- LeBrun also spoke on Insider Trading about Montreal Canadiens center Sean Monahan. LeBrun reported that the Colorado Avalanche are a “team to monitor” when it comes to a potential trade fit for the veteran pivot. The Avalanche have long been rumored to be seeking help down the middle and could opt for the injured Monahan, who has scored 17 points in 25 games in Montreal, as a cheaper option than higher-end choices such as Ryan O’Reilly or Bo Horvat.
Avalanche Rumors
Avalanche And Sharks Complete Four-Player Trade
Ryan Merkley’s trade request has been granted as the Sharks have traded the defenseman to the Avalanche along with winger Matt Nieto in exchange for winger Martin Kaut and defenseman/winger Jacob MacDonald.
Merkley was a first-round pick by San Jose back in 2018 (21st overall) and showed plenty of offensive upside during his junior career in the OHL where he had 269 points in 248 games in four seasons. However, that hasn’t really translated into much offensive success in the minors as he has just two career goals in the minors, neither of which came this season. Merkley made his NHL debut in 2021-22, getting into 39 games with the Sharks but he hasn’t had a chance to suit up at the top level this year which resulted in the trade request. He has 14 assists in 30 games with the Barracuda this season. He’s in the final year of his entry-level contract with a $863K cap hit and will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Nieto, meanwhile, is no stranger to Colorado as he spent parts of four seasons with them between 2016-17 and 2019-20. During that stretch, he was a serviceable provider of depth scoring, notching 34 goals and 47 assists in 251 games. The 30-year-old is producing at a similar clip this season, tallying eight goals and seven assists in 45 games with the Sharks while logging a career-high 15:39 per game. He won’t see that type of ice time in his second go-round with the Avs but with them in need of reliable options in the bottom six, Nieto should still be called upon to play an important depth role. He’s also in the final year of his contract with a $850K cap hit and will be eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Kaut was also a first-round pick in the 2018 draft, going 16th overall to the Avalanche. However, while he impressed in the minors as an 18-year-old and earned an NHL stint at 19, he hasn’t had much success at the top level. So far, he has played in just 47 career NHL contests, 27 of which have come this season where he has just a goal and two assists to his credit while averaging 9:08 per night. Kaut has also played in ten AHL games this season where he has five goals and three helpers and is currently in the minors having been sent down last week. The 23-year-old is also in the final year of his entry-level deal, one that carries an AAV of $863K. He should get an opportunity to see some regular minutes for San Jose down the stretch in the hopes of him developing into a regular in the bottom six down the road.
MacDonald came up as a defenseman but has logged a lot of action on the wing this season with Colorado searching for bottom-six options as they’ve dealt with injuries all year long. The 29-year-old has suited up 33 times so far in 2022-23, picking up a pair of assists along with 29 hits. He has made 74 appearances with the Avs over the last three seasons, comprising the bulk of his NHL action (aside from a two-game stint with Florida in 2018). MacDonald is in the first year of a two-year, two-way contract that pays the minimum salary in the NHL (a $762,500 AAV) and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2024. He’s likely to play a similar depth role with the Sharks, filling in at both positions when necessary.
Cap space is limited for the Avalanche and it’s worth noting that they are adding a little less than $100K on their books with this swap. However, they get a more proven forward in Nieto that should bolster their bottom six and an interesting wild card in Merkley. If he’s able to develop into a regular defender down the road, this will be a nice pickup for GM Chris MacFarland. If it doesn’t pan out, all it will cost them is a couple of depth options so it’s a low-risk move that could carry a fair bit of upside as they look to hold onto a playoff spot in the tight Central Division.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Anton Blidh, Dryden Hunt Clear Waivers
Jan 23: Both players have cleared waivers, meaning they can be assigned to the minor leagues.
Jan 22: Two players will be on today’s waiver wire, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. The Colorado Avalanche have waived forward Anton Blidh, while the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived forward Dryden Hunt.
Blidh lands on waivers for the second time this season after clearing them before the start of the regular season. After signing a one-year, two-way deal to join the Avalanche last offseason, Blidh has made 13 NHL appearances as injuries have stricken the team’s forward corps. He’s yet to get on the scoresheet.
If Blidh clears, he’ll return to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. There, he has six goals, three assists, and nine points in 23 games. While he’s never been an offensive force in the minors, the 2013 sixth-round pick was brought to Colorado to provide a hard-nosed depth option, similar to the role Nicolas Aube-Kubel held last year.
Hunt, on the other hand, now runs the risk of suiting up for his fourth NHL team just this season. Waived by the New York Rangers a week into the season, he was claimed by the Avalanche to serve as an upgrade over Blidh’s role. After scoring once in 25 games with Colorado, he was dealt to the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward Denis Malgin.
With just one point (a goal) in nine games with the Leafs, though, the organization has opted to try and sneak him through waivers. Hunt was a full-time NHLer last season with the Rangers, recording 17 points in 76 games. He’s in the final year of a two-year contract carrying a cap hit of $762,500.
Should The Avs Move Their First-Round Pick?
- After not picking until the sixth round of the draft last year, it would be understandable for the Avalanche to want to hold onto their first-rounder this season, especially since their next-highest pick is in the fifth round. However, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post posits that with their track record when it comes to first-rounders that are in the back half, they’d be better off moving it to aid in their push for a playoff spot this season. Colorado enters play today tied for the final Wild Card spot in the West in large part due to a long list of injuries but if and when they can get healthy, they would likely be viewed as a contender even with a lower seed.
Cale Makar Out Day-To-Day
The Colorado Avalanche will again be absent a core piece, albeit for a short while. Head coach Jared Bednar said today that defenseman Cale Makar is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury but traveled with the team on their road trip.
Last year’s Conn Smythe and Norris Trophy winner, Makar sustained the injury in a three-point effort on Monday against the Detroit Red Wings. With 43 points in 42 games in 2022-23, Makar is amidst his third consecutive season at a point-per-game pace.
Colorado will be without its superstar defenseman tonight as they take on the Calgary Flames. However, Makar hasn’t been ruled out for the remaining two games of their northwest swing against Vancouver and Seattle.
As injuries to core pieces continue throughout the season, the concerning trend is truly beginning to wear down the defending Stanley Cup champions. The team is 3-6-1 in their past ten games, and they sit four points back of the Flames for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, making tonight’s game all the more critical.
In Makar’s hopefully short-term absence, veteran defender Erik Johnson slots in alongside Devon Toews on the team’s top pairing. They’re already without Bowen Byram and Josh Manson due to injury, meaning Colorado will be missing half their normal defense core tonight.
Morning Moves: Luukkonen, Blidh, Heinola
The shuffle in Buffalo continues, as the Sabres recall Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen once again. Peyton Krebs is the player headed back to the Rochester Americans this time. Luukkonen is the starter for Buffalo still, but as the only waiver-exempt goalie on the roster is moved down between appearances.
The young goaltender showed on Saturday exactly why they are going through all the trouble. He stopped 38 of 41 shots to outduel Juuse Saros for the win against the Nashville Predators, taking the Sabres to 21-18-2 on the year. They begin a back-to-back situation today with an important game against the Florida Panthers, a team they are competing with directly in the Atlantic Division.
- Anton Blidh is back up for the Colorado Avalanche, after last appearing more than a month ago. The 27-year-old forward has failed to score in his nine NHL appearances so far, and has just nine points in 23 games for the Colorado Eagles. He represents nothing more than a fourth-line replacement for this afternoon’s game against the Detroit Red Wings.
- The Winnipeg Jets have swapped Jansen Harkins and Ville Heinola again, recalling the latter. Harkins was up while several forwards dealt with an illness, but will head back to continue his strong play for the Manitoba Moose. Heinola, who still has only 33 NHL appearances spread over four seasons, will try to get back into the lineup with the Jets on a more regular basis.
Valeri Nichushkin Could Play Tomorrow; Darren Helm's Return In Doubt
- While injury news for the Colorado Avalanche has been rather bleak, there was a tidbit of good news today when head coach Jared Bednar told reporters that Valeri Nichushkin is “potentially” an option tomorrow when they host the Detroit Red Wings. He’s been limited to 15 games this season but has played extraordinarily well when healthy, recording seven goals and 16 points. The news wasn’t so positive for Darren Helm, however, who’s re-injured the lower-body ailment that caused him to miss the start of the season. The team isn’t positive that Helm will return to play in 2022-23.
Avalanche Recall Sampo Ranta
With Darren Helm set to miss some time, it was expected that Colorado would need to bring up a forward to replace him. They’ve done just that as Peter Baugh of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the Avs have brought up winger Sampo Ranta from AHL Colorado. While they don’t have an open roster spot available, that can easily be covered by shifting Helm to injured reserve.
The 22-year-old has now been recalled six times this season although it hasn’t yielded much in the way of NHL playing opportunities. Ranta has suited up in just five games for the Avalanche so far where he has been held off the scoresheet while averaging barely over seven minutes a night on the fourth line. Ranta also played in ten games at the NHL level last season where he logged a little more than ten minutes a night while failing to record a point.
However, Ranta has had a bit of success offensively in the minors this season with five goals and five assists in 26 games, numbers that put him on pace to match the seven goals and seven helpers in 38 contests from a year ago. If he gets into the lineup, he’ll likely be asked to see spot duty on the fourth line once more but it’s likelier at this point that he’ll serve as the 13th forward.
Colorado has had to dip into LTIR in recent weeks to cover for the long list of injuries that they have and they have ample space to fit in Ranta’s $925K AAV. However, while they’re using LTIR, they aren’t able to bank cap space which will make adding at the trade deadline a little more difficult until they can get enough players healthy to avoid needing to use it. Helm’s injury and Ranta’s recall will make that task a little harder.
Could Anthony Duclair Be A Fit For Florida?
With Colorado not really going out and replacing Nazem Kadri who left in free agency last summer, there has been an expectation that the Avalanche would add an impact center at the trade deadline. While there are several rentals that are expected to be available, Bennett Durando of The Denver Post posits that there could be a different direction they could go. If they’re comfortable with Evan Rodrigues and J.T. Compher as their middle-six middlemen, they could look to upgrade on the wing instead. Durando suggests Panthers winger Anthony Duclair as a plausible target; Florida will have cap issues once he and Patric Hornqvist are able to return so there could be an opportunity to buy low. At a $3MM AAV both this season and next, Duclair could be an intriguing option for Colorado, especially since his speed would fit in well with their style of play.
Darren Helm Out Indefinitely
It has been a tough season for Avalanche forward Darren Helm. He missed the first 35 games of the season due to a hip injury but recently returned to the lineup. However, that return wound up being short-lived as he suffered a lower-body injury last night against Chicago. Head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Peter Baugh of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the injury is related to the one that kept him out of the start of the season and that he’s going to miss some time. How long he’ll be out is not yet known.
Helm was brought in by Colorado last season in free agency and he fared well in a depth role, notching 15 points in 68 games during the regular season while playing in all 20 postseason contests as the Avs won the Stanley Cup. That was good enough for the team to bring him back on a one-year $1.25MM contract in the summer but Helm’s hip troubles have limited him to just five appearances so far.
Injuries have caused the Avalanche to dress 24 different forwards this season as they look to find some options for the fourth line. The return of Helm was supposed to help in that regard but instead, that search for consistent depth forwards will continue as it appears that it will be at least a little while before the veteran is able to return.
Colorado also is without wingers Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, and Denis Malgin plus defensemen Bowen Byram and Josh Manson. None of them appear to be close to returning so the Avs will be trying to get back into the playoff picture with the roster that they currently have.