louis this season. The same goes for Dallas, who has had highly-publicized feuds between ownership, coaches, and players alike this year as the team continues to fall short of expectations. The Stars currently hold the top spot in the wild card race, but a recent history of late season collapses casts doubt over their ability to hold on to that spot.

There are still many teams whose playoff futures this season remain in question. These franchises all have varying degrees of desperation based on history and expectations. Of the 13 “fringe” teams, which team is under the most pressure to make the playoffs?

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Nathan MacKinnon To Undergo MRI For Possible Foot Injury

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Saturday: MacKinnon has officially avoided the worst-case scenario, NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin reports. MacKinnon did not suffer a broken left foot, but does have a major bruise on the inside of the foot. The Avalanche pivot called it “sore” and “swollen” and did not want to test it this weekend. Colorado is likely in agreement with that judgement call. They are likely to have MacKinnon back in the lineup following their upcoming “bye week”.

Friday: MacKinnon is flying to San Jose later today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Colorado center is unlikely to participate in any on-ice events.

Thursday: It isn’t clear right now to what extent his foot his injured – so no cause for alarm yet Avalanche fans – but Nathan MacKinnon is set to undergo an MRI on his foot, per Sportsnet’s John Shannon. Shannon reports that the Colorado Avalanche are being cautious about a possible left foot injury and want to get a better sense of their superstar center’s health. Shannon adds that, regardless of the MRI results, MacKinnon could miss this weekend’s All-Star festivities in order to rest.

No one can blame the Avalanche for taking any health issue with MacKinnon seriously. The 23-year-old has accrued 71 points already this season and is on pace to shatter the career high of 97 that he set last year and that nearly won him the Hart Trophy. MacKinnon centers the top line with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog that is responsible for a higher percentage of their team’s production than any other line in the NHL. A long-term MacKinnon absence would be devastating for a Colorado team that is already slumping; the Avs have won just three games in their last 15 and are one loss away from falling out of a playoff spot completely. They need MacKinnon now more than ever.

With that said, this seems to be purely cautionary, especially given Shannon’s insistence that sitting out the All-Star Game may be the only measure taken to ensure MacKinnon’s return to full health. The franchise center also logged approximately 21 and 19 minutes of ice time in each of his past two games and did not look uncomfortable. Perhaps this is just a minor nagging injury the team wants to look at – MacKinnon did suffer a foot fracture back in 2015 – or perhaps he was simply sore after an incident in last night’s contest against the Minnesota Wild and wanted to get checked out. Either way, this is news simply due to MacKinnon’s name value but right now does not look like anything major worth worrying about.

The biggest concern may actually be who replaces the Central Division captain at this weekend’s All-Star festivities. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that MacKinnon is still expected to be in attendance in San Jose, but would need a substitute if he cannot compete. With both Rantanen, an original selection, and Landeskog, the Central’s winner of the “Last Men In” fan vote, already going, it’s very unlikely that MacKinnon would be replaced by another Avalanche player. Other popular “Last Man In” candidates like the Winnipeg Jets’ Patrik Laine, the Minnesota Wild’s Zach Parise, or the Nashville Predators’ Filip Forsberg are possibilities to get the call if MacKinnon is unable to participate.

NHL Announces Winter Classic, Stadium Series Matchups

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Some new blood will be taking part in the 2020 NHL outdoor games next season. The league officially announces the matchups and host cities for next season’s Winter Classic and Stadium Series games, which will include two teams that have never before played a regular season game outside. The Dallas Stars will host the Nashville Predators at Cotton Bowl Stadium on January 1st for the Winter Classic, while the Los Angeles Kings will take on the Colorado Avalanche at the US Air Force Academy’s Falcon Stadium on February 15th.

The league also suggested that they would be going back to China next season at some point though no specifics have been released at this point. Another outdoor game—the Heritage Classic—will be played between the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets on October 26th.

It will be great to see some new teams in the events, especially in what has been considered a non-traditional market in the past. The Stars are slowly changing that perception about Texas, and Nashville is always followed by a good contingent of travelling fans. The atmosphere at the Cotton Bowl will certainly be one to remember, and one that should help expand the NHL’s brand even further in the southern US.

Minor Transactions: 01/24/19

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The league is has gone dark as they prepare for the All-Star festivities to start tomorrow, and with it teams will be sending their eligible players down to the minor leagues. This is done to save a few days of cap space and give young players a chance to continue their development. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves right here.

  • Along with Jordan Kyrou and Jordan Nolan who were sent down yesterday, the St. Louis Blues have assigned Mackenzie MacEachern and Sammy Blais to the minor leagues over the break. The Blues don’t play again until February 2nd, meaning the set of forwards can get some extra ice time in for the San Antonio Rampage.
  • Colin Blackwell has been sent down by the Nashville Predators, returning the 25-year old center to the Milwaukee Admirals after three games in the NHL. Blackwell is still waiting to register his first NHL point, and could get that chance later on in the year.
  • After bringing up Ryan Graves for last night’s game, the Colorado Avalanche have returned him to the minor leagues. Graves will be accompanied by both Dominic Toninato and Sheldon Dries, two other waiver-exempt players that can spend the break in the AHL.
  • The Carolina Hurricanes have returned Alex Nedeljkovic to the minors where he’ll resume starting for the Charlotte Checkers, and Haydn Fleury has also been sent down to get some more ice time. Fleury has been a regular scratch in the NHL this season as the odd man out among the Carolina defense corps.
  • Trevor Moore played again for the Toronto Maple Leafs last night but is now on his way back down to the AHL to participate in that league’s All-Star game. The speedy forward has made quite the impact this season with 19 goals in 32 AHL contests.
  • Joel Eriksson Ek spent some time in the minor leagues earlier this year to get his game right, and now he’ll get another chance to hone his skills in the AHL. Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin have both been sent down for the time being, though one or both could see a recall immediately after the break.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have flipped backup goaltenders, sending Maxime Lagace back down and recalled Oscar Dansk. Dansk won’t be starting anytime soon for the Golden Knights, but will receive a bigger paycheck while the team lets Lagace get back on the ice.

Minor Transactions: 01/23/19

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Six games will finish up the unofficial first half of the season before teams break for the All-Star game in San Jose this weekend. Among those six is a must-see matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Nashville Predators, two teams battling for position in the Western Conference. It’s never a love affair when these clubs get together, and with a little extra time off after the game you can bet every player will leave it all on the ice tonight.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Trevor Moore under emergency conditions and will insert him into the lineup tonight over Andreas Johnsson. Johnsson suffered a concussion recently and will take the break to try and recover.
  • Christian Wolanin and Rudolfs Balcers have been returned to the minor leagues by the Ottawa Senators in order for them to continue playing over the break. It will also save the Senators some money given they’re on two-way contracts.
  • Similarly, the Calgary Flames have returned Juuso Valimaki and Andrew Mangiapane to the Stockton Heat for at least a few days, giving the young players a chance to stay fresh.
  • The San Jose Sharks have done the same by sending Dylan Gambrell and Jacob Middleton back to the minors, neither of whom are seeing much time in the NHL anyway.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have one more game tonight and have recalled Ryan Graves for it, sending Anton Linholm back down. Graves has impressed during his short stint with the Avalanche and may get a longer look in the second half of the season.
  • Marek Mazanec is on his way back to the minor leagues while Dustin Tokarski has been recalled. This was done in order to have both Mazanec and Alexander Georgiev in the minors over the break, meaning Tokarski will likely be on his way back down in a few days.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced that defenseman Filip Hronek is headed back to the Grand Rapids Griffins. The rookie blue liner has looked good in 23 NHL games this season and even better in 20 AHL games. He’ll spend some time in the minors while Detroit is on a break to keep the momentum of his season going.
  • Both Devon Toews and Michael Dal Colle are on their way down to the AHL, as the Islanders have opted to give them some work over the bye week. Both players have double-digit games played for the surging Isles this season and have carved out roles for themselves recently, despite having just four NHL games between them prior to this season. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers will be happy to have the two talented player back in the lineup for a short time.

Central Notes: Jokiharju, Johnson, Timmins, Laine

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As the Blackhawks pass through another disappointing season, the team must continue to focus on development. The team has a nice group of prospects coming up the pipeline, but there are many that are starting to worry about whether the Blackhawks are doing the right thing with defenseman Henri Jokiharju, their 2017 first-rounder.

The Blackhawks, not known for developing defensemen recently, loaned Jokiharju out to Finland for the World Junior Championships, against the youngster’s wishes even though they eventually won the gold medal. Since his return, the team has changed course in his development, moving him over to the left side, his off-side which will help make room next season for right-hand shot Adam Boqvist, and has had his ice-time cut, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers (subscription required). He even was a healthy scratch recently.

Head coach Jeremy Colliton said the changes are being made to make sure the youngster won’t burn out like many rookies do during their first season.

“I think he doesn’t need to play every game just like other guys don’t need to play every game,” Colliton said. “Kind of touched on it yesterday, we got some young players, 82-game season, it’s hard to keep that level night in and night out, so we may end up with a rotation. It’s not necessarily performance specifically why they’re coming out, but we can get them extra off-ice training or video or maybe a little more practice work so we continue to develop them.”

  • The Colorado Avalanche suffered a key loss Saturday as the team will be without defenseman Erik Johnson, who suffered a concussion during their game against Los Angeles. The veteran defenseman is expected to be out for the next two games and head coach Jared Bednar hopes he’ll be back after the All-Star break, according to The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark. The defensive-minded blueliner averages 21:42 of ATOI and is a key figure on the team’s defense.
  • The Avalanche also had good news in practice as defensive prospect Conor Timmins, who has missed all of the 2018-19 season so far with a concussion, practiced today with the team even if it was in a non-contact jersey, according to BSN’s AJ Haefele. Bednar said after the practice that Timmins will begin ramping up activities over the next couple of weeks and they will see if he’s ready to go when the team returns after the All-Star break. Timmins, the team’s second-round pick in 2017, could help the team down the stretch if he’s deemed ready.
  • Ted Wyman of the Winnipeg Sun looks back at the first half of the season now that the team hits their bye and All-Star week, suggesting that while many things have gone right for the Jets, perhaps the most disappointing part of the season has been the play of star forward Patrik Laine. The scribe writes that the third-year winger is having a miserable season despite having 25 goals at this point. Despite an 18-goal November, Laine has tallied just seven goals combined in the other three months and often looks like a rookie on the ice. Of course, he’s only 20 years old still, so patience is needed.

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