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Avalanche Notes: Third-Line Center, Landeskog, Malinski, Injuries

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The Colorado Avalanche have a roster bursting at the seams with high-end talent, and as a result, many players enter this year’s training camp with their spot in the lineup relatively assured. But not all players have that luxury: Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told the media today, including outlet DNVR Avalanche, that the club considers its third-line center role to be among the few key spots in the lineup up for grabs in the preseason.

The Avalanche finished last season with veteran Charlie Coyle in that spot, but Coyle has since been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Today, Bednar highlighted Ross Colton and Jack Drury as the two main contenders for the third-line center role. Colton, 29, is Bednar’s more experienced option. He is playing on a $4MM AAV contract that runs through 2026-27 and had a career-high 17 goals and 40 points in 2023-24, his first with the Avalanche. Competing with Colton is Drury, who arrived in Colorado from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the first Mikko Rantanen trade. Drury’s resume does not suggest he has as much offensive ability as Colton, though Drury brings a more advanced defensive element to the picture – he factored into Colorado’s penalty kill last season while Colton did not. (1:24 average short-handed time-on-ice compared to Colton’s 0:05) Regardless of who ultimately prevails in this preseason lineup competition, it’s clear Bednar has an abundance of quality options to choose from at the center position – an extremely valuable asset for any coach.

Some other notes from Denver:

  • The Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal relayed word from Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog today that the veteran forward is a “full go” entering the 2025-26 campaign. That Landeskog will be able to play this season without restriction is notable due to the fact that he has missed a massive amount of time due to a complex knee issue. After captaining the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, Landeskog missed the next three full regular seasons. He returned to play in five playoff games for Colorado, but given the length of his absence, there was some concern that Landeskog might be limited entering 2025-26. Based on today’s comments, it appears those worries can be dismissed.
  • Jared Bednar told the media today, including Guerilla Sports’ Meghan Angley, that they will try to play right-handed defenseman Sam Malinski on the left side this season as a response to the club’s abundance of NHL-caliber right-shot blueliners. Malinski, 27, finished last season paired with the since-departed Ryan Lindgren on his right side, meaning this change will require a new adjustment from Malinski. The former Cornell standout broke into the NHL last season, scoring 15 points in 76 games whilst averaging nearly 16 miutes of time-on-ice per game. The offseason addition of veteran blueliner Brent Burns, who is a right shot, appears to be what has prompted this adjustment for Malinski.
  • Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen reported updates on various injuries to Avalanche players today, including the club’s projected starting netminder. Per Deen, Mackenzie Blackwood is out week-to-week dealing with an offseason injury, but is hopeful to be ready within the first week or two of the regular season. Veteran Samuel Girard is dealing with a lower-body injury and will miss time in the preseason, but is hopeful to be ready for opening night. And finally veteran winger Logan O’Connor is dealing with a hip ailment, and is on track to miss the start of the season with a recovery timeline that places his return more in the range of early November.

Hurricanes Acquire Mikko Rantanen And Taylor Hall In Three-Team Swap

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Blackhawks winger Taylor Hall was a late scratch from their game tonight against Tampa Bay.  His absence wasn’t injury or illness-related, however, as he was traded to Carolina.  He wasn’t the only one on the move, however, as the Hurricanes also picked up Mikko Rantanen as part of a three-team swap.  The full deal, which has now been announced by all three teams, is as follows:

To Carolina: Taylor Hall, Mikko Rantanen (Chicago retains 50% of his contract), Nils Juntorp
To Chicago: CHI 3rd-round pick in 2025 (via Carolina)
To Colorado: Martin Necas, Jack Drury, 2025 second-round pick, 2026 fourth-round pick

Hall was widely speculated as a trade candidate going back to the start of the season.  Now in the final year of his contract (one that carries a $6MM AAV), the veteran recently indicated that he’d be open to remaining with the Blackhawks but admitted that a trade was the likeliest outcome.  That departure came a bit sooner than expected with the trade deadline still six weeks away.

The 33-year-old is in his second season with Chicago after being acquired in a cap-clearing move from Boston back in 2023.  He was limited to just ten games in 2023-24 though due to a torn ACL but he has remained healthy so far this season.  However, production has been difficult to come by this year as he has just nine goals and 15 assists in 46 games and was even made a healthy scratch earlier in the season.

In his prime, Hall was a legitimate top-line winger and even won the Hart Trophy back in 2015-16 while with New Jersey.  He has been a 20-goal scorer seven times in his 15-year career, most recently coming in 2021-22 with Boston.  While he’s no longer playing at that type of level, he should still be able to give Carolina a boost in their middle six.  A potentially long playoff run could also help him rebuild some value heading into free agency this summer.

As for Rantanen, he’s also in the final year of his contract, a deal that carries a $9.25MM price tag, one that the Blackhawks will eat half of to help facilitate the swap, leaving them with just one remaining retention slot for this season.  While Rantanen’s camp and the Avs were involved in recent extension discussions, the two sides were still well apart as of last week and clearly, they weren’t able to bridge those to either side’s satisfaction, resulting in Colorado deciding to move him now instead of run the risk of having him walk for nothing in free agency.  It was believed that the Avalanche preferred to keep Rantanen’s price below Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM while Rantanen’s side was eyeing Leon Draisaitl’s $14MM AAV (starting next season) as a benchmark.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds (Twitter link) that there is no extension in place with Carolina at this time.

Rantanen has consistently been one of the NHL’s top scorers in recent years.  Only three players have more points than him since the start of the 2020-21 season, Connor McDavid, MacKinnon, and Draisaitl, certainly lofty company to be in.  The 28-year-old has recorded more than 100 points in each of the last two years and is well on his way toward extending that streak.  Rantanen has 25 goals and 39 assists in 49 games this season, good for sixth in NHL scoring.  He’ll undoubtedly be a big boost to a Carolina attack that’s already among the best in the league, checking in at fourth overall in goals scored.

Necas, like Hall, had been in a lot of trade speculation, especially over the summer.  At one point, it looked as if he’d be moved back at the draft amid reports that he had indicated that he’d welcome a change of scenery but that didn’t materialize.  Instead, the two sides ultimately settled on a two-year, $13MM deal in July, a deal that gave him a fair-sized raise but also didn’t give Carolina any extra team control.

Two years ago, Necas had a breakout year, posting 28 goals and 43 assists in 82 games.  Unfortunately for him and the Hurricanes, those numbers dropped last season to 24 and 29 respectively.  However, things have been much better for the 26-year-old this season, as he has 16 goals and 39 assists in 49 games; his 55 points lead the team in scoring.  But even with that, GM Eric Tulsky has decided that a significant shakeup to his forward group is required and these two moves certainly count as a significant shakeup.

Necas will likely slot in where Rantanen was on Colorado’s top line and a chance to play with MacKinnon could allow his individual production to flourish.  That would certainly be an ideal situation to be in considering he’ll become extension-eligible on July 1st when he’ll have some more leverage only being a year away from hitting the UFA market.

Drury’s first full NHL campaign came last season and it was a good one as he had eight goals and 19 assists in 74 games while winning over 55% of his faceoffs.  That helped earn him a two-year, $3.45MM contract over the summer.  However, production has been harder to come by for him this season as the 24-year-old has just three goals and six assists through 39 games although his faceoff win percentage is up to 58.8%.

Colorado’s bottom six group has been an area of some concern for a couple of years now with the team churning through numerous players with varying degrees of minimal success.  While Drury isn’t producing much more than many of those players, he’ll give the Avs some desired stability down the middle while his faceoff prowess will fit in well on a team that has a success rate at the dot of just 44.5%.  They also get some club control over Drury who isn’t UFA-eligible until 2028.

Juntorp was a sixth-round pick by Chicago in 2022 and is included in the swap as the Blackhawks had to send something out beyond Hall to make the three-team element of the deal work.  He has 20 points in 25 games with HC Dalen in the Hockey Ettan along with three appearances with Vasteras in the second-tier Allsvenskan.

In the end, Carolina has clearly signaled its intentions to go all-in this season and managed to upgrade its roster without touching any of its future assets.  They’ll dip into LTIR for the time being to afford the swap.  Colorado, meanwhile, ensures that they’ll get a top-line talent and some other pieces in exchange for Rantanen, giving them an extra year of club control along the way.  They also free up a bit of cap space in the process which they’ll likely put to use in the coming weeks.  As for Chicago, their return is certainly underwhelming as Hall is effectively given away in this deal while only receiving a third-round pick for eating half of Rantanen’s contract.  However, they were able to clear the full freight of Hall’s contract, giving them one more retention slot to utilize before the deadline.

Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic first reported the three-team element and Chicago’s acquisition of the third-round pick.  Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report Colorado’s involvement in the deal.  The Athletic’s Arthur Staple first reported that Necas was part of the swap.  ESPN’s Emily Kaplan was first with Drury’s inclusion and the two picks going to Colorado.

Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.

Hurricanes Activate Jack Drury From Injured Reserve

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The Hurricanes took center Jack Drury off injured reserve on Friday, according to the team. Carolina reassigned winger Juha Jaaska to AHL Chicago in a corresponding transaction. Their active roster count remains at 23.

Drury, 24, has been out since Dec. 10 after undergoing hand surgery as a result of a blocked shot in the first period of a game against the Sharks. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters one week later that his surgery would keep him out for at least four weeks. Instead, Drury returns to the active roster two and a half weeks after surgery and three and a half weeks past the initial injury.

The Hurricanes only placed Drury on injured reserve on Monday when they needed roster space to recall defenseman Riley Stillman in the wake of Shayne Gostisbehere’s upper-body injury. Since the placement was retroactive to the date of his initial injury and he’d already been out for more than seven days, Drury was eligible to come off IR at any time.

Drury skated in 28 games for Carolina before landing on IR, posting three goals and six assists for nine points with a +4 rating. He averaged 13:09 per game, a career-high aside from a two-game stint in 2021-22, and is on pace to win a career-best 56.4% of his draws.

Carolina will have Drury back in the lineup tomorrow when they host the Wild, presumably in a fourth-line role between Jackson Blake and Eric Robinson. He’s spent the vast majority of the season with at least one of that pair on his wings.

Meanwhile, Jaaska returns to the AHL after making his NHL debut in last night’s win over the Panthers. He logged 13 shifts for 8:21 of ice time, shifting to center and winning four out of five draws while recording three hits.

The Hurricanes signed Jaaska, 26, to a one-year entry-level contract worth $850K back in April after he spent the previous nine seasons with Finland’s HIFK. He has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 25 AHL games this season.

Hurricanes Recall Riley Stillman, Place Jack Drury On IR

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The Hurricanes announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Riley Stillman from AHL Chicago. The team had an open roster spot, but center Jack Drury was moved to injured reserve in a corresponding transaction.

Stillman, 26, has been sent between the NHL and AHL countless times this season. Used as a frequent healthy extra, he’s yet to see NHL ice in 2024-25 but has been rostered for seven games since returning from offseason lower-body surgery in mid-November. He was sent to the minors before the holiday break and wasn’t necessarily expected back after the Canes summoned Ty Smith over the weekend. However, after Shayne Gostisbehere missed Saturday’s win over the Devils with an upper-body injury, they were down to six healthy defensemen on the active roster.

Thus, Stillman comes back up to serve as a familiar extra option for the time being while the more offensively-inclined Smith suits up in Gostisbehere’s absence. Smith and Stillman had been in the same boat for most of the season, serving as a No. 7 but never getting into the lineup. That changed over the weekend when Gostisbehere’s injury marked the first time a regular Carolina defenseman has missed a game all season.

If the left-shot Stillman does get an NHL shot, it will be his first NHL appearance since April 2023 with the Sabres. While on assignment to the AHL this year, he has a goal and three assists with 11 PIMs and a -1 rating in nine appearances. In 158 career NHL games with the Panthers, Blackhawks, Canucks, and Sabres, he has four goals and 22 assists for 26 points with a -19 rating, 104 PIMs, and 318 hits while averaging 15:49 per game.

Drury’s IR placement doesn’t affect his timeline for a return from hand surgery that he underwent earlier this month. He’s not expected back until Jan. 15 against Buffalo at the earliest.

Hurricanes’ Jack Drury To Undergo Hand Surgery

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Dec. 17: Drury’s hand surgery went well and will keep him out for at least four weeks, Brind’Amour told Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer.

Dec. 12: The Hurricanes will be without depth center Jack Drury for a while yet. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters Thursday that Drury has “has a broken something in his thumb” and will undergo surgery (via Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal). The team hasn’t yet issued a timeline for his return.

Drury left Tuesday’s win over the Sharks in the first period after blocking a shot with his hand. Brind’Amour said postgame that things weren’t looking promising for the 24-year-old, although he still needed to undergo a couple of imaging tests. Center Tyson Jost was recalled from AHL Chicago yesterday in the wake of Drury’s injury and will be on hand for tomorrow’s game against the Senators. In all likelihood, Jost will make his first appearance since Nov. 23 unless Carolina opts to dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen and give Riley Stillman, who they summoned from the AHL this morning, his season debut.

A second-rounder back in 2018, Drury has slowly risen up the Hurricanes’ center depth chart over the past few years. This season, he was averaging a career-high 13:09 per game and was winning 56.4% of his draws, the highest among Carolina’s four regular centers. He had three goals and six assists for nine points through 28 games, on pace to roughly match the eight goals and 27 points he had in 74 games last year.

Now, after spending his seven games for the Canes last month suiting up on Drury’s wing, Jost will need to shift back to his natural center position for the foreseeable future. He had one goal while averaging 9:20 per game, not seeing any of Drury’s usual special teams usage.

The Hurricanes have carried as slim a roster as possible all season long, so Drury may not land on injured reserve in the coming days (or at all during his absence) unless other injuries strike and force Carolina to open up an additional roster spot. Assuming a usual recovery timeline for hand surgery, we likely won’t see Drury back in the lineup until late January.

East Notes: DeSimone, Wilson, Jost, Drury

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According to a team release, Devils defenseman Nick DeSimone was assigned to AHL Utica on Wednesday. Aside from a couple of paper transactions, the 30-year-old has been on New Jersey’s roster for the past month but has yet to play an NHL contest this season. He’s been a healthy scratch on 17 occasions, never ranking higher than seventh on the Devils’ defense depth chart despite early-season injuries to Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce.

DeSimone has, however, remained on the roster for a longer stretch as veteran insurance, while younger names like Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec have headed to Utica for additional development. With New Jersey back in action tomorrow against the Kings, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them reverse the transaction and reinstate DeSimone to the active roster. Demoting him today allows them to accrue a small amount of additional cap space and delay the expiry of his temporary waiver exemption after he last cleared in October.

The New York native appeared in a career-high 34 NHL contests split between the Devils and Flames last season, recording seven points and a +3 rating while averaging 13:29 per contest. He’s struggled in limited action with Utica this season, posting two assists and a -10 rating in nine appearances.

There’s more from the Eastern Conference:

  • Capitals mainstay Tom Wilson sustained a minor bone fracture in the sinus cavity area after taking a puck to the face in Saturday’s win over the Canadiens, he told Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. The injury only caused him to leave the game momentarily, and he scored two goals after returning. He doesn’t expect to miss any additional time due to the injury, he confirmed, although he’ll be wearing a full face shield for the next four weeks at the instruction of team doctors. Wilson, 30, is on pace for a career-high 33 goals and 67 points this season – the first of a seven-year, $45.5MM extension.
  • The Hurricanes announced today that they’ve recalled forward Tyson Jost from AHL Chicago. Jost’s inclusion on the roster indicates that center Jack Drury will miss at least Friday’s game against the Senators after leaving last night’s win over the Sharks in the first period with an upper-body injury after blocking a shot from San Jose winger Klim Kostin. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters postgame that he anticipated Drury would miss a significant chunk of time. However, he didn’t disclose further details on the injury (per Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News). Jost, 26, had one goal in seven games during a recall last month, averaging 9:20 per contest. He has four goals and five assists for nine points in 14 AHL appearances this season.

Snapshots: Mukhamadullin, Ehlers, Nyquist, Drury

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The Sharks have recalled defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin from AHL San Jose, reports Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link).  The 22-year-old was the 20th overall pick by New Jersey back in 2020 and was a key piece of the Timo Meier trade three years later.  Mukhamadullin missed all of training camp with a lower-body injury, eliminating any chance he had of making the team.  He was cleared to return at the end of October and has been with the Barracuda since then, collecting six assists in 14 games.  To make room for him on the roster, Jack Thompson has been returned to the AHL; the 22-year-old has done well in limited action so far, picking up five points in 14 games with the Sharks while averaging a little over 16 minutes a night.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers skated today for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury late last month, relays Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press (Twitter link). The 28-year-old was off to a strong start before the injury, recording nine goals and 16 assists in 24 games to land him in the top four in team scoring.  Although Ehlers was back on the ice today, there remains no firm timetable for his return.
  • Predators winger Gustav Nyquist was a late scratch for tonight’s game against Calgary with the team announcing (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with an illness. After a career year last season in his first year with Nashville that saw him record 23 goals and 52 assists in 81 games, the 35-year-old has struggled offensively this season.  Through his first 28 games, he has just six goals and four helpers despite logging nearly 18 minutes a night of playing time.
  • The Hurricanes announced (Twitter link) that center Jack Drury left tonight’s game against San Jose due to an upper-body injury and did not return. The 24-year-old is in his second full NHL season and after putting up 27 points in 74 games in 2023-24, he’s producing at a similar clip this year, picking up three goals and six assists in his first 27 outings.  Drury also has the highest faceoff rate of Carolina’s full-time middlemen, winning over 56% of his draws in the early going.

2024 Salary Arbitration Tracker

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It has been a quieter year on the salary arbitration front across the NHL.  After 23 players filed last summer, just 14 did this time around.  As expected, most have settled so far with a few hearings still pending.  Here’s a rundown of who has settled and who still needs to sign.

Updated 7/30/24, 1:07 p.m.

Contracts Settled

D Jake Christiansen (Blue Jackets) – one year, $775K (two-way agreement)
F Connor Dewar (Maple Leafs) – one year, $1.18MM
F Jack Drury (Hurricanes) – two years, $3.45MM
D Ty Emberson (Sharks) – one year, $950K
G Jet Greaves (Blue Jackets) – two years, $1.625MM (two-way in 2024-25, one-way in 2025-26)
F Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Sabres) – five years, $23.75MM
F Beck Malenstyn (Sabres) – two years, $2.7MM
D J.J. Moser (Lightning) – two years, $6.75MM
F Joe Veleno (Red Wings) – two years, $4.55MM
F Oliver Wahlstrom (Islanders) – one year, $1MM
F Kirill Marchenko (Blue Jackets) – three years, $11.55MM
F Martin Necas (Hurricanes) – two years, $13MM
D Ryan Lindgren (Rangers) – one year, $4.5MM

Contracts Awarded

D Spencer Stastney (Predators) – two years, $1.675MM (two-way in 2024-25, one-way in 2025-26)

Scheduled Hearings

none

A reminder of some of the arbitration rules for the upcoming potential hearings:

  • A player and team can settle on a deal at any point before the hearing starts.
  • Once the hearing has taken place, the arbitration decision must be issued by email within 48 hours.
  • Arbitration awards can only be one or two years in length. (Players who are in their final year of restricted free agency are only entitled to a one-year agreement from an arbitrator.)
  • The team decides on the awarded term as these were all player-elected filings.
  • The team can walk away from the arbitration decision if a contract with an average annual value of more than $4.74MM is awarded.

Worth noting is that teams who have someone file for arbitration will receive a second buyout window three days after their final contract is settled or awarded.  The window lasts for 48 hours and the only eligible players to be bought out in this timeframe are those who have an AAV of $4MM or more and were on that team’s reserve list at the trade deadline back in March.

Carolina Hurricanes Sign Jack Drury To Two-Year Contract

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The Carolina Hurricanes and forward Jack Drury have agreed to a two-year, $3.45MM contract. The deal, first announced by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, will pay Drury a salary of $1.775MM in 2024-25, and a salary of $1.675MM in 2025-26 with an AAV of $1.725MM.

In a follow-up report, PuckPedia shares that upon expiration of this contract for Drury, he will be RFA-eligible with arbitration rights and will be one year away from unrestricted free agency. The Hurricanes will only be on the hook for a $1.675MM qualifying offer to Drury due to the lower salary in the second year of the contract.

It is a reasonable price for Carolina and Drury as the latter projects to be a middle-six option with the organization next year. It took a few years for the Harvard University alum to make it to the NHL after being selected with the 42nd overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, but Drury has become a solid contributor.

This past season marked his first full NHL campaign with the young center scoring eight goals and 27 points in 74 games. Drury primarily played on a line with Martin Necas during the regular season with Michael Bunting or Stefan Noesen flanking him as the other wing. He deserves a lot of the credit for the possession metrics produced by his line as Drury achieved a 55.3% success rate in the faceoff dot with 63.6% of his starts coming in the offensive zone.

After averaging 11:51 of ice time per night with the Hurricanes over the past three years, the team could get aggressive with his deployment in the 2024-25 season. The team may end up keeping Necas after a summer full of trade rumors, and Drury could continue playing next to him on the team’s second line. Carolina could then use newcomer Jack Roslovic as the second-line left wing while moving Jesperi Kotkaniemi back to center on the team’s fourth line.

14 Players Elect For Salary Arbitration

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Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and originally produced by the National Hockey Leaguer Players’ Association, 14 players have elected for salary arbitration this summer. The deadline for team-elected arbitration is tomorrow. Friedman also notes the arbitration hearings will happen between July 20th and August 4th. To add context, not every one of these players will appear for a hearing with their respective teams as they may continue to negotiate on a new contract. However, each player who elects for salary arbitration is now prohibited from negotiating with other teams or signing an offer sheet. Here is a list of the players that have elected for arbitration:

F Beck Malenstyn (Buffalo Sabres)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
F Martin Necas (Carolina Hurricanes)
F Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes)
D Jake Christiansen (Columbus Blue Jackets)
G Jet Greaves (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Kirill Marchenko (Columbus Blue Jackets)
F Joe Veleno (Detroit Red Wings)
D Spencer Stastney (Nashville Predators)
F Oliver Wahlstrom (New York Islanders)
D Ryan Lindgren (New York Rangers)
D Ty Emberson (San Jose Sharks)
D J.J. Moser (Tampa Bay Lightning)
F Connor Dewar (Toronto Maple Leafs)

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