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.
Upper-Body Injury For Manson
- Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, notes DNVR Avalanche’s Meghan Angley (Twitter link). The veteran has been limited due to injuries over the past few years although he had managed to play in all but one of their first 14 games this season where he had an assist along with 18 blocks and 20 hits while logging just under 16 minutes a night. Recently recalled blueliner Caleb Jones is expected to take Manson’s spot in the lineup with the team announcing (Twitter link) that Sam Malinski was returned to AHL Colorado.
Avalanche Recall Jones and Malinski
- The Colorado Avalanche have announced that they’ve essentially reversed yesterday’s roster moves. The Avalanche sent Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones to the Colorado Eagles yesterday and today decided to recall both players. No word yet on why Colorado opted to change course, but both players are back on the Avalanche’s NHL roster as of this morning. Jones has an assist in his one NHL game this year while Malinski is pointless in one game.
Avalanche Reassign Malinski, Jones
The Colorado Avalanche have announced that defenseman Caleb Jones and Sam Malinski have been reassigned to the franchise’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The reasoning behind Malinski’s reassignment is relatively clear, the player made his NHL debut last night and now will return to the Eagles to resume playing a regular role there.