- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled Justus Annunen again, as they prepare for a back-to-back this weekend against Dallas and Seattle. The 22-year-old netminder has appeared just once this season, stopping 19 of 20 shots to secure a victory over the St. Louis Blues earlier this month.
Avalanche Rumors
Colorado Avalanche Recall Three From AHL
- The Colorado Avalanche announced the recalls of Brad Hunt, Jonas Johansson, and Ben Meyers from the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. All three have been shuffled to and from Denver all season, as the Avs have tinkered with their lineup all year due to injuries. The Avs have made multiple recalls of goaltenders from the AHL in recent days, in addition to adding Keith Kinkaid from the Boston Bruins. Hunt has six points in 31 games for the Avs this season, Meyers has one goal in 31 games and Johansson has played in one game for Colorado this season.
Colorado Avalanche Acquire Jack Johnson
The Colorado Avalanche are bringing back a piece of their Stanley Cup roster, re-acquiring Jack Johnson from the Chicago Blackhawks. Andreas Englund will be the player going back to Chicago.
Johnson, 36, certainly isn’t the player that went third overall in 2005, or even the one that scored 40 points in 2014-15 with the Columbus Blue Jackets. But given his familiarity with the Avalanche organization and success last year, it is a nice reunion for the veteran defenseman.
Colorado is missing Erik Johnson and Cale Makar, considerably limiting their defensive depth. Jack Johnson will slide into the depth chart in a similar role as he did last year, playing limited minutes whenever needed but not making much of an impact one way or another.
Giving up Englund means almost nothing for the Avalanche, and shows there wasn’t really a market for Johnson around the league. The 27-year-old has played 36 NHL games this year and 69 in his career, but is still looking for his first goal. As a pending unrestricted free agent, Englund doesn’t represent much of anything for the Blackhawks moving forward.
This effectively boils down to doing Johnson a favor, sending him back to a great team that he is comfortable with after logging some difficult minutes this year. The veteran defender was playing nearly 20 minutes a night for Chicago, more than he has since 2017. He won’t get anywhere near that much playing time in Colorado, but now has the chance to go for another long playoff run before his career winds down.
Kevin Weekes of ESPN broke the deal on Twitter.
Avalanche Reassign Hunt, Annunen
- The Colorado Avalanche have sent Brad Hunt and Justus Annunen back to the minor leagues, as they await their game tomorrow night against the Vegas Golden Knights. Despite having Gabriel Landeskog on LTIR, the Avalanche have set their cap up to accrue extra space in the meantime. A goaltender will be recalled tomorrow at the very least, though it could be Jonas Johansson if it’s just as a backup.
Colorado Avalanche Extend Keaton Middleton
The Colorado Avalanche have signed Keaton Middleton to a contract extension through the 2024-25 season, according to Peter Baugh of The Athletic. PuckPedia reports that the two-way deal will carry an average annual value of $775K in the NHL, $250K in the AHL, and includes a minor league guarantee of $300K.
The 25-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016. At 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Middleton is a powerful, defensive defenceman who is currently playing for the Colorado Eagles. He has scored three goals and 20 points in 57 games this season, already setting career highs in assists and points in his fifth AHL season.
The Edmonton, Alberta native secures a two-year contract, giving him a bit of financial security and career stability as he continues to grind in the minor leagues. Middleton has played in three NHL contests in his career, suiting up for a trio of games late in the 2020-21 season with the Avalanche. He has become one of the most trusted defenders on the Eagles roster, and is just one point back of Brad Hunt for the team lead in points by a blueliner.
Given his age, Middleton would have qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer. Instead, he’ll stay with the Colorado organization and try to earn another chance in the NHL.
Avalanche Believed To Be Interested In Austin Watson
The Senators have moved out a couple of veterans already recently in defenseman Nikita Zaitsev and forward Tyler Motte. While they haven’t completely thrown in the towel yet on trying to make the playoffs, Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that at least three teams have shown interest in acquiring veteran winger Austin Watson. Those three are all Western Conference squads in the Stars, Kings, and Avalanche.
Bruins Acquire Shane Bowers
The Bruins and Avalanche have swapped depth players as Colorado has traded forward Shane Bowers to Boston in exchange for goaltender Keith Kinkaid. Both teams have announced the move and have confirmed that the players have been sent down to their respective minor league clubs.
Bowers made his NHL debut this season but it was a short-lived one as he was injured in the first period. The 2017 first-round pick has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, picking up 14 points in 37 games with AHL Colorado. Bowers is on a one-year, two-way contract that pays $750K in the NHL and just $100K in the minors and he’ll be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer. The subtraction of Kinkaid partially clears up a logjam between the pipes with AHL Providence who are now down to two goalies on the roster plus Michael DiPietro playing at the ECHL level.
As for Kinkaid, the 33-year-old is a veteran of 168 career NHL appearances over parts of 10 seasons. However, he has just 11 of those over the past three years as he has settled in as a veteran third-stringer. He has a 3.10 GAA with a .909 SV% in 20 games at the AHL level so far and will give the Avs some extra insurance between the pipes with Pavel Francouz currently out with a lower-body injury. He’s also on a one-year, two-way deal worth the minimum in the NHL although his AHL pay is considerably higher at $450K. Kinkaid will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Avalanche Assign Jonas Johansson To AHL, Recall Justus Annunen
Following last night’s victory over Winnipeg where he dressed as the backup goaltender, the Avalanche returned goaltender Jonas Johansson to AHL Colorado, per the AHL’s transactions log. In a corresponding move, Justus Annunen has been recalled from the Eagles.
Johansson has spent the majority of the season in the minors, posting an impressive 2.50 GAA along with a .915 SV% in 23 games. The 27-year-old also has made one appearance with the Avs, kicking aside all seven shots he faced in 23 minutes while extending his streak to four years of seeing NHL action.
Annunen, meanwhile, saw his first NHL action of the season last Saturday against St. Louis, stopping 19 of 20 shots for the victory. The 22-year-old has put up similar numbers to Johansson with the Eagles with a 2.53 GAA and a .913 SV% in 29 contests. Still a prospect, it has made sense for the Avs to keep him in the minors and the older Johansson up with the big club to serve as the backup so this move suggests that Annunen might get the start tonight against Calgary.
West Notes: Krug, Olofsson, Eller
St. Louis Blues defenseman Torey Krug is set to return to the lineup against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, head coach Craig Berube told reporters today. It ends a brief absence stemming from a lower-body injury.
It’s been a bumpy road for Krug in 2022-23, who’s missed significant portions of the season. This is the fifth separate occasion he’s missed time with a lower-body injury, including a 13-game-long absence through December and January. Krug’s ice time has dipped below 20 minutes this season, and his -28 rating is tied for the worst on the team. He’ll return to his usual spot alongside Justin Faulk.
- After being sent down yesterday, the Dallas Stars have brought forward Fredrik Olofsson back up from the minors. The 26-year-old has been a frequent call-up as of late, and he’s recorded a goal and three assists in 15 games with Dallas on top of 14 points in 37 games with AHL Texas. Olofsson will draw back into the lineup tomorrow against the Vegas Golden Knights as Luke Glendening and Joel Kiviranta remain sidelined with injuries.
- The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun covered the Washington Capitals’ trade deadline plans in his latest piece and listed pending unrestricted free agent center Lars Eller as a potential fit for the Colorado Avalanche. Eller’s offense has taken a step back this season, recording just seven goals and 16 points in 58 games, but he’d be good depth insurance for an Avalanche team that’s thin at center. As Colorado begins to string wins together ahead of the trade deadline, they hope some depth additions combined with healthy stars propel them back into the “contending” category of teams.
Trade Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche
The trade deadline is inching closer and is now just over a week away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Colorado Avalanche.
Following a Stanley Cup win in 2021-22, expectations were high once again for the Colorado Avalanche this season. However, some key offseason departures headlined by Nazem Kadri and a plethora of injuries have the Avalanche further back in the standings than expected. They have been playing better lately, but are barely hanging on to a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
An 11-2-2 run in their past 15 games has put them back into a playoff spot, and as the defending Stanley Cup champions, they are sure to be looking to add to the roster before the deadline. Once healthy, they will have one of the most dangerous lineups in the Western Conference, giving them a chance to make another deep postseason run this spring.
Record
31-19-5
Deadline Status
Buyer
Deadline Cap Space
$6.45MM in LTIR relief, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.
Upcoming Draft Picks
2023: COL 1st, Col 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th
2024: COL 1st, COL 4th, COL 6th, COL 7th
Trade Chips
The Avalanche have traded a lot of their draft pick capital in past seasons, but do still hold all of their own first-round picks. That will allow them to get in on some of the big names as we head toward the trade deadline on Mar. 3. The biggest obstacle in their way is the salary cap.
Gabriel Landeskog has not played a game yet this season and he sits on long-term injured reserve. If the Avalanche get news that he will remain there until the end of the regular season, they can replace his $7MM cap hit and really swing for the fences at the trade deadline in hopes of a repeat.
If they are going to make a big addition, their future first-round picks would need to be put in play. Having traded many of them in recent years, the Avalanche do not have the deepest prospect pool in the league, but they do have a few young players to offer as trade bait.
Alex Newhook would net the biggest return but he is already a full-time NHL player. If the Avalanche want to make a big trade, teams will be asking about the 2019 first-round pick. Newhook has 12 goals and 20 points in 55 games, but rebuilding teams would be interested in adding the 22-year-old center.
Sean Behrens was the Avalanche’s second-round pick in 2021. The two-way defenceman is having a second strong season for the University of Denver. He has three goals and 20 points in 27 games this season after putting up three goals and 29 points in 37 games as a Freshman in 2021-22. Behrens represented USA at the past two World Junior Championships, scoring a combined three points in eight games. Justin Barron was moved in a trade last season that brought back Artturi Lehkonen and helped put the Avs over the top. Behrens would have similar value on the open market right now.
Jean-Luc Foudy is one of the few young players having an impact season for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles. He was a third-round pick of Colorado in the 2020 NHL Draft and has 11 goals and 31 points in 36 AHL games this season. He is a 20-year-old right-shot center who would have plenty of interest from rebuilding teams.
Other Potential Trade Chips: Oskar Olausson, Matthew Stienburg, Ryan Merkley
Team Needs
1) Second-Line Center: The Avalanche were hopeful that Newhook would step into the second-line center role that was vacated by Kadri when he signed with the Calgary Flames. While Newhook is a skilled young player, he isn’t the ideal fit as a second center on a contending team right now. If Landeskog can eventually return from his injury, he joins Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin and Lehkonen as a dangerous group of top-six wingers. Nathan MacKinnon is obviously the team’s number one center, but they could use an upgrade in the middle of the second unit.
2) Defensive Depth: A team with Cale Makar, Bowen Byram, Devon Toews, Samuel Girard, Josh Manson and Erik Johnson should not need help on the back end. However, injuries have sabotaged what should be the best group of blueliners in the league. Makar is currently out with concussion symptoms, Byram has been limited to 17 games this season, Manson has suited up for just 23 contests and Johnson is on injured reserve. A big name defender is not likely to be on the shopping list, but some depth to fill in for the injured players would be a nice addition.
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