- Shortly after securing an important victory against the Dallas Stars, the Colorado Avalanche announced they’ve reassigned forward Jere Innala to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. It is unclear whether Innala will participate in Colorado’s game against the Minnesota Wild on Monday, or if Valeri Nichushkin will take his spot on the roster. Innala provided two hits while tallying zero points in 7:42 of today’s game against the Stars.
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Avalanche Rumors
Despite Struggles, Avs Might Be Better Off Not Trying To Upgrade On Mittelstadt
Casey Mittelstadt’s first full season with the Avalanche hasn’t gone as well as anyone would have hoped. Acquired at the trade deadline last year for Bowen Byram in a move that was intended to stabilize their center depth, the 26-year-old has instead had some struggles, notching just eight goals and 18 assists through 46 games despite logging nearly 18 minutes a night. That has led some to wonder if the Avs might need to make a move to upgrade that spot again. However, Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette argues that selling low on Mittelstadt probably isn’t the right move. For starters, there aren’t many prominent middlemen expected to be made available in the coming weeks while Colorado isn’t exactly loaded with trade chips and they’d have to use some to upgrade on Mittelstadt. Those chips might be better served being used to fill other needs so the most prudent course of action for the Avalanche may be to hope that Mittelstadt can work his way out of his first-half struggles.
Avalanche Recall Ivan Ivan
Ivan Ivan was one of the early-season surprises for the Avalanche, going from an undrafted free agent signing to someone who played a regular role early on before recently being sent down. However, his time in the minors is over for now as the team announced (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Colorado.
The 22-year-old spent last season on a minor-league deal with the Eagles, notching 12 goals and 19 assists in 62 games, a more than respectable showing as a rookie. That was enough for the Avs to ink Ivan to a two-year entry-level deal last March, giving them the chance to use him with the big club.
That opportunity came sooner than many expected as a strong preseason showing helped him break camp with the Avalanche. Ivan has played in 37 games with them so far this season, recording five goals and three assists while averaging 10:24 per night but hasn’t had a point since late November. He suffered an upper-body injury in late December and the Avalanche recently sent Ivan down to the Eagles to get a bit of playing time upon recovery. He got into two games with the Eagles, picking up a goal and an assist.
With Ivan’s return, Colorado is now at the maximum of 23 players on its active roster.
Bednar: Nichushkin Close To Returning
The Avalanche could have a key winger back in the near future as head coach Jared Bednar told reporters including Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette (Twitter link) that Valeri Nichushkin is getting close to returning. He has been out since suffering a lower-body injury at the end of December. He also missed the first month of the campaign while being in the Player Assistance Program but when he has been in the lineup, Nichushkin has been quite productive. He has 11 goals and six assists through 21 games so far this season, good for eighth in team scoring despite missing more than half of their games.
Avalanche And Mikko Rantanen Not Making Progress In Extension Discussions
Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen has been one of the top-scoring players in the NHL over the past several seasons. His contract is set to expire this summer, making him arguably the top pending UFA in the league. Colorado has been trying to re-sign him but to this point, obviously no deal has been reached yet.
It doesn’t seem like the two sides are particularly close either. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported in a recent segment on Amazon Prime (Twitter link) that the two sides are believed to effectively be at a stalemate in their discussions.
Seravalli reports that the Avs are hoping to keep Rantanen’s price tag below the $12.6MM that Nathan MacKinnon makes. However, Rantanen’s camp is more interested in taking aim at Leon Draisaitl’s record-breaking contract, one that begins next season and carries a $14MM cap charge. Suffice it to say, that’s a pretty significant cap to try to bridge.
The 28-year-old had a very strong first half of the season, picking up 25 goals and 37 assists in his first 46 games though a league-high 13 empty-net points help inflate those totals a bit. Nonetheless, Rantanen finds himself on pace to surpass the 100-point mark for the third straight year while surpassing his career high of 105, putting himself in a great position heading into his first time potentially testing the market.
Since the 2020-21 season, only three players have recorded more points than the 429 that Rantanen has put up in a 335-game span. Two of them have already been mentioned here as the benchmarks that both sides are working with while the other is Edmonton’s Connor McDavid. All things considered, that’s quite the company to be in. Being in that tier of scorers means that Rantanen should get offers around the price point he’s believed to be seeking if he hits the open market, especially if the Upper Limit of the salary cap goes up by more than the current maximum of 5% as some expect.
Even with a higher-than-expected cap, affording a deal of that magnitude for Rantanen could be difficult for Colorado. Per PuckPedia, they have just over $79MM on the books for next season with 16 players on their current roster under contract. Even if they are able to get him in just below MacKinnon at, say, $12.5MM per year, they’d be over $91MM with several players still needing to be signed to get to the minimum-sized roster. If Gabriel Landeskog remains unable to play, they’d have more wiggle room with him on LTIR but Landeskog is still trying to get back to game action this season so at this point, management can’t count on that potential flexibility being available to them.
This could be a scenario where deferred money could help solve the issue on both sides. As we’ve seen multiple times this season, players who take deferred money carry a lower cap charge. Accordingly, it’s possible for Rantanen’s camp to get around $14MM per season on average but include enough deferred money to keep the cap hit below MacKinnon’s. Of course, Rantanen would have to agree to such an arrangement and considering he’s set to be the top player on the open market, he’ll undoubtedly receive offers that won’t have deferrals in there.
It doesn’t appear as if talks will be picking up right away either. Instead, Seravalli, who noted that the team has no interest in moving him should an agreement not be reached, relays that discussions are likely to resume during the break in mid-February. We’ll see if the next few weeks enable the two sides to bridge the gap or if the stalemate will last beyond that.
Photo courtesy of Imagn Images.
Casey Mittelstadt Demoted From Second Line
Nick Barden of The Hockey News is reporting that free agent defenseman John Klingberg is close to deciding on which team he will sign with for the remainder of the season. Klingberg hasn’t played an NHL game since November 2023 and is attempting to come back after having hip resurfacing surgery. He is hoping to latch on with a contender for the rest of this season. His decision is expected in the next 2-3 days, and Klingberg’s former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, are reportedly still in the mix to sign the 32-year-old, as are a few other teams.
It was just a few years ago that Klingberg was considered a top-pairing offensive defenseman, however, those days are over, but if he is healthy Klingberg could certainly give a boost to a playoff team without costing an asset other than cap space. Through 633 NHL games, Klingberg has racked up 81 goals and 331 assists while playing with four different teams.
In other morning notes:
- The Seattle Kraken announced last night that forward Brandon Tanev would miss their game with an apparent illness. Tye Kartye took Tanev’s spot in the lineup Thursday against Winnipeg and played just 7:12. The 33-year-old Tanev last dressed on Tuesday against Pittsburgh and played 13:14 in that game. The Kraken are back in action tomorrow night against Los Angeles and it seems likely they will have an update on Tanev before the puck drop. The Toronto, Ontario native has eight goals and seven assists in 44 games this season.
- Colorado Avalanche forward Casey Mittelstadt has gone through a miserable slump this season and has now found himself demoted from the second-line center role and could find himself on the trade block soon (as per Avalanche reporter Adrian Deter). Mikko Rantanen took his spot in last night’s game against Edmonton, with Mittelstadt skating just 14:54 and playing on the third line. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has reportedly become unhappy with Mittelstadt’s play, after the 26-year-old looked like a true second-line center to start the season, posting 13 points in his first ten games. However, since that hot start, Mittelstadt has just 13 points in his last 36 games.
Avalanche To Reassign John Ludvig
Jan. 16: Ludvig has cleared waivers and will be on his way to the AHL, Seravalli reports.
Jan. 15: The Avalanche placed defenseman John Ludvig on waivers Wednesday to assign him to AHL Colorado, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports.
Ludvig, 24, has made just eight appearances for the Avs since they claimed him off waivers from the Penguins at the end of training camp. He recently spent two weeks in the minors on a conditioning stint that didn’t require waivers, and Colorado’s decided he didn’t show enough to keep a spot on the NHL roster.
His last NHL appearance came on Dec. 5 against the Hurricanes, ending a three-game stretch where he was in the lineup each game but posted a minus-four rating. The 6’1″, 214-lb lefty had one assist and a minus-three rating in five AHL appearances over the past few weeks, and he now appears destined for more time there.
A third-round pick by the Panthers in 2019, Ludvig got his first crack at NHL minutes when Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. He missed time due to concussions but managed 33 appearances, posting five points and a -12 rating, averaging 11:48 per game.
Ludvig has provided little upside thus far in his professional career outside of being a physical bottom-pairing piece, not enough to stick around on the Avs. He managed two points and a minus-four rating in his eight total appearances for the club.
Assuming he clears waivers, the Avalanche will hold onto Ludvig for the rest of the season. He’s in the back half of a two-year, two-way deal and will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights in July, although he risks being non-tendered.
Drouin's Injury Continues To Linger
- Avalanche winger Jonathan Drouin has battled injury issues this season and it appears that the injury is something he’s going to be battling for a while yet. He told reporters including Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette that this is something that’s likely to linger for the next little while and is hoping that the long break for the 4 Nations Face-Off will allow the injury – Rawal indicates that it’s a rib issue – to properly heal. When healthy, Drouin has fared quite well with 10 points in 12 games but it’s fair to say that this hasn’t been the best first half in what is another contract year for him.
Colorado Avalanche Listed As Suitor For John Klingberg
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, a few more teams have entered the growing market for defenseman John Klingberg. Dreger mentions that the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have inquired about Klingberg’s market, but he believes the Edmonton Oilers remain the favorites to sign him.
If Klingberg eventually signs with the Avalanche or Stars it’ll likely be with the latter. Dallas is weak on the right-hand side of their defensive core and while it’s difficult to call Klingberg an upgrade on their options given his lengthy absence, he has a positive history with the Stars. In his eight years in Dallas from 2015 to 2022, Klingberg scored 71 goals and 303 assists in 552 games and was an effective powerplay quarterback for many of those years.
Colorado could use some help on the right side with Josh Manson dealing with a recurring injury but Klingberg doesn’t project as the right option for the Avalanche. The team already gets plenty of offense from their top defensive pairing and Klingberg was never a solid shutdown threat even during his prime years with the Stars. The Avalanche will surely inquire about nearly any defenseman making close to or at the league minimum salary but it would be surprising to see them ultimately sign Klingberg.
Avalanche Activate Ivan Ivan, Assign Him To AHL
The Colorado Avalanche announced that they’ve activated forward Ivan Ivan off the injured reserve and are assigning him to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The 22-year-old was a nice story for the Avalanche earlier in the season, making it to the NHL in his second professional season and filling in as a replacement while Colorado was dealing with significant injuries.
Ivan was undrafted out of the QMJHL after spending three seasons with the Cape Breton Eagles and was able to turn a productive final season into an AHL contract with Colorado back in August 2023. He spent his first professional season with the Eagles, posting 12 goals and 19 assists in 67 games.
The Avalanche saw enough of the Ostrava, Czech Republic native to reward him with a two-year ELC last March, and it didn’t take long for him to see NHL action. He made his NHL debut on October 9th against the Vegas Golden Knights and picked up his first NHL point a few days later with an assist against Columbus. Overall, Ivan dressed in 37 games, picking up five goals and three assists.
Ivan could return to the NHL at some point this season if the Avalanche run into further injury issues, however, at this point in the season Colorado has been getting healthier, although they do still have some concerns with several injured forwards.