What Your Team Is Thankful For: Colorado Avalanche
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Colorado Avalanche.
Who are the Avalanche thankful for?
Although Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are MVP-caliber players in their own right, it is difficult to imagine a successful Avalanche team without defenseman Cale Makar on the blue line. Not only is Makar one of the best offensive defensemen in the entire league, there is an argument to be made that he is the best all-around player in the league, given his ability to shut down other team’s best players.
Through 21 games so far this season, Makar has six goals and 26 assists, which would put him on pace for a 125-point season, which would be one of the best seasons put together since the days of Paul Coffey and even Bobby Orr. On the defensive side of the puck, Makar holds an impressive +20 rating, a 55.5% CF%, and a career-best 92.1% oiSV%, all while averaging over 24 minutes of ice time per night.
Even at $9MM per year for this season and the following three, the contract that Makar is under is beginning to look like one of the bigger steals in the league today. With a Calder Trophy, Norris Trophy, Conn Smythe Trophy, and a Stanley Cup ring all in his collection before the age of 26, Makar is on pace to be one of, if not the best defenseman who has ever played in the NHL.
What are the Avalanche thankful for?
Improved depth.
Last season, in an attempt to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, the Avalanche were severely knocked by injuries, using a total of 27 forwards, 11 defensemen, and five goaltenders. With a decent amount of cap space this past summer, Colorado used a majority of that to improve the depth of their team, bringing in Ryan Johansen, Ross Colton, Miles Wood, Tomas Tatar, Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta, Fredrik Olofsson, and Ivan Prosvetov.
From the forwards that were brought in, the Avalanche have gotten 25 goals, and 23 assists, allowing forwards such as MacKinnon and Rantanen to not carry such a burden on their shoulders. Although team captain Gabriel Landeskog still finds himself on LTIR, as well as the relatively recent placement of Artturi Lehkonen, Colorado has still maintained a 15-6-0 record, sitting in third place in the Western Conference.
As seen in the team’s playoff loss to the Seattle Kraken in the first round of last year’s playoffs, depth is an important part of any successful team, and up to this point, it has paid off well for the Avalanche. 
What would the Avalanche be even more thankful for?
More stability in the net.
Last season, his first with the team, Alexandar Georgiev started in 62 games, winning 40 of them, while posting a .918 SV% and a 2.53 GAA. Although the wins are largely a team statistic, Georgiev still placed in the top 10 for Vezina Trophy voting after spending much of his career as a backup for the New York Rangers.
Once again leading the league in wins for goaltenders with 13, Georgiev is not producing the same way he did last season. Through 18 starts, he holds a .898 SV% and a 44.4% quality start percentage according to Hockey Reference’s analysis, a 21.7% drop from last season.
Thankfully, the defense playing in front of him has shored up a lot of his shortcomings through the season so far, but as any Stanley Cup winning can attest to, once in the playoffs, a team will rely on their goaltender to steal a game or two. Georgiev has been solid in his last three starts, but Colorado will need him to play with more consistency between the pipes going forward if they are to compete for the Stanley Cup again this spring.
What should be on the Avalanche holiday wish list?
One more goal-scorer.
As of right now, Colorado sits second in the league in goals, but due to their improved depth, Rantanen and Valeri Nichushkin are the only two players on the team with double-digit goals. Especially on the powerplay, as the Avalanche are currently sitting in 18th place in the league with a 19.77% completion rate, another goal-scorer could turn this team into a monster come playoff time.
Although plenty could change leading up to the deadline, Colorado may look for buy-low short-term options to improve their goal-scoring capabilities, as Mike Hoffman of the San Jose Sharks could be a potential fit in the next several weeks. However, given the current state of the standings in the Eastern Conference, and a potential inability to keep him on a long-term deal next offseason, there may be a winger playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins that could be up for grabs.
Currently, on the last year of a five-year, $30MM contract, there is a possibility that the Penguins will make Jake Guentzel available at the deadline if they do not climb the standings in the next couple of weeks. Hitting 40 goals twice in his career up to this point, it would be a near-perfect addition to the Avalanche, who should be looking for a winger to complete their top-six heading into the playoff season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Avalanche Recall Sam Malinski
The Colorado Avalanche recalled defenseman Sam Malinski from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on Thursday, per a team announcement. Malinski, 25, comes to the NHL roster to be injury insurance for the team’s upcoming three-game road swing through the southwestern United States.
Colorado is without defenseman Samuel Girard as he undergoes treatment in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, which has allowed players like Malinski and Caleb Jones to slide into the lineup. Jones seems to have won out a spot as the team’s de facto seventh defenseman, playing in eight straight games while logging an assist and a +4 rating.
Meanwhile, Malinski has just one appearance this season, his first in the NHL. The undrafted free agent signing out of Cornell in March logged a +1 rating, one shot on goal, and one hit in 12:02 of ice time against the Kraken on November 13.
The Lakeville, Minnesota-born defender may not have ideal size for the pros, standing at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. However, his transition to professional life in the AHL has been rather smooth. Malinski has picked up where he left off after a strong showing with the Eagles to close out 2023, sitting tied for third on the team in scoring with nine points in 17 contests.
Malinski is under contract for one season after this at a cap hit of $850K. He will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in the summer of 2025.
Snapshots: Vilardi, MacEwen, Foudy, Willman
The Winnipeg Jets have shared that Gabriel Vilardi is not yet ready to return, although he is continuing to progress in his recovery from a knee injury. The forward is expected to be a game-time decision for the Jets’ Thursday night matchup. Vilardi suffered an MCL sprain early on in the season and was expected to miss four to six weeks.
The 24-year-old Vilardi has only managed three appearances with Winnipeg this season, netting one assist and a -1. It’s his first year with the club after joining via trade in June, moving to Winnipeg alongside Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari in the deal that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Los Angeles Kings. Winnipeg tendered a qualifying offer to Vilardi and was headed towards salary arbitration, before the avoided arbitration with a two-year, $6.9MM contract.
Vilardi had the best season of his young career last year, netting 23 goals and 41 points in 63 games with the Kings. He also added four points in five playoff games. The scoring brings his career totals up to 41 goals and 79 points through 155 games, stretched across the last four seasons. Vilardi was previously drafted 11th overall in the 2017 NHL Draft and made his NHL debut in the 2019-20 season. He is one of four players from the 2017 draft class’ Top 15 to not yet eclipse 200 career NHL games, alongside Cody Glass, Cal Foote, and Lias Andersson.
Other notes from around the league:
- Ottawa Senators forward Zack MacEwen has been fined $2,018.23 – the maximum allowed under the CBA – for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty taken in Monday’s game against the Florida Panthers. MacEwen targeted Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk late in the game, receiving a five-minute match penalty for a check to the head in the game. MacEwen has appeared in six Senators games this season, scoring one assist and totaling 25 penalty minutes.
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar shared that forward Jean-Luc Foudy is suffering from a lower-body injury. Bednar also shared that the team doesn’t yet know when to expect Foudy back. Foudy has yet to play this season and is currently on the team’s injured reserve. He scored 36 points in 46 AHL games last season. He was also rewarded his first nine NHL games last year, going without a point and recording a -3.
- The New Jersey Devils have assigned forward Maxwell Willman to the Utica Comets of the AHL. Willman has appeared in four games with the Devils this season, netting one goal. He’s also appeared in seven AHL games, scoring four goals and seven points. The 28-year-old forward has totaled 54 NHL games and seven points across his career, making his debut with the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2021-22 season.
Latest On Artturi Lehkonen
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued an update on the status of injured forward Artturi Lehkonen, according to The Athletic’s Peter Baugh. Bednar said that the Avalanche are lucky that Lehkonen’s injury didn’t end up worse, and added that the player is now out of his neck brace and making progress toward a return. No timeline on Lehkonen’s return was provided, though.
Colorado Assigns Riley Tufte To AHL
While Avalanche winger Riley Tufte has been productive on his latest recall, it wasn’t enough to keep him up with the big club for long as Colorado has assigned him to the minors, per a team announcement (Twitter link).
The 25-year-old became a Group Six unrestricted free agent in the summer and quickly inked a one-year deal with Colorado on the opening day of free agency. Since then, he has frequently been shuffled back and forth between the Avs and Eagles; this demotion is already his sixth of the season.
Along the way, Tufte has played in five contests with the big club and picked up a point in each of his last two. Those are his only two points of the season while he’s averaging a little over 11 minutes a night at the top level. In the minors, however, Tufte has been quite productive, notching nine goals and eight assists in just a dozen games. That should have him in line to be recalled again before too long.
At this point, it’s unclear who will be taking Tufte’s spot in the lineup tonight against Calgary. Logan O’Connor has missed the last two games with a lower-body injury but remains on the active roster, suggesting his absence is a short-term one so it’s possible that he is cleared to play. Otherwise, Tomas Tatar would come back in after being a healthy scratch last night; the 32-year-old is still looking for his first goal of the season.
Samuel Girard Enters NHLPA Player Assistance Program
After leaving the team for personal reasons on Wednesday, the NHL announced that Colorado Avalanche defenseman, Samuel Girard, has entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program. Under the agreement between the two parties, Girard will be away from the team indefinitely and will continue to be paid for however long he is within the program.
The Player Assistance Program is available to all players in the NHL and is a resource to battle mental health, substance abuse, or any/all personal struggles a player may be going through. Given the serious nature of these issues, it would be entirely inappropriate to speculate the reasoning behind Girard’s entry into the program.
However, through his agency (CAA Hockey), Girard gave his own statement regarding his entry into the program:
“I have made a proactive decision to take care of my mental health, and will be entering treatment for severe anxiety and depression that has gone untreated for too long and led to alcohol abuse. Taking care of your mental health is of the upmost importance, and I encourage everyone to speak up and seek help should you feel like you need it. I want to express my gratitude to my wife, family, friends, the club, my teammates, and the fans for their patience, understanding, and continued support” (X Link).
In 15 games so far this season for Colorado, Girard has scored one goal and three assists, all while averaging over 20 and a half minutes of ice time per night. Over this last five seasons for the Avalanche, Girard has regularly averaged between 25 and 40 every year, including 22 points in 51 playoff games.
All of us at PHR extend our wishes to Girard that he receives the help he needs and a productive road to recovery.
Logan O'Connor Out Day-To-Day
- Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told the media, including NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding, that forward Logan O’Connor has a lower-body injury and is out day-to-day. Additionally, forward Valeri Nichushkin left last night’s game to get stitches for his mouth but did end up returning to the contest. At the moment, O’Connor plays third-line minutes for the Avalanche on a line with Ross Colton and Miles Wood. Should he miss any time, physical spare forward Kurtis MacDermid could draw into the lineup, or they could place a player on injured reserve and recall a forward such as Ben Meyers. O’Connor, 27, has scored three goals and seven points in 17 games so far this season.
Avalanche Recall Riley Tufte
8:41 p.m.: Depth winger Logan O’Connor is out of the lineup tonight, per Meghan Angley of DNVR Sports. That could pave the way for Tufte to enter the lineup against Vancouver.
8:24 p.m.: The Colorado Avalanche have once again summoned winger Riley Tufte from the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, per a team announcement Wednesday night.
This is Tufte’s fifth recall of the campaign after he cleared waivers on October 9. The rather massive 6-foot-6, 220-pound Minnesotan has made three NHL appearances in 2023-24, recording a -3 rating, five shots on goal and no points in 11:56 of average ice time.
A 2016 first-round pick of the Dallas Stars, Tufte is finally showing massive offensive capabilities in the minors as he begins his fifth professional season. The 25-year-old leads the Eagles in goals (nine), assists (eight) and points (17) while posting a +7 rating in 12 contests.
Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland signed Tufte to a one-year, two-way deal last July worth $775K in the NHL and $375K in the AHL. After reaching unrestricted free agency via Group VI status last summer, Tufte will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights at the end of the season. Per CapFriendly, his qualifying offer is $813,750.
It’s unclear whether Tufte will play in tonight’s contest against the Canucks. He’s losing his grip on a potential roster spot to Joel Kiviranta, who just recently signed an NHL deal with the Avalanche after joining the team on a professional tryout in training camp and beginning 2023-24 on an AHL deal with the Eagles. Kiviranta, also a former Dallas Star, has four points through his first four games with Colorado.
Keeping Tufte on the roster longer than necessary does inch him closer to requiring waivers once again to return to the Eagles. Players can stay on the NHL roster for up to ten games played or 30 days after clearing waivers before needing to clear a second time. Tufte has been on the Avalanche roster for a total of 11 days since clearing waivers in October after today’s recall.
Evening Notes: Lehkonen, Xhekaj, Meier
Peter Baugh of The Athletic is reporting that Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen’s upper-body injury is a neck injury. Previous reports had the 28-year-old dealing with an upper-body injury, but Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Baugh the news today. The early reports come with no timetable for a potential return, or any specifics about how severe the ailment is. The Avalanche have put Lehkonen on LTIR which means the earliest he can return is December 5th against the Anaheim Ducks.
Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Lehkonen is currently in a neck brace after suffering a scary fall in a game last week against the Seattle Kraken, which is certainly not a great sign. Lehkonen’s mother has also flown to Colorado which indicates that he could need assistance over the upcoming weeks. Lehkonen is a player who plays a lot of important minutes for the Avalanche in all types of situations. He has three goals and five assists so far this season in 12 games.
In other evening notes:
- The Montreal Canadiens have announced that defenseman Arber Xhekaj left tonight’s game after suffering an upper-body injury. The 22-year-old suffered the apparent injury after taking a huge hit from Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev in the second period. Xhekaj appeared to be favoring his left shoulder as he left the ice, but the team has yet to comment on the nature of the injury. Xhekaj scored his first goal of the season earlier this week and has three points in 16 games for the Canadiens.
- Star-Ledger reporter Ryan Novozinsky tweeted that New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff told reporters tonight that Devils forward Timo Meier will be out of the lineup on a short-term basis. What exactly that means remains to be seen but it is probably a safe bet that Meier won’t be in the lineup on Saturday night when the Devils are home to the New York Rangers. The 27-year-old is in his first full year with the Devils and has five goals and six assists in 14 games. He did not dress in tonight’s 5-2 Devils victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Avalanche Recall Jack Ahcan
The Colorado Avalanche have recalled defenseman Jack Ahcan to the NHL lineup, as the team is uncertain of whether Josh Manson will be able to travel with the team on their upcoming two-game road trip. Head coach Jared Bednar shared that Ahcan provides an additional body in the event that Manson can’t go. Manson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The team returns to Colorado next Wednesday.
Ahcan has played in 14 games with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles to start the season, netting one goal and six points, 16 penalty mintues, and a -3. His scoring is tied for second among the team’s defensemen, with Caleb Jones also netting six points – all assists – through 12 games. Ahcan is in his first year in the Colorado organization, after spending the last three years in the Bruins’ depth charts. Boston signed the undrafted Ahcan following the close of St. Cloud State’s 2019-20 season. The defenseman would go on to play in the NHL, AHL, and ECHL in his first season as a pro: the shorted 2020-21 campaign. He went without a point in the three NHL games he received that season, recording a -3.
Boston would give Ahcan six more NHL games in the 2021-22 season. He scored his first NHL goal during that stretch but still found himself on the wrong side of the scoresheet, again recording a -3. He spent all of last season in the AHL, netting 36 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a +5 in 68 games. The performance was enough to earn a two-year, two-way contract carrying a total value of $1.6MM from the Avalanche this summer.