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.
Pavel Francouz Activated From Injured Reserve
The Colorado Avalanche returned Jonas Johansson to the minor leagues earlier today, suggesting that Pavel Francouz was ready to return to the active roster. Indeed, Francouz no longer appears on injured reserve and should be ready to dress this evening against the Florida Panthers.
It’s been nearly a month since Francouz last appeared for the Avalanche, stopping 26 of 28 shots on December 13 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The 32-year-old goaltender had posted a .913 save percentage in nine games through the early part of the season, serving as the primary backup for Alexandar Georgiev.
Without him, it’s been Georgiev every night for the Avalanche, with Johansson only playing 23 minutes in relief on New Year’s Eve. The 29 appearances from Georgiev so far have him closing in on his career-high of 34, set in 2019-20 with the New York Rangers.
With that in mind, it’s a good time for Francouz to get back in the mix and start to split the load as Colorado pushes toward the trade deadline. The club sits in fifth place in the Central Division with a 20-15-3 record, after being decimated by injuries through the first part of the year.
Denis Malgin, the latest of those injuries, was called week-to-week by head coach Jared Bednar earlier today. Peter Baugh of The Athletic relays other updates from the coach, noting that Bowen Byram and Josh Manson are also skating but have no firm timetable yet.
Avalanche Activate Nathan MacKinnon Off Injured Reserve
The Avalanche will have their franchise player back in the lineup tonight against Toronto as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated center Nathan MacKinnon off injured reserve. To make room for MacKinnon on the roster, winger Charles Hudon has been assigned to AHL Colorado.
MacKinnon suffered an upper-body injury earlier this month which was expected to keep him out for four weeks so he’s right on schedule. The 27-year-old was off to another strong start before the injury as he had 34 points in 23 games; even though he has missed 11 games, he’s still tied for second on the Avs in scoring. More importantly, he gives Colorado their top center back, allowing them to push J.T. Compher off the top line and balance out their forwards a bit better; Compher had been logging nearly 24 minutes a night in MacKinnon’s absence.
Colorado enters play tonight sitting fourth in the Central Division and is tied with Calgary for a Wild Card spot in the West. That has largely been due to an extremely long injury list that still has them without two top-six wingers in Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin and two key defenders in Bowen Byram and Josh Manson, among others. Their push to put themselves in a much more favorable playoff position will be a lot easier with MacKinnon, their star center and the player who will have the richest contract in NHL history next season, returning to the lineup.
As for Hudon, he was recalled back on Tuesday on his third emergency loan of the season. The 28-year-old has played in nine games with the Avalanche this season, logging just shy of 11 minutes a night while being held off the scoresheet. He has 18 points in 22 contests with the Eagles and should be a recall option should another injury up front arise with the big club.
MacKinnon Could Return Saturday, Helm Participates In Full Practice
- The Avalanche could have Nathan MacKinnon back in the lineup on Saturday against Toronto, relays Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. The star center has missed nearly four weeks due to an upper-body injury and while he took the skate in a non-contact jersey today, that won’t automatically preclude him from returning tomorrow. Meanwhile, forward Darren Helm was a full participant in practice for the first time today but has not yet received the green light to suit up. He has yet to play this season and underwent hip surgery last month.
Valeri Nichushkin Re-Injures Ankle, Out Indefinitely
Injuries have hit the Avalanche hard all season but they got some good news three weeks ago when Valeri Nichushkin was able to return to the lineup after undergoing ankle surgery following a six-week absence. However, his absence from yesterday’s loss to Arizona was noteworthy and head coach Jared Bednar confirmed to Kyle Frederickson of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link) that the winger has re-injured his ankle. There is no timetable for his return.
The 27-year-old is in the first season of an eight-year, $49MM contract signed back in July to avoid free agency. He got off to a great start before originally being injured, notching a dozen points in his first seven games but his output had dipped since his return as Nichushkin had just four assists in the eight contests he played in this month. Even so, he still sits seventh in scoring for Colorado despite missing more than half the season due to injuries.
Nichushkin rejoins an injured group that includes (but isn’t limited to) center Nathan MacKinnon, winger Gabriel Landeskog, defensemen Josh Manson and Bowen Byram, and even goaltender Pavel Francouz. All told, the Avs have over $27MM in contracts for players that are currently unavailable due to injuries. Even with LTIR, Colorado has been icing lineups lately that have been below the salary cap floor and with most of their injured players still facing extended absences, that’s unlikely to change in the near future.
In spite of the injuries, Colorado is still hanging around the playoff mix as they’re tied for a Wild Card position and are only two points out of the final guaranteed spot in the Central Division. Unfortunately, they’re going to have to hang around the mix without another key winger in Nichushkin who is now facing another absence.
Jared Bednar Issues Injury Updates
Although the Colorado Avalanche are comfortably in the Western Conference’s playoff picture at this point in the season, their 2022-23 campaign has been far from easy. Ravaged by a flood of injuries, we have rarely gotten to see an Avalanche squad hit the ice that closely resembles the team that won the Stanley Cup in the summer. Today, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar issued some injury updates on players to the media, including Altitude Sports’ Marc Moser.
According to Bednar, Gabriel Landeskog, Bowen Byram, and Josh Manson are unfortunately not close to returning from their injuries. He did deliver some good news as well, though, noting that franchise center Nathan MacKinnon is nearing a return, and that penalty-killing specialist Andrew Cogliano would be returning to the lineup. While the Avalanche still won’t be near 100% anytime soon, the positive developments regarding a few players are certainly encouraging.