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Miles Wood

Avalanche Place Miles Wood On IR, Valeri Nichushkin Cleared To Practice

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The Avalanche announced today that they’ve summoned forwards Ivan Ivan, Nikolai Kovalenko and Nikita Prishchepov back up from AHL Colorado after papering them down yesterday. They only had two open spots on the active roster after activating Artturi Lehkonen from injured reserve, so winger Miles Wood was placed on IR retroactive to Oct. 28 in a corresponding transaction to open the extra spot. Additionally, the team confirmed that Valeri Nichushkin has been cleared to practice with the team as he enters the final few days of his participation in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and corresponding suspension.

Wood would be eligible to come off IR as soon as tomorrow’s game against the Kraken, but that won’t happen. Head coach Jared Bednar said on Oct. 30 that Wood was set to miss around seven to 10 days with the upper-body injury that’s kept him out of Colorado’s last two contests. That pushes his return to the lineup to Thursday against the Jets or the Hurricanes next weekend.

The 29-year-old’s absence adds to a laundry list of injuries at forward for the Avalanche, although they’ll certainly take a swap of him for Lehkonen coming off IR. The checking winger hadn’t been much of a factor for the Avs yet this season, limited to one goal on 19 shots and no assists through 10 games. He had averaged 13:40 per game, one second lower than last season, despite Colorado being without Lehkonen, Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog throughout the entire campaign to date.

With Lehkonen back and the aforementioned trio recalled, the Avs may be able to dress 12 forwards tomorrow for the first time since Wood’s injury. Defenseman Oliver Kylington had suited up on the wing in back-to-back games with Wood out and no roster flexibility for an additional recall from the AHL.

Ivan and Kovalenko each have four points through 12 games this season, both their first regular-season contests in the NHL. Ivan had no previous major-league experience, while Kovalenko suited up twice for the Avs in last year’s playoffs. Meanwhile, all signs point to Prishchepov playing his second NHL game tomorrow. The 20-year-old was selected 217th overall just a few months ago in the 2024 draft and logged 13:30 in his debut against the Predators on Saturday, registering two shots and three hits.

For Nichushkin, his being cleared to practice indicates that he’s fulfilled all the requirements of his Stage 3 placement so far. His corresponding six-month suspension was handed out on May 13, 2024, while the Avalanche were amid their Second Round series against the Stars. He’s eligible to return to the lineup on Nov. 13 against the Kings, and with a nine-day run-up to practice, it’s looking likelier than not that he’ll play.

While a separate stint in the Player Assistance Program limited Nichushkin to 54 games last season, he’s coming off the best campaign of his nine-year NHL career. The 6’4″, 210-lb Russian winger notched 28 goals and 53 points for a career-high 0.98 points per game, also averaging a career-high 21:21 per night. Despite the extended absence, he also led the club with 16 power-play goals.

Nichushkin has six years remaining on the eight-year, $49MM extension he signed in 2022 to keep him off the open market. Many speculated the Avs would try and move that contract given Nichushkin’s struggles to stay in the lineup since the deal began (he’s only played in 107 of 164 possible regular-season games). But given their bevy of injuries and correspondingly underwhelming 5-7-0 record, it makes little sense to part ways with a player who’s been an invaluable part of their top six when healthy.

Central Notes: Wood, Heinola, Anderson-Dolan, Lipkin

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Even after recalling T.J. Tynan from AHL Colorado earlier today, the Avalanche won’t have a full complement of healthy forwards for tonight’s game against the Lightning. That’s because winger Miles Wood has been ruled out with the undisclosed injury he’s been playing through for the past few days, head coach Jared Bednar said on Altitude Sports Radio this morning (via Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet).

With Wood out but not headed for injured reserve, the Avalanche don’t have a roster spot for another recall. They’ll dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight, but not in the traditional sense. Instead of rotating in on different defense pairs, Oliver Kylington will pinch-hit as a winger in his first appearance since Oct. 16. He’ll skate on the fourth line with Matthew Stienburg and Chris Wagner while Tynan makes his season debut as a third-line left wing with Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta, Daily Faceoff projects. Meanwhile, rookie Nikolai Kovalenko slides up to play top-line duties alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen in relief of the injured Ross Colton, who himself had been playing top-six minutes in place of the injured Jonathan Drouin.

Wood’s injury means Colorado will be without a remarkable six regular forwards for tonight’s matchup, joining Colton, Drouin, Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, and Valeri Nichushkin as unavailable impact pieces for the Avs. With that kind of poor injury luck and a nightmare start to the season for starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, it’s remarkable Colorado has been able to tread water with a 5-5-0 record. The 29-year-old Wood had one goal, a -2 rating, 19 shots, and eight hits in 10 appearances to start the season for the Avs.

More from the Central Division:

  • The Jets relayed good news on a pair of injured skaters today. Head coach Scott Arniel told Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press that defenseman Ville Heinola has returned to skating on his own the past few days at home while the team is on a road trip, as has forward Jaret Anderson-Dolan. Heinola, 23, hasn’t played since the beginning of training camp due to an infection in his ankle that he had surgically repaired last season. The 2019 first-round pick was expected to build on his 11 points in 35 career NHL games this season after the Jets lost a few pieces on the blue line but has remained on IR. Anderson-Dolan, meanwhile, has been out since the beginning of the month after blocking a shot in a preseason game against the Flames. The 25-year-old had four points in 31 games last season, split between the Kings and Predators.
  • Utah left-wing prospect Sam Lipkin suited up for AHL Tucson last night, indicating he’s been quietly activated off season-opening injured reserve and assigned to the minors. Lipkin, 21, had missed the first few weeks of the campaign with an undisclosed injury. The 2021 seventh-round pick of the Coyotes turned pro after a standout pair of collegiate seasons with Quinnipiac, where he had 78 points in 78 games and won a national championship in 2023.

Evening Notes: Martin, Colton, Wood, Rust

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Matt Martin’s recently signed one-year deal with the New York Islanders will pay him a prorated salary of $775K for the season (as per PuckPedia). Martin’s deal is a one-way contract with an AAV of $875K, meaning he will make $775K in the AHL or NHL. The contract also includes a $100K bonus if the 35-year-old plays ten games in the NHL this season.

The bonus in the contract is a bit peculiar given that the Islanders were likely the only suitor for Martin’s services after he lingered unsigned in free agency for over three months. However, the $100K bonus won’t impact New York much as they can roll any overage into next season when they will have over $20MM in cap space.

In other evening notes:

  • Colorado Avalanche forwards Miles Wood and Ross Colton are expected to play tonight when the Avalanche take on the Ottawa Senators (as per Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports). Both players missed team practice yesterday after they were banged up in Thursday night’s game against Utah. Colorado head coach Jared Bednar told the media yesterday that the team was trying to allow the players to recover so that they wouldn’t miss any game time. It would appear the tactic worked, which is good news for a team that has lost a pile of man games this season.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust left last night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks with a lower-body injury (as per Ryan Gagne of The Hockey News). The 32-year-old was run into the boards by Canucks forward Nils Hoglander, who had some choice words for him as he left the ice. The Penguins were quick to rule the veteran out for the remainder of the game which isn’t a great sign for the struggling club moving forward. Pittsburgh has yet to provide an update and returned to Pittsburgh today after a disastrous road trip through Western Canada that saw the Penguins go 0-3-1. Pittsburgh plays at home on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild.

List Of Players Getting Trade Protection On July 1st

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In the current Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NHL and NHLPA, the league players can procure three types of No-Move Clauses in their contracts. The only stipulations to these clauses are that the player in question must be 27 years of age or older and must have accrued seven years of service time at the NHL level. The three types of No-Move Clauses are as follows: No Movement Clause (NMC), No Trade Clause (NTC), and Modified NMC or NTC.

Per the current CBA, an NMC means that a player cannot be waived, assigned to minors, or traded without their consent, and they also must be protected in the event of an Expansion Draft. An NTC is straightforward — giving the player protection from being traded without their approval. Lastly, a modified NMC or NTC sets an arbitrary number of teams and a time frame when a player can use this protection. In just over a week, an assortment of players will receive trade protection on their current contracts, and CapFriendly has broken it down.

 

No Movement Clauses
D Charlie McAvoy (Boston)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina)
D Devon Toews (Colorado)
F Roope Hintz (Dallas)
D Gustav Forsling (Florida)
F Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota)
F Jesper Bratt (New Jersey)
F Timo Meier (New Jersey)
G Ilya Sorokin (NY Islanders)
F Pierre-Luc Dubois (Washington)

No Trade Clauses
F Ross Colton (Colorado)
D Nick Seeler (Philadelphia)
D Vince Dunn (Seattle)
F Clayton Keller (Utah)
D Erik Cernak (Tampa Bay)
D Mikhail Sergachev (Tampa Bay)

Modified No Trade Clauses
F Jordan Greenway (Buffalo) – eight-team no-trade list
F Tage Thompson (Buffal0) – five-team no-trade list
D Rasmus Andersson (Calgary) – six-team no-trade list
D Samuel Girard (Colorado) – nine-team no-trade list
F Miles Wood (Colorado) – six-team no-trade list
F Alex DeBrincat (Detroit) – 16-team no-trade list
F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles) – 10-team no-trade list
F Nico Hischier (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
D John Marino (New Jersey) – eight-team no-trade list
D Jonas Siegenthaler (New Jersey) – 10-team no-trade list
F Mathew Barzal (NY Islanders) – 22-team no-trade list
D Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) – 10-team no-trade list
F Tanner Jeannot (Tampa Bay) – 16-team no-trade list
F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg) – 10-team no-trade list

Snapshots: Hronek, Hurricanes, Wood

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The Canucks have one of the better defensemen on expiring deals this summer in top-pairing threat Filip Hronek. He’s broken out alongside Quinn Hughes in his first full season in Vancouver and is under team control this summer as an RFA with arbitration rights. Speaking on the Sekeres and Price podcast today, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli thinks that Hronek is in a position to land an AAV in the $8MM range this summer after Vegas blue-liner Noah Hanifin signed a max-term extension with a $7.35MM cap hit last week. With the far superior Hughes locked in at $7.85MM through 2027, however, it’s nearly unfathomable that Canucks GM Patrik Allvin would dole out that kind of cash. If the 26-year-old’s camp holds firm in that ask, a one-year deal awarded via arbitration to walk him to unrestricted free agency in 2025 could be the outcome if Vancouver doesn’t trade his signing rights.

Other tidbits from around the league this afternoon:

  • A flurry of lineup changes are taking place for the Hurricanes in today’s match against the Blackhawks, the team’s Walt Ruff relays. Captain Jordan Staal and defensemen Jalen Chatfield and Brett Pesce will return after missing Friday’s win over the Blues with undisclosed injuries. Brady Skjei will exit the lineup for load management down the stretch, while winger Teuvo Teräväinen remains out for a second straight game with an undisclosed injury. It’s the second-to-last game on Carolina’s schedule, and a regulation loss today locks them into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
  • The Avalanche have the services of depth winger Miles Wood back in the lineup against the Golden Knights today, per the game’s roster report. The 28-year-old had missed three games with a lower-body injury. Wood, who signed a six-year, $15MM contract to join the Avs last offseason, returns in a third-line role with Ross Colton and trade-deadline pickup Brandon Duhaime. He has nine goals and 24 points in 72 games on the year.

Central Notes: Rantanen, Wood, Krug, Niederreiter, Levis

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It appears as if the Avalanche will get their top winger back in the lineup for a key divisional matchup on Saturday against Winnipeg.  NHL.com’s Ryan Boulding relays (Twitter link) that Mikko Rantanen is listed as probable for that contest after missing the last week while being in concussion protocol.  The 27-year-old is within striking distance of setting a new career-high in points as he has 102 through 77 games so far; he had 105 in 2022-23.

Meanwhile, Boulding added that winger Miles Wood is listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s contest.  The 28-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury that has kept him out for the last week.  In his first season with Colorado after inking a six-year, $15MM contract in free agency, Wood has nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games while averaging a little under 14 minutes a night.

More from the Central:

  • Blues defenseman Torey Krug left Wednesday’s game versus Chicago with an undisclosed injury and it caused him to miss tonight’s game against Carolina at a minimum.  Per NHL.com’s Lou Korac (Twitter link), he’s listed as out day-to-day and the team will assess on Saturday if he’ll be available to suit up on Sunday.  The 33-year-old has put up 39 points through 77 games and with St. Louis still battling for the final playoff spot, they’d certainly like to have the veteran back as soon as possible.
  • Jets winger Nino Niederreiter will miss his fifth straight game on Saturday as he works his way back from a cut, notes team reporter Mitchell Clinton. The 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer in his first full season with Winnipeg, collecting 18 goals and 15 assists through 75 games.  Head coach Rick Bowness indicated that they’re just being cautious with Niederreiter and that they’re planning on him suiting up on Tuesday.
  • Still with the Jets, their AHL affiliate announced that they’ve signed Connor Levis to an ATO deal. The 19-year-old center was a seventh-round pick last year (210th overall).  Levis split this season between WHL Kamloops and Vancouver, tallying 21 goals and 34 assists in 55 games while adding three assists in five playoff contests.  With the Giants now eliminated, Levis is now free to finish the season in the minors.

Evening Notes: Sergachev, Pitlick, Wood, Rantanen

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Tampa Bay Lightning reporter Chris Krenn tweeted that Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev skated today in a non-contact jersey but added that head coach Jon Cooper cautioned people to not expect him to return for the first round of the playoffs. Cooper said that if the Lightning were to make it deep in the playoffs, he could return to the lineup, but he was happy to have him skating with the group.

The 25-year-old has played just once since December 19th and has been out of the lineup since fracturing his tibia and fibula back on February 7th in his first game back after suffering a foot injury that kept him out of the lineup for nearly two months.

In 34 games this season, Sergachev has recorded two goals and 17 assists but is a -16.

In other evening notes:

  • Ben Pope of The Chicago Sun-Times tweeted that the conditional 2026 seventh-round pick that the Chicago Blackhawks sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for depth forward Rem Pitlick carried the condition of Pitlick playing 30 NHL games and will not be sent to the Penguins. Pitlick has only dressed in nine games for Chicago, meaning the Blackhawks will keep their pick for the 2026 draft. The Penguins were likely okay with losing Pitlick for nothing as he was collecting a $1.1MM salary while playing for their AHL affiliate.
  • Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that the Colorado Avalanche will be without forwards Miles Wood and Mikko Rantanen for tomorrow night’s game against Minnesota. Wood will miss his second consecutive game with a lower-body injury and is mired in a 23-game goalless drought. In his first season with Colorado the 28-year-old has nine goals and 15 assists in 72 games. Rantanen on the other hand may skate with the team in the morning but will not play. He is reportedly feeling better after being in concussion protocol and missing last night’s game as well. Rantanen has topped 100 points for the second consecutive season as he has 40 goals and 62 assists in 77 games this season.

Avalanche Notes: Rantanen, Wood, Kovalenko

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Star Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen has avoided the worst after leaving Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Oilers. He’s entered concussion protocol after taking back-to-back heavy hits from Edmonton blue-liner Mattias Ekholm and is listed as day-to-day, head coach Jared Bednar told reporters (via Meghan Angley of DNVR Sports). Colorado will still be without the Finnish forward in a crucial match against the Stars tonight that will have a major impact on the race for the Central Division title, but it doesn’t appear his absence will stretch into the postseason. Bednar said Rantanen did off-ice workouts yesterday and skated on his own prior to today’s practice. It’s been another banner season for Rantanen, eclipsing the 100-point mark for the second season in a row and leading all forwards in time on ice (23:04/GP). His 62 even-strength points are tied with Oilers center Leon Draisaitl for eighth in the league, and his 62 overall assists are tied for fifth with Draisaitl and Canucks center J.T. Miller.

Other injury notes out of Denver:

  • Middle-six winger Miles Wood is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Bednar said (via Angley). He didn’t take the final two shifts of the game against Edmonton with linemates Ross Colton and Zach Parise, although it’s unclear on what play he sustained the injury. He’s provided decent checking-line play in his first season in Colorado, in line with what the Avs expected when they inked him to a controversially lengthy six-year, $15MM deal over the offseason. The 28-year-old has nine goals and 24 points in 72 games, slightly south of his career point-per-game average, but has posted some of the better possession metrics of his career with a +1.7 expected rating and 50.6 CF% at even strength, the latter tying last season’s career-high with the Devils. Former Star Joel Kiviranta will enter the lineup in his place tonight against Dallas.
  • Forward prospect Nikolai Kovalenko still isn’t close to making his Avs debut, per Bednar (via Ryan Boulding of NHL.com). Colorado brought the 24-year-old winger over from the KHL’s Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod after their brief playoff run ended in March, but he’s yet to play for either the Avs or AHL Colorado after playing through an undisclosed injury at the end of the campaign. He’s been skating sparingly and working with the club’s coaching staff in the meantime, but time is running out for the 2018 sixth-round pick to make his NHL debut before the end of the regular season. The son of longtime NHL winger Andrei Kovalenko exploded after a move to Torpedo in 2022, serving as an alternate captain since the transfer and posting 89 points in 98 games. Colorado signed him to an ELC last summer but loaned him back to the KHL for 2023-24.

Avalanche Notes: Manson, Wood, Lehkonen

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Ryan Boulding of NHL.com is reporting that Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson will not dress tonight when the Avalanche take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Manson suffered an undisclosed injury at Avalanche practice on Monday and did not play against the Boston Bruins on Monday night. The 32-year-old has five goals and seven assists in 37 games this season, his second full year with Colorado.

Manson joins an ever-growing list of Avalanche players who are out of the lineup, although it is not known how long he will continue to miss games. Very little is known about Manson’s injury at the moment, and it is expected that there will be an update on his status in the coming days.

In other Avalanche notes:

  • Ryan Boulding is also reporting that Avalanche forward Miles Wood will not play tonight as he is dealing with an illness. Like Manson, Wood also missed Monday night’s game against Boston and tested positive for influenza according to Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now. Wood is in his first season with the Avalanche after signing a six-year contract on July 1st. The 28-year-old has scored at a comparable rate to his career average this season with six goals and six assists in 39 games. He has been much more responsible with and without the puck this year with Colorado as Wood has reduced his turnover rate dramatically, while also increasing his takeaway numbers.
  • Evan Rawal of Colorado Hockey Now is reporting that Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar would love to see forward Artturi Lehkonen play on their upcoming road trip, but it is not a guarantee. Lehkonen will reportedly join the team when they begin their road trip on Friday starting in Toronto and could play for the first time since November 9th. Lehkonen was sidelined with a neck injury after a scary fall into the boards and was originally given a 10–12-week recovery timeline that he is eight weeks into. When he can return the 28-year-old will provide a big boost to Colorado’s top-6 particularly if he can get back to his level of play from last season. This year Lehkonen has three goals and five assists in 12 games.

Miles Wood To Sign With Colorado Avalanche

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UFA winger Miles Wood is heading to the Colorado Avalanche, and per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, it’s a six-year deal earning him $2.5MM per season.

It’s a larger commitment than most would’ve expected for Wood – especially for a player who saw his advanced and counting stats dip the season after a major injury. But Colorado is in desperate need of bottom six pieces, and Wood brings an attractive snarl to a team lacking much identity outside of its top two lines.

Wood notched 27 points in 76 games in 2022-23, a slight decrease from his normal pace, but he also saw a decrease in role thanks to some fortified depth on the Devils’ part. He should creep back up into a top-nine spot with Colorado, potentially revitalizing some of his point production.

Defensively, it really wasn’t pretty for Wood last season, a change from past years. He essentially canceled out the excellent shutdown play of linemate Nathan Bastian, bringing the Devils’ fourth line of Bastian, Wood, and Michael McLeod to a net even in terms of chances generated and chances against.

Colorado hopes some additional recovery time from the hip injury that kept him out for nearly all of 2021-22, plus a change in scenery can reboot his all-around game. Still, six years is a risky gamble in this situation.

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