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Artturi Lehkonen Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury

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The Colorado Avalanche have announced that Artturi Lehkonen will not return to tonight’s game against the Montreal Canadiens after leaving with an apparent upper-body injury.

It was quite an eventful night for Lehkonen who was playing in his first game back in Montreal since being traded to Colorado in March of 2022. Lehkonen received a video tribute and a standing ovation from the Montreal crowd, then followed it up by adding two goals and an assist in less than two periods of play. The injury puts a damper on what was an incredible return to Montreal for the former second round pick.

Lehkonen has been red hot as of late with seven points in his past five games. He’s been everything Colorado could have hoped for when they dealt a second-round pick and Justin Barron to Montreal for him just under a year ago. Lehkonen has flourished this season with a career high 49 points in 62 games. This after scoring 14 points in 20 games last postseason in Colorado’s magical run to the Stanley Cup.

Should Lehkonen miss any time it will be a big blow for an Avalanche team that has dealt with a multitude of injuries throughout this season. Colorado is already missing Josh Manson, Gabriel Landeskog, Darren Helm, Erik Johnson, and goaltender Pavel Francouz. Despite the injuries, Colorado has maintained stellar team defense this season as they rank seventh in the league in goals against. The Avalanche currently hold the final wild card spot in the west, but they have struggled as of late having dropped four of their last six games coming into tonight.

Bednar: Johnson Could Be Ahead Of Schedule

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  • Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now that defenseman Erik Johnson appears to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from a broken ankle. The veteran has been out for a month with an expected recovery timeline of eight weeks.  He’s already skating so it’s quite possible that he’s able to return before another four weeks elapse.  Johnson has seven assists in 51 games this season and is not currently on LTIR so Colorado won’t have to make any roster moves to activate him when he’s ready to come back.

Colorado Avalanche Issue Multiple Injury Updates

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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was busy with the media today, issuing multiple updates on the team’s swath of injured players.

Most notably, Bednar still has no timeline for a return on captain Gabriel Landeskog, who’s missed the entire season with a knee injury. Bednar called Landeskog’s recovery a “slow-moving process,” There remains no guarantee he will play at all this season.

There’s also the matter of veteran defenseman Erik Johnson, who’s been out for almost a month since sustaining a broken ankle in a game on February 11. His initial timeline for recovery was eight to 10 weeks, and although he remains on that timeline, Bednar said he was “startled” by Johnson’s quick recovery progress. Johnson skated today for the second time since sustaining the injury, and Bednar is hopeful his return will come closer to the eight-week mark, right at the end of the regular season.

Another tenured skater has missed most of the season for Colorado – two-time Stanley Cup champion Darren Helm has played just five games all year. Although he’s returned to skating at practice, Bednar’s only update was that he’s “cautiously optimistic” Helm will play again this season. Helm was an important fourth-line piece for Colorado last year, recording five points in 20 games en route to the Cup.

Defenseman Josh Manson is still dealing with a reaggravated lower-body injury that kept him out for 31 games earlier in the year, but Bednar sees his return is on the horizon. He remains hopeful Manson will return by the end of the month, giving him a chance to get his feet back under him before the playoffs start. An important defensive presence for Colorado, Manson has played just 27 games during the first season of a four-year, $4.5MM average annual value contract.

On a less positive note, backup goalie Pavel Francouz is recovering slower than expected from a lower-body injury that’s kept him out since mid-February. Francouz has now passed the expected recovery timeline of three weeks, but Bednar is hopeful he will return before the end of the season. Colorado has rotated backups in his place, recalling Keith Kinkaid, Jonas Johansson, and Justus Annunen at times.

Gustav Rydahl Expected To Return To SHL

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After slowly developing into a star overseas, Gustav Rydahl drew the attention of NHL scouts, and earned a contract with the New York Rangers last spring. The signing was buried in the headlines of the Rangers first-round win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, meaning some fans may not have even noticed his acquisition.

Less than a year later, Rydahl was shipped off at the trade deadline. The 28-year-old forward was sent to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Anton Blidh in one of the day’s more minor moves. He never played a game for the Rangers, and it appears his North American career could be over in the blink of an eye.

Reports out of Sweden indicate that Rydahl will return to the SHL next season, leaving any dreams of an NHL career behind. He won’t be returning to Farjestads, though. Instead, the big center will jump ship and play for rival Frolunda on a long-term contract.

It hasn’t gone according to plan for Rydahl in North America. Through 41 games in the AHL—all but one coming with the Hartford Wolf Pack—he has just seven goals and 15 points. While those numbers would likely increase with more experience here, the 2022 Olympian is expected to return home. A long-term deal with Frolunda at his age would suggest another stint in North America is out of the question.

Minor Transactions: 03/06/23

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As the NHL looks forward to the playoffs, transactions are still happening across the league and internationally as well. Here are some of the minor transactions and news pieces so far today.

  • The Colorado Avalanche has announced that goaltender Jonas Johansson has been recalled from the AHL affiliate Colorado Eagles. On the heels of incredibly shaky starts from Justus Annunen and Alexandar Georgiev, the Avalanche will now employ a different option in the net. Recent acquisition Keith Kinkaid was sent down earlier this morning after coming in as backup during the blowout game against the Dallas Stars Saturday night. The Avalanche will enter play tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks as they look to stop their three-game losing streak.
  • Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports that defensemen Nick Jensen and Martin Fehervary were seen in non-contact jerseys during this morning’s practice. Neither of the two has played since the Capitals’ game against the Anaheim Ducks last Wednesday. Jensen recently signed a 3-year, $12.15MM contract extension with the Capitals; coupled with the deal sending Dmitry Orlov to the Boston Bruins, Jensen figures to be an important part of Washington’s blue line moving forward.
  • Outside of the NHL, veteran forward Patrik Lundh is in agreement on a 1-year extension with Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League. Now in his second tenure with the Swedish club, Lundh has previously played in several of Europe’s most popular hockey leagues. After spending time in both the Kontinental Hockey League and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Lundh made the switch back to the SHL last season.

AHL Shuffle: 03/06/23

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The following players were either recalled or sent down between their NHL clubs and their respective AHL affiliates.

  • Goalie Matt Murray was an emergency recall by the Dallas Stars from the Texas Stars, according to CapFriendly Murray was signed as an undrafted free agent last summer, and has appeared in one game for Dallas this season, his first NHL action.
  • Forward Fredrik Olofsson was also an emergency recall by the Dallas Stars, according to CapFriendly. Oloffson was a fourth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014, and has recorded one goal and three assists in 20 games this season, his first in the NHL.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have sent veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid to the Colorado Eagles, according to CapFriendly. Kinkaid, 33, has appeared in two games this season, one each for the Boston Bruins and Avalanche. He has been shuffled between the NHL and AHL since arriving in Colorado.
  • Per TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, the Montreal Canadiens have reassigned defenseman Frederic Allard to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Montreal acquired Allard in a minor trade with the Los Angeles Kings on deadline day, and the 25-year-old played in just the second game of his NHL career yesterday against Vegas, as Montreal’s defense is depleted with injuries. Allard heads back to the minors, where he had seven points in 35 games with the Ontario Reign before the trade to the Canadiens organization.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have recalled goalie Arturs Silovs from the Abbotsford Canucks under emergency conditions, per the team. He’ll start tonight’s game instead of Collin Delia, who’s unavailable with a non-COVID illness. Silovs has a .908 save percentage and a 2-2-0 record in four NHL appearances, all coming this season.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Avalanche Activate Cale Makar, Josh Manson Out Indefinitely

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The Avalanche are getting some good news and some bad news regarding their back end.  NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding relays that Cale Makar has been activated off injured reserve and will play today against Dallas.  However, Josh Manson’s lower-body injury sustained on Wednesday is going to keep him out for a while; Boulding lists him as out week to week.

Makar is returning from his second stint in concussion protocol in a matter of weeks with this one keeping him out for the last five games.  Fortunately for both him and the Avs, he told reporters including Kyle Frederickson of the Denver Gazette (Twitter link) that the symptoms were “very, very mild”.

When healthy, the 24-year-old is one of the premier offensive defensemen in the NHL and is hovering around the point-per-game mark with 13 goals and 32 assists in 46 games so far while averaging 26:57 per night, a career-high.  Makar will undoubtedly be a big boost for their back end, especially on the power play.

As for Manson, his first full season with Colorado has not gone according to plan.  Injuries have limited the 31-year-old to just 27 games so far in 2022-23 which is not what anyone was hoping for as he begins a four-year, $18MM deal.  At this point, the Avalanche are likely just hoping that he’ll be able to get back late in the season to get ready for the playoffs next month.  Even with his absence, there are seven blueliners on the active roster so no recall from AHL Colorado is likely.

AHL Shuffle: 3/4/23

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While there were plenty of recalls yesterday following paper demotions to the minors to maintain AHL eligibility, some of those moves will come today instead.  We’ll keep track of those transactions here while non-paper recalls will be covered separately.

  • The Lightning announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Darren Raddysh from AHL Syracuse. The 27-year-old played for Tampa Bay in Thursday’s loss to Pittsburgh but has spent most of the year with the Crunch, picking up 50 points in 50 games to put him second among all AHL rearguards in scoring.
  • The Penguins announced (Twitter link) the recall of forward Drew O’Connor from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The 24-year-old last played in the AHL three months ago and since then, he has been a regular most nights with Pittsburgh, recording five goals and three assists in 27 games.
  • The Flames have recalled wingers Walker Duehr and Jakob Pelletier from AHL Calgary, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Both players were papered down on Friday.  Duehr has four points in 17 games with the Flames so far this season while Pelletier has seven points in 16 contests, five of which have come in Calgary’s last five outings.
  • Nashville has recalled forwards John Leonard and Luke Evangelista from Milwaukee after sending them down yesterday, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Leonard scored in his first game of the season with the Predators on Thursday while Evangelista has an assist over his first two NHL appearances.
  • The Kings have recalled centers Rasmus Kupari and Quinton Byfield, per the AHL’s transactions log.  Kupari has spent most of the year with Los Angeles, getting into 47 games with them compared to 11 with the Reign while Byfield has suited up 34 times for the Kings compared to 16 in Ontario.  These quick demotions will keep them eligible to play in the AHL postseason.
  • The Avalanche announced (Twitter link) they have sent down Ben Meyers to the Colorado Eagles. Meyers has played 34 games in the NHL this season with the Avalanche, scoring one goal and zero assists.

This post will be updated throughout the day.

Trade Deadline Roundup: Western Conference

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While trade deadline day was largely a dud in itself, that was because so many moves were made in the days leading up to March 3rd.  With that in mind, here is a recap of the trades made in the Western Conference in the ten days leading up to deadline day to show who all moved where in what was a busy trade period overall.  Players and picks that were acquired and then flipped are only noted for their final destination.

Anaheim Ducks

Acquired: F Brock McGinn, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Chase Priskie, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, D Andrej Sustr, 2024 third-round pick (PIT), 2024 third-round pick (SJ), 2025 fifth-round pick (MIN)

Traded: F Hunter Drew, F Max Golod, D John Klingberg, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Austin Strand, D Henry Thrun

Arizona Coyotes

Acquired: D Michael Kesselring, D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Jakub Voracek, Shea Weber, 2023 first-round pick (OTT), 2023 third-round pick (EDM), 2023 sixth-round pick (CBJ), 2024 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 third-round pick (NYR), 2023 fifth-round pick (VGK), 2026 third-round pick (CAR), 2026 sixth-round pick (OTT)

Traded: F Nick Bjugstad, D Jakob Chychrun, D Cam Dineen, G Jon Gillies, D Shayne Gostisbehere, D Dysin Mayo, F Nick Ritchie, D Vili Saarijarvi, D Troy Stecher

Calgary Flames

Acquired: F Dryden Hunt, F Nick Ritchie, D Troy Stecher

Traded: D Connor Mackey, F Brett Ritchie, F Radim Zohorna

Chicago Blackhawks

Acquired: F Joey Anderson, F Anders Bjork, F Hunter Drew, D Andreas Englund, G Anton Khudobin, F Pavel Gogolev, F Max Golod, D Vili Saarijarvi, F Austin Wagner, D Andy Welinski, D Nikita Zaitsev, 2023 second-round pick (NYR), 2023 second-round pick (OTT), 2025 first-round pick (TOR), 2025 second-round pick (DAL), 2025 fourth-round pick (NYR), 2026 second-round pick (TOR), 2026 fourth-round pick (OTT)

Traded: F Max Domi, D Jack Johnson, F Patrick Kane, F Sam Lafferty, D Jake McCabe, F Dylan Sikura, F Josiah Slavin, G Dylan Wells, D Cooper Zech, 2024 fifth-round pick, 2025 fifth-round pick

Colorado Avalanche

Acquired: F Lars Eller, D Jack Johnson, G Keith Kinkaid, F Gustav Rydahl

Traded: F Anton Blidh, F Shane Bowers, D Andreas Englund, 2025 second-round pick

Dallas Stars

Acquired: F Evgenii Dadonov, F Max Domi, F Scott Reedy, G Dylan Wells

Traded: F Denis Gurianov, G Anton Khudobin, F Jacob Peterson, 2025 second-round pick

Edmonton Oilers

Acquired: F Nick Bjugstad, D Cam Dineen, D Mattias Ekholm, F Patrik Puistola, 2024 sixth-round pick (NSH)

Traded: D Tyson Barrie, D Michael Kesselring, F Jesse Puljujarvi, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fourth-round pick

Los Angeles Kings

Acquired: D Vladislav Gavrikov, G Joonas Korpisalo, F Zack MacEwen, G Erik Portillo, F Nate Schnarr

Traded: D Frederic Allard, F Brendan Lemieux, G Jonathan Quick, F Austin Wagner, 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick

Minnesota Wild

Acquired: D John Klingberg, F Marcus Johansson, F Gustav Nyquist, F Oskar Sundqvist, 2023 second-round pick (VGK), 2024 fifth-round pick (BUF)

Traded: F Jordan Greenway, F Nikita Nesterenko, D Andrej Sustr, F Andrei Svetlakov, 2023 fourth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick

Nashville Predators

Acquired: F Rasmus Asplund, D Tyson Barrie, D Cal Foote, F Isaac Ratcliffe, F Austin Rueschhoff, F Reid Schaefer, 2023 first-round pick (EDM), 2023 second-round pick (PIT), 2023 third-round pick (TB), 2023 fourth-round pick (TB), 2023 fifth-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (TB), 2024 second-round pick (WPG), 2024 fourth-round pick (EDM), 2025 first-round pick (TB)

Traded: D Mattias Ekholm, F Mikael Granlund, F Tanner Jeannot, F Nino Niederreiter, 2024 sixth-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick

San Jose Sharks

Acquired: D Arvid Henrikson, F Andreas Johnsson, D Shakir Mukhamadullin, D Nikita Okhotyuk, D Henry Thrun, F Fabian Zetterlund, 2023 first-round pick (NJ), 2023 seventh-round pick (PIT), 2024 second-round pick (NJ), 2024 fourth-round pick (PIT), 2024 seventh-round pick (NJ), 2025 fourth-round pick (WPG),

Traded: F Nick Bonino, G Zacharie Emond, F Michael Eyssimont, D Scott Harrington, D Santeri Hatakka, F Timur Ibragimov, F Timo Meier, D Tony Sund, 2024 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick (COL), 2024 fifth-round pick

Seattle Kraken

No trades made

St. Louis Blues

Acquired: F Zach Dean, F Jakub Vrana

Traded: F Ivan Barbashev, F Dylan McLaughlin, 2025 seventh-round pick

Vancouver Canucks

Acquired: F Josh Bloom, D Filip Hronek, F Vitali Kravtsov, 2023 third-round pick (TOR) 2023 fourth-round pick (DET), 2024 fourth-round pick (NJ)

Traded: D Wyatt Kalynuk, F Curtis Lazar, F William Lockwood, D Luke Schenn, D Riley Stillman, 2023 first-round pick (NYI), 2023 second-round pick, 2026 sixth-round pick

Vegas Golden Knights

Acquired: F Ivan Barbashev, F Teddy Blueger, D Dysin Mayo, G Jonathan Quick

Traded: F Zach Dean, F Peter DiLiberatore, G Michael Hutchinson, D Shea Weber, 2023 fifth-round pick, 2024 third-round pick, 2025 seventh-round pick

Winnipeg Jets

Acquired: F Nino Niederreiter, F Vladislav Namestnikov

Traded: 2024 second-round pick, 2025 fourth-round pick

New York Rangers Acquire Anton Blidh, Wyatt Kalynuk

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The New York Rangers made two more minor moves just before the bell sounded. First, they acquired Anton Blidh from the Colorado Avalanche sending Gustav Rydahl back in return. Then, they acquired Wyatt Kalynuk from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for future considerations. All three players are currently in the minor leagues.

Blidh, 27, is the most experienced player in the deals, with 84 NHL games under his belt. Fourteen of those have come this season with Colorado, but the depth forward has been kept completely off the scoresheet. His acquisition is likely just to extend the Rangers forward depth chart ahead of the playoffs, as he is unlikely to play much unless the team suffers several injuries.

You could say the same for Kalynuk, who last saw NHL action during the 201-22 season and has spent this entire year with the Abbotsford Canucks. His acquisition is likely more about giving the Hartford Wolf Pack a bit more expeirence. Kalynuk was once expected to be a regular at the NHL level, after signing with Chicago out of the University of Wisconsin, but after 26 games in a Blackhawks sweater, his time in the league ran out.

Rydahl, meanwhile, was signed as an undrafted free agent out of the SHL, where he has won multiple championships and starred for Farjestads. His first taste of North American hockey hasn’t worked out, with just seven goals and 15 points through 40 games, but perhaps the Avalanche can find a little more juice in the 28-year-old center.

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