- It appears that Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin will be out until after the 4 Nations Face-Off, relays Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link). The 29-year-old has yet to play in 2025 due to a lower-body injury. It looked like he was close to returning earlier this month but ultimately suffered a setback, changing his designation to week-to-week. When available, Nichushkin has done well, tallying 11 goals and six assists in 21 games but Colorado won’t have him in the lineup for a while yet.
Avalanche Rumors
Avalanche Reassign Chris Wagner To The AHL
The Colorado Avalanche have reassigned forward Chris Wagner to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. Wagner was recalled last Thursday and did suit up on Saturday night against his former team, the Boston Bruins. The 33-year-old went scoreless in 6:51 of ice time.
Wagner was an NHL regular for over half a decade from 2015-2021, playing predominantly with the Bruins where he dressed in 186 games over five seasons. The Walpole, Massachusetts native never posted much in the way of offense but did have his best NHL season in 2017-18 when he registered 12 goals and seven assists in 76 games with the Bruins.
After the pandemic shortened 2020-21 season, Wagner would play just two NHL games over the next two years before signing with Colorado in the summer of 2023. Since then, Wagner has ping-ponged back and forth between the Eagles and Avalanche, dressing in 13 NHL games last season and 24 NHL games so far this year. Wagner hasn’t been overly effective in the NHL, posting a single goal along with a -7 plus/minus as well as a 48.2% CF%. His offensive impact is the lowest of any skater for the Avalanche this season at an abysmal 0.4 on-ice goals per 60 minutes at even strength (as per Money Puck).
While he is getting more nights in the NHL lineup, he isn’t seeing much action with the Avalanche, averaging just 6:55 of ice time per game. In the AHL, Wagner has been effective, tallying four goals and seven assists in 16 games.
Wagner has been put on the waiver wire three separate times this season and has cleared each time without an issue.
Additional Fallout From The Mikko Rantanen Trade
Although plenty of new information has emerged regarding the trade that sent Mikko Rantanen from the Colorado Avalanche to the Carolina Hurricanes, we hadn’t heard from the player himself. In an article by Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, Rantanen finally spoke about the trade from his point of view.
One of the biggest takeaways from the interview with Masisak is that he confirmed he was willing to take a discount to stay with the Avalanche organization, which had been widely reported in the days following the trade. Masisak quoted Rantanen saying, “I was ready to take a significant discount for my market value. We had some chats, like a couple days before. Then they traded me. That’s what happened. That’s why I didn’t expect what happened.”
Despite being blindsided by the trade, it doesn’t appear Rantanen is taking it too personally. Even though he had never been traded in his career, he acknowledged one of the realities of his profession when he said, “I don’t know. I didn’t know we were in a rush. That’s what I felt like. That’s my honest opinion. But it’s business and I understand. They’re trying to think what’s best for them and you’ve got to understand that. You’ve got to understand they are only doing the business how they think it is good for their future.”
Regarding the potential extension, several analysts and pundits have suggested that Rantanen’s starting point was Leon Draisaitl’s eight-year, $112 million extension with the Edmonton Oilers. Still, provided the added context of the Avalanche’s lack of desire to pay anyone more than Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary, it was going to be hard to resolve even if Rantanen was willing to take a pay cut.
Moving on to one of the facilitators of the blockbuster deal, the general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks, Kyle Davidson, spoke about his team’s involvement in the deal. In an interview with Scott Powers of The Athletic (Subscription Required), Davidson was quoted saying, “In waiting, you run the risk of things like injury, (and) the role was diminishing almost by the game. It just wasn’t heading towards a way that was going to maximize or enhance value. In moving then, we moved at full price and held (salary) on the other player involved. It just didn’t make sense to wait and not really get a better return later on.”
Davidson was referencing Chicago’s inclusion in the deal beyond retaining half of Rantanen’s remaining salary. The Blackhawks traded former MVP Taylor Hall whose ice time had been precipitously dropping over the last several games. The fourth-year general manager wasn’t convinced Chicago would get a better offer had they waited closer until the trade deadline.
Avalanche Activate Miles Wood Off IR, Reassign Jere Innala
The Colorado Avalanche have activated forward Miles Wood off of injured reserve, setting him up to return from a back injury suffered on November 27th. The injury is a nagging one, earning Wood a second placement on IR earlier this season – from November 4th to 14th – and holding him out of games for a week in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. He told Corey Masisak of The Denver Post that, based on conversations he’s had with other players, this back injury will likely be one he carries through the rest of his career.
In a corresponding move, Colorado has also reassigned Jere Innala to the minor leagues. Innala has appeared in most of the team’s games through January but averages just under seven minutes of ice time each game. He has no scoring and a -3 through 15 appearances this season.
Wood has spent the better parts of the last nine seasons as an impactful third-line winger across the league. He was originally the 100th-overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft, hearing his name called in a fourth round that also featured Juuse Saros one pick earlier and Andrew Copp four picks later. Drafted out of high school, Wood went on to play two more seasons with Noble and Greenough before moving to Boston College in 2015. He had a dazzling freshman year, earning 35 points in 37 games and a spot on Team USA’s 2016 World Championship lineup behind the likes of Auston Matthews, Dylan Larkin, and Brady Skjei. That NHL company must have convinced Wood, who jumped to the AHL after his freshman year of college, then earned a full-time NHL call-up after 15 games and eight points with the Albany Devils.
Since then, Wood has been a stout bottom-six forward, routinely rivaling 25 points and making a mark in all three zones. His career year currently stands as the 2017-18 campaign, when he scored 19 goals and 32 points in 76 games – both career-highs. Wood made that mark with the New Jersey Devils for seven seasons – even serving as an alternate captain for two years. But he opted to instead join the Colorado Avalanche in the 2023 summer, signing a six-year, $15MM contract with the club just two years removed from a Stanley Cup win.
Wood has continued to make a consistent impact with the Avalanche, though his 2024-25 campaign started off ice cold. Through the mix of injuries, Wood has only scored two goals and three points in 16 games this season. He’ll now get a chance to buck that trend, returning to a Colorado lineup that looks very different from when he last played. Since late November, the Avalanche have traded away Justus Annunen, Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, and Mikko Rantanen. In their place, the Avs have brought in Scott Wedgewood, Juuso Parssinen, Martin Necas, and Wood’s personal friend Mackenzie Blackwood. Wood raved about that latter acquisition to Masisak, comparing it to when an NFL team acquires a strong quarterback. He told Masisak, “I’m not sure why New Jersey traded him. I’m not sure why San Jose traded him. But I’m sure as hell happy he’s here.”
Landeskog Ramping Up Skating Regimen
- Outside of more immediate news, the potential return of captain Gabriel Landeskog has been a major storyline for the Colorado Avalanche over the last two years. Speaking to that, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette reported today that Landeskog has been on the ice more than ever since the 2022-23 season, and fell short of designating him as week-to-week. Landeskog’s hypothetical return could make the loss of Mikko Rantanen more palatable for Colorado’s top-six.
[SOURCE LINK]
Fallout From The Mikko Rantanen Trade
After one of the biggest in-season acquisitions since the New Jersey Devils acquired Ilya Kovalchuk for a massive haul in the 2009-10 season, more information has begun trickling out regarding Mikko Rantanen and the Carolina Hurricanes.
In an article in The Athletic (Subscription Required), Pierre LeBrun explains that only a few teams knew Rantanen was available. LeBrun indicates that Colorado’s first intention was to extend Mikko, but general manager Chris MacFarland had already called a few teams, saying they may call back about the Finnish sniper.
Extension talks between Rantanen and the Avalanche had increased over the last few weeks. However, the ’Nathan MacKinnon-internal cap’ gave MacFarland the sense that Mikko wouldn’t sign an extension in the next five months. LeBrun believes Rantanen would have taken less money than Leon Draisaitl received from the Edmonton Oilers ($14MM) but wasn’t willing to make such a drastic cut that he made less than MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.
Unsurprisingly, Cory Lavalette from the North State Journal reports the Hurricanes have already had preliminary extension discussions with Rantanen’s agent. Given their history together on Team Finland, Rantanen is already familiar with Sebastian Aho, but he’ll want to get comfortable in Carolina before talks can progress.
As far as what that hypothetical extension may look like — Harman Dayal took a stab at that in a recent article on The Athletic (Subscription Required). Dayal argues that Rantanen’s fairest comparable is Boston Bruins’ forward David Pastrňák who was given 13.5% of the salary cap for the first year of his current contract.
Assuming the salary cap increases to the reported $97 million for next season, that would place Rantanen around the $13.1 million range. It’s already been made clear that Rantanen and his agent have other ideas, as he and the Avalanche likely could have worked out an agreeable salary should that have been the starting point.
Lastly, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman offered some insight regarding the main piece heading back to Colorado — Martin Nečas. Friedman asserts that the Avalanche were not the only team Nečas had been offered to. He believes Nečas was a part of recent trade discussions with the Vancouver Canucks for Elias Pettersson, but not for J.T. Miller.
The acquisition of Rantanen and Taylor Hall likely wraps up all of the headling-making trades for the Hurricanes. Still, despite the cap surgery required for the move, the Hurricanes could circle back on Miller if the Canucks are open to other players on Carolina’s roster.
Hurricanes Acquire Mikko Rantanen And Taylor Hall In Three-Team Swap
Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall was a late scratch from their game tonight against Tampa Bay. His absence wasn’t injury or illness-related, however, as he was traded to Carolina. He wasn’t the only one on the move, however, as the Hurricanes also picked up Mikko Rantanen as part of a three-team swap. The full deal, which has now been announced by all three teams, is as follows:
To Carolina: Taylor Hall, Mikko Rantanen (Chicago retains 50% of his contract), Nils Juntorp
To Chicago: CHI 3rd-round pick in 2025 (via Carolina)
To Colorado: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick
Hall was widely speculated as a trade candidate going back to the start of the season. Now in the final year of his contract (one that carries a $6MM AAV), the veteran recently indicated that he’d be open to remaining with the Blackhawks but admitted that a trade was the likeliest outcome. That departure came a bit sooner than expected with the trade deadline still six weeks away.
The 33-year-old is in his second season with Chicago after being acquired in a cap-clearing move from Boston back in 2023. He was limited to just ten games in 2023-24 though due to a torn ACL but he has remained healthy so far this season. However, production has been difficult to come by this year as he has just nine goals and 15 assists in 46 games and was even made a healthy scratch earlier in the season.
In his prime, Hall was a legitimate top-line winger and even won the Hart Trophy back in 2015-16 while with New Jersey. He has been a 20-goal scorer seven times in his 15-year career, most recently coming in 2021-22 with Boston. While he’s no longer playing at that type of level, he should still be able to give Carolina a boost in their middle six. A potentially long playoff run could also help him rebuild some value heading into free agency this summer.
As for Rantanen, he’s also in the final year of his contract, a deal that carries a $9.25MM price tag, one that the Blackhawks will eat half of to help facilitate the swap, leaving them with just one remaining retention slot for this season. While Rantanen’s camp and the Avs were involved in recent extension discussions, the two sides were still well apart as of last week and clearly, they weren’t able to bridge those to either side’s satisfaction, resulting in Colorado deciding to move him now instead of run the risk of having him walk for nothing in free agency. It was believed that the Avalanche preferred to keep Rantanen’s price below Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM while Rantanen’s side was eyeing Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM AAV (starting next season) as a benchmark. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that there is no extension in place with Carolina at this time.
Rantanen has consistently been one of the NHL’s top scorers in recent years. Only three players have more points than him since the start of the 2020-21 season, Connor McDavid, MacKinnon, and Draisaitl, certainly lofty company to be in. The 28-year-old has recorded more than 100 points in each of the last two years and is well on his way toward extending that streak. Rantanen has 25 goals and 39 assists in 49 games this season, good for sixth in NHL scoring. He’ll undoubtedly be a big boost to a Carolina attack that’s already among the best in the league, checking in at fourth overall in goals scored.
Necas, like Hall, had been in a lot of trade speculation, especially over the summer. At one point, it looked as if he’d be moved back at the draft amid reports that he had indicated that he’d welcome a change of scenery but that didn’t materialize. Instead, the two sides ultimately settled on a two-year, $13MM deal in July, a deal that gave him a fair-sized raise but also didn’t give Carolina any extra team control.
Two years ago, Necas had a breakout year, posting 28 goals and 43 assists in 82 games. Unfortunately for him and the Hurricanes, those numbers dropped last season to 24 and 29 respectively. However, things have been much better for the 26-year-old this season, as he has 16 goals and 39 assists in 49 games; his 55 points lead the team in scoring. But even with that, GM Eric Tulsky has decided that a significant shakeup to his forward group is required and these two moves certainly count as a significant shakeup.
Necas will likely slot in where Rantanen was on Colorado’s top line and a chance to play with MacKinnon could allow his individual production to flourish. That would certainly be an ideal situation to be in considering he’ll become extension-eligible on July 1st when he’ll have some more leverage only being a year away from hitting the UFA market.
Drury’s first full NHL campaign came last season and it was a good one as he had eight goals and 19 assists in 74 games while winning over 55% of his faceoffs. That helped earn him a two-year, $3.45MM contract over the summer. However, production has been harder to come by for him this season as the 24-year-old has just three goals and six assists through 39 games although his faceoff win percentage is up to 58.8%.
Colorado’s bottom six group has been an area of some concern for a couple of years now with the team churning through numerous players with varying degrees of minimal success. While Drury isn’t producing much more than many of those players, he’ll give the Avs some desired stability down the middle while his faceoff prowess will fit in well on a team that has a success rate at the dot of just 44.5%. They also get some club control over Drury who isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028.
Juntorp was a sixth-round pick by Chicago in 2022 and is included in the swap as the Blackhawks had to send something out beyond Hall to make the three-team element of the deal work. He has 20 points in 25 games with HC Dalen in the Hockey Ettan along with three appearances with Vasteras in the second-tier Allsvenskan.
In the end, Carolina has clearly signaled its intentions to go all-in this season and managed to upgrade its roster without touching any of its future assets. They’ll dip into LTIR for the time being to afford the swap. Colorado, meanwhile, ensures that they’ll get a top-line talent and some other pieces in exchange for Rantanen, giving them an extra year of club control along the way. They also free up a bit of cap space in the process which they’ll likely put to use in the coming weeks. As for Chicago, their return is certainly underwhelming as Hall is effectively given away in this deal while only receiving a third-round pick for eating half of Rantanen’s contract. However, they were able to clear the full freight of Hall’s contract, giving them one more retention slot to utilize before the deadline.
Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported the three-team element and Chicago’s acquisition of the third-round pick. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report Colorado’s involvement in the deal. The Athletic’s Arthur Staple first reported that Necas was part of the swap. ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was first with Drury’s inclusion and the two picks going to Colorado.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.
Avalanche Recall Chris Wagner, Reassign Ivan Ivan
The Avalanche recalled veteran forward Chris Wagner from AHL Colorado on Thursday, per a team announcement. Rookie Ivan Ivan was sent down in a corresponding transaction, keeping their active roster with one open spot.
Wagner, 33, appeared in 23 games for the Avs earlier this season but hasn’t been on the roster since being reassigned to the AHL on Dec. 20. He has four goals and seven assists for 11 points in 16 contests with the Eagles, most of which have come over the past few weeks.
The Avs ferried Wagner between leagues frequently through the first two and a half months of the campaign. He was exposed to the waiver wire three times as Colorado shuffled their forward depth amid multiple injuries, clearing without incident on each occasion.
Wagner, the epitome of a journeyman depth piece, has one goal and a minus-seven rating with the Avs this season while averaging a paltry 6:55 per game. His 48.2 CF% at even strength ranks near the bottom of the team but is an improvement over other spot-duty lineup inserts like Jere Innala and Givani Smith. He has the worst offensive impact of any Colorado skater with at least 10 appearances this season, though, only managing 0.4 on-ice goals per 60 minutes at even strength.
Nonetheless, the pending UFA with nearly 400 NHL games under his belt seemingly gets the call over Ivan for this weekend’s game against his hometown Bruins. Ivan, 22, started the season with a respectable eight points in 22 games but hasn’t gotten on the scoresheet since then. After his first career two-goal game against the Lightning on Nov. 25, Ivan has gone 18 games without a point and is correspondingly falling down the depth chart.
Ivan has a goal and an assist in a pair of AHL appearances this season, which he made earlier this month after missing time with an upper-body injury. He had 31 points in 67 AHL games last year, earning him his first NHL contract last March.
Wood Around A Week Away From Returning
- While the Avalanche got some bad news about a key winger today, there’s some good news on the horizon for another one. In an appearance on Altitude Sports Radio (audio link), GM Chris MacFarland indicated that they’re hoping to get winger Miles Wood back within the next week or so, potentially at some point on their upcoming road trip. The 29-year-old suffered an upper-body injury in late November and hasn’t played since. Through 16 games this season, he has two goals and one assist in a little over 12 minutes a night of playing time.
Avalanche Recall Jere Innala, Ivan Ivan In Paper Transaction
According to a team announcement, the Colorado Avalanche have recalled forwards Ivan Ivan and Jere Innala to the NHL roster. The transaction marks the 10th time this year Ivan has been promoted to the Avalanche and the fifth time for Innala.
Even though he’s been formally reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, nine times, Ivan has only suited up in two AHL contests this season. Most of his playing time has come with the Avalanche, where he’s scored five goals and eight points in 39 games, averaging 10:09 of ice time per game. Ivan hasn’t been without value for the Avalanche this season, sitting 13th out of all 25 forwards used by Colorado this season in CorsiFor% (51.6%) while starting 67.3% of his shifts in the defensive zone.
The same can’t be said for Innala. He’s been a physical presence in Colorado’s bottom six this season over 14 games but has yet to tally his first NHL point. He ranks 23rd of all forwards used in CorsiFor% with a 45.1% mark. Innala will likely have a full-time role in the AHL carved out by the end of the season should the Avalanche add to their forward depth at the trade deadline.