Headlines

  • Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers
  • Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers
  • Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93
  • Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal
  • Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal
  • Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mikko Rantanen

Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche

January 26, 2019 at 5:13 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 3 Comments

With the trade deadline fast approaching, we will be taking a closer look at the situation for each team over the coming weeks.  Where do they stand, what do they need to do, and what assets do they have to fill those needs? Next up is a look at the Colorado Avalanche.

The Colorado looked to be clearly the third best team in the Central Division until recently, but the team has struggled in December and even more so in January with a record of 7-14-3. However, despite that, the team has 52 points, tied with Dallas and is right in the mix for a playoff spot. However, despite their top line and team’s surrounding success over the past couple of seasons, the team is continuing build their team and remains a young squad. The team has the Ottawa Senators’ first-round pick in 2019 which could provide them with a superstar prospect and general manager Joe Sakic has made it clear the team isn’t going to trade away future assets to add temporary help for this team.

Record

22-20-8, fifth in the Central Division

Deadline Status

Moderate Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$58.142MM in a full-season cap hit, 0/3 used salary cap retention slots, 47/50 contracts per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2019: OTT 1st, COL 1st, COL 2nd, OTT 3rd, COL 3rd, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th
2020: COL 1st, COL 2nd, COL 3rd, COL 4th, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th

Trade Chips

It’s actually hard picturing the Avalanche selling anything from their team as well, but they do have some assets they could move in the right deal. While the team might never consider to move Ottawa’s No. 1 pick, they might be more open to moving their own first-round pick, which would likely be late lottery to mid-level first-rounder.

However, among current assets, the team could consider moving some of their unrestricted free agents like Colin Wilson and Patrik Nemeth, two players who the team must decide whether they intend to keep them after this season. The team also is likely to lose starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the offseason after picking up Philipp Grubauer, so the team could consider sending Varlamov off to a team in need of a rental starter, although it’s far more likely the team will keep Varlamov for the remainder of the year in hopes of pushing for a playoff spot.

 

Five Players To Watch For: F Sven Andrighetto, D Patrik Nemeth, G Semyon Varlamov, F Colin Wilson, D Nikita Zadorov

Team Needs

1) Secondary Scoring: The team’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog has been impressive all year, but the team needs to build up their second line and has received little help from any of the players they have put there other than Carl Soderberg, who was meant to be more of a third-line player. Prospect Tyson Jost was sent to the AHL to work on his game, while many of their other young talents like J.T. Compher and Alexander Kerfoot haven’t shown enough consistency so far. The team could use a solid impact player that can be the offensive focus of the second line. Whether the team is willing to pay for that at this point in the team’s development is another question.

2) More young talent: One thing that Sakic has done over the past few years is he has avoided handing out too many bad contracts with the possible exception of defenseman Erik Johnson’s seven-year, $42MM contract he signed back in 2015. In fact, the one given to MacKinnon seems like a bargain at $6.3MM for another four years after this one. While the team will have to lock up Rantanen this summer, the team has an awful lot of cap space they could use to bring in future assets. They did this last summer when they took on the contract of Brooks Orpik and was able to bring in Grubauer to help the team in goal. They could be that team that helps some of those cap-challenged teams to bring in more picks or young players to further invest in Colorado’s long-term development.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Colorado Avalanche| Deadline Primer 2019| Joe Sakic Alexander Kerfoot| Brooks Orpik| Carl Soderberg| Colin Wilson| Erik Johnson| Gabriel Landeskog| J.T. Compher| Mikko Rantanen| Nathan MacKinnon| Nikita Zadorov| Patrik Nemeth| Philipp Grubauer

3 comments

Nathan MacKinnon To Undergo MRI For Possible Foot Injury

January 26, 2019 at 8:35 am CDT | by Zach Leach 1 Comment

Saturday: MacKinnon has officially avoided the worst-case scenario, NHL.com’s Amalie Benjamin reports. MacKinnon did not suffer a broken left foot, but does have a major bruise on the inside of the foot. The Avalanche pivot called it “sore” and “swollen” and did not want to test it this weekend. Colorado is likely in agreement with that judgement call. They are likely to have MacKinnon back in the lineup following their upcoming “bye week”.

Friday: MacKinnon is flying to San Jose later today according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Colorado center is unlikely to participate in any on-ice events.

Thursday: It isn’t clear right now to what extent his foot his injured – so no cause for alarm yet Avalanche fans – but Nathan MacKinnon is set to undergo an MRI on his foot, per Sportsnet’s John Shannon. Shannon reports that the Colorado Avalanche are being cautious about a possible left foot injury and want to get a better sense of their superstar center’s health. Shannon adds that, regardless of the MRI results, MacKinnon could miss this weekend’s All-Star festivities in order to rest.

No one can blame the Avalanche for taking any health issue with MacKinnon seriously. The 23-year-old has accrued 71 points already this season and is on pace to shatter the career high of 97 that he set last year and that nearly won him the Hart Trophy. MacKinnon centers the top line with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog that is responsible for a higher percentage of their team’s production than any other line in the NHL. A long-term MacKinnon absence would be devastating for a Colorado team that is already slumping; the Avs have won just three games in their last 15 and are one loss away from falling out of a playoff spot completely. They need MacKinnon now more than ever.

With that said, this seems to be purely cautionary, especially given Shannon’s insistence that sitting out the All-Star Game may be the only measure taken to ensure MacKinnon’s return to full health. The franchise center also logged approximately 21 and 19 minutes of ice time in each of his past two games and did not look uncomfortable. Perhaps this is just a minor nagging injury the team wants to look at – MacKinnon did suffer a foot fracture back in 2015 – or perhaps he was simply sore after an incident in last night’s contest against the Minnesota Wild and wanted to get checked out. Either way, this is news simply due to MacKinnon’s name value but right now does not look like anything major worth worrying about.

The biggest concern may actually be who replaces the Central Division captain at this weekend’s All-Star festivities. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that MacKinnon is still expected to be in attendance in San Jose, but would need a substitute if he cannot compete. With both Rantanen, an original selection, and Landeskog, the Central’s winner of the “Last Men In” fan vote, already going, it’s very unlikely that MacKinnon would be replaced by another Avalanche player. Other popular “Last Man In” candidates like the Winnipeg Jets’ Patrik Laine, the Minnesota Wild’s Zach Parise, or the Nashville Predators’ Filip Forsberg are possibilities to get the call if MacKinnon is unable to participate.

Colorado Avalanche| Injury Gabriel Landeskog| Mikko Rantanen| Nathan MacKinnon

1 comment

NHL Announces All-Star Skills Competitors

January 25, 2019 at 4:50 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 2 Comments

The NHL All-Star Skills Competition is scheduled for this evening, and though Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon have both pulled out due to illness and injury there are still an incredible amount of talented players taking part. Most notable however may be the final entrant in the fastest skater competition: Kendall Coyne. A member of the US Women’s National Team, Coyne will take MacKinnon’s place after the Colorado Avalanche forward suffered a foot injury this week. The Olympic gold medalist is known for her speed and posted a 14.226 yesterday during event testing according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN. Though that wouldn’t have been enough to dethrone Connor McDavid last year, it would have put her ahead of Zach Werenski, Noah Hanifin and Josh Bailey in the competition. We’ll see what Coyne can do tonight, along with the rest of the competitors:

Read more

Fastest Skater:

Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets

Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders

Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres

Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

Kendall Coyne, U.S. Women’s National Team

Puck Control:

Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche

Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Jeff Skinner, Buffalo Sabres

John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs

Save Streak:

Devan Dubnyk, Minnesota Wild

Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights

John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks

Braden Holtby, Washington Capitals

Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings

Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers

Pekka Rinne, Nashville Predators

Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning

Premier Passer:

Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes

Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

Roman Josi, Nashville Predators

Erik Karlsson, San Jose Sharks

Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis Blues

Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

Keith Yandle, Florida Panthers

Hardest Shot:

Brent Burns, San Jose Sharks

John Carlson, Washington Capitals

Seth Jones, Columbus Blue Jackets

Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning

Accuracy Shooting:

Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning

Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins

Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils

David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins

Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks

Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets

Uncategorized Andrei Vasilevskiy| Auston Matthews| Blake Wheeler| Braden Holtby| Brent Burns| Cam Atkinson| Claude Giroux| Clayton Keller| Connor McDavid| David Pastrnak| Devan Dubnyk| Drew Doughty| Elias Pettersson| Erik Karlsson| Gabriel Landeskog| Henrik Lundqvist| Jack Eichel| Jeff Skinner| Jimmy Howard| Joe Pavelski| John Carlson| John Gibson| John Tavares| Johnny Gaudreau| Keith Yandle| Kris Letang| Kyle Palmieri| Leon Draisaitl| Marc-Andre Fleury| Mark Scheifele| Mathew Barzal| Mikko Rantanen| Miro Heiskanen| Nathan MacKinnon| Nikita Kucherov| Patrick Kane| Pekka Rinne

2 comments

Injury Notes: Pettersson, Lewis, Steen, Kase, Rasmussen, Rantanen

January 19, 2019 at 5:01 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg 2 Comments

The Vancouver Canucks hope that the wait for star forward Elias Pettersson to return from injury will be over soon. Canucks’ coach Travis Green said Pettersson looked good in practice Saturday on a line with Brock Boeser and Josh Leivo and the team is hopeful that he might play Sunday against Detroit.

“I hope he can go. We’ll see,” said Green.

Green said he will talk to the medical staff about Pettersson’s status before making a decision on whether the 20-year-old will be available Sunday. Pettersson has been a revelation for the Canucks in his rookie campaign as he has 22 goals and 42 points in 39 games.

  • Fox Sports’ Jon Rosen reports that while Los Angeles Kings forward Trevor Lewis has not started skating  yet, he’s been told that the veteran is close to getting on the ice by himself. The 32-year-old has been out with a broken foot since Nov. 13, but could be ready to make his way back to the ice. Lewis had surgery on his foot on Dec. 4 and was expected to be out for four to five weeks which is fast approaching.
  • NHL.com’s Lou Korac reports that the St. Louis Blues have activated forward Alex Steen of injured reserve Saturday. The veteran forward has missed the past six games for the Blues after suffering a shoulder injury. The 34-year-old has six goals and 15 points in 32 games.
  • While it has already been reported that Anaheim Ducks forward Ondrej Kase was placed on injured reserve today, Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register reports that the injury isn’t another concussion, like the one that kept the 23-year-old out of the lineup for the first month of the season. The scribe writes that Kase’s right arm is in a sling, but offers no other details about how long he might be out. Kase has 11 goals and 20 points in 30 games this season.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press writes that Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen participated in a full practice for the first time since he injured his hamstring. The 19-year-old rookie remains on injured reserve and hasn’t appeared in a game since Jan. 4. Rasmussen has six goals and 13 points in 41 games.
  • The Colorado Avalanche lost Mikko Rantanen to a lower-body injury early in the third period Saturday in their game against the Kings, according to The Athletic’s Ryan S. Clark. No word on how serious the injury is, but the team was already up 7-0 at the time of the injury, so they could have pulled him for precautionary reasons. However, if the injury was serious, that could be crippling for a struggling Avalanche team as Rantanen is third in the league in points with 71.

Anaheim Ducks| Colorado Avalanche| Detroit Red Wings| Injury| St. Louis Blues| Travis Green| Vancouver Canucks Alex Steen| Brock Boeser| Elias Pettersson| Josh Leivo| Michael Rasmussen| Mikko Rantanen| Ondrej Kase

2 comments

2019 All-Star Rosters Announced

January 2, 2019 at 5:44 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 12 Comments

The NHL has announced the four rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game today, scheduled to be held on January 26th in San Jose. Earlier today, Alex Ovechkin, who was elected captain of Metropolitan Division squad, told the league that he wouldn’t be attending and will accept the punishment of missing one game either before or after the break. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews will represent the Pacific, Central and Atlantic respectively, as the other captains. A replacement Metropolitan captain for Ovechkin has yet to be named.

The full rosters are as follows:

Pacific Division

G John Gibson (ANA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)

D Erik Karlsson (SJS)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)

F Connor McDavid (EDM)*
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Elias Pettersson (VAN)
F Clayton Keller (ARI)

Central Division

G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)

D Roman Josi (NSH)
D Miro Heiskanen (DAL)

F Nathan MacKinnon (COL)*
F Mikko Rantanen (COL)
F Blake Wheeler (WPG)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Mark Scheifele (WPG)
F Ryan O’Reilly (STL)

Atlantic Division

G Jimmy Howard (DET)
G Carey Price (MTL)

D Keith Yandle (FLA)
D Thomas Chabot (OTT)

F Auston Matthews (TOR)*
F Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F John Tavares (TOR)
F David Pastrnak (BOS)
F Jack Eichel (BUF)

Metropolitan Division

G Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
G Braden Holtby (WAS)

D John Carlson (WSH)
D Seth Jones (CBJ)

F Sidney Crosby (PIT)
F Taylor Hall (NJD)
F Mathew Barzal (NYI)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Cam Atkinson (CBJ)
F Sebastian Aho (CAR)

*Denotes team captain

One final skater spot on each roster has yet to be announced, as it will be determined by the “Last Man In” fan ballot, a concept borrowed from Major League Baseball. The format of the current All-Star Game, which requires one representative from each team on these smaller 3-on-tournament rosters, was bound to cause some confusion with the initial selections. Seven top-twenty scorers were not selected – Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Phil Kessel, and Gabriel Landeskog – and several will inevitably remain out of All-Star participation even after the fan ballot additions. Morgan Rielly, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, and Mark Giordano, enjoying an elite season on both sides of the puck, are two surprising omissions on the blue line. Several of the league’s top goalies are also going to miss out, ineligible for the fan ballot, including Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The “Last Man In” will be an intriguing new addition to the All-Star process, with nominees to be named shortly, but more than a few notable names will be left out regardless. Meanwhile, the health of players like Price and Chabot for Team Atlantic and Hall for Team Metropolitan will bear watching, as those players may opt to skip the All-Star festivities, opening up more players to selection.

NHL| Schedule Alex Ovechkin| Andrei Vasilevskiy| Auston Matthews| Ben Bishop| Blake Wheeler| Braden Holtby| Brayden Point| Brent Burns| Cam Atkinson| Carey Price| Claude Giroux| Clayton Keller| Connor McDavid| David Pastrnak| Devan Dubnyk| Drew Doughty| Elias Pettersson| Erik Karlsson| Frederik Andersen| Gabriel Landeskog| Henrik Lundqvist| Jack Eichel| Jimmy Howard| Joe Pavelski| John Carlson| John Gibson| John Tavares| Johnny Gaudreau| Keith Yandle| Leon Draisaitl| Marc-Andre Fleury| Mark Giordano| Mark Scheifele| Mathew Barzal| Matthew Tkachuk| Mikko Rantanen| Miro Heiskanen| Mitch Marner| Morgan Rielly| Nathan MacKinnon| Nikita Kucherov| Patrick Kane| Pekka Rinne| Phil Kessel| Roman Josi| Sebastian Aho| Seth Jones| Sidney Crosby| Steven Stamkos| Taylor Hall| Thomas Chabot

12 comments

Trade Rumors: Senators, Blackhawks, Avalanche

December 8, 2018 at 12:08 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 5 Comments

With leading scorer Matt Duchene on injured reserve and expected out for “weeks”, what little chances the Ottawa Senators had of making the playoffs this season are likely to slip away. This was always the expected result of the 2018-19 season for Ottawa, but their efforts thus far to stay out of the basement of the NHL have surprised many and inspired some. However, as reality now begins to finally set in, the team must decide what they want to do with Duchene and fellow impending free agents Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel. As Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun writes, Duchene – currently tied for ninth in the league in scoring – will likely ask for an eight-year deal in the ballpark of $60-70MM to remain in Ottawa, reflective of the salary he will likely command on the open market. Stone will be in the same neighborhood, with Dzingel significantly lower albeit not cheap by any means, but the Senators cannot even begin negotiations with the pair until the new year, per the rules pertaining to their recent salary arbitration decisions. As such, the team is dealing with three high-quality expiring assets without any guarantee that they will be re-sign or if the team will be willing to meet their salary demands. In a season in which Ottawa could finish with one of the worst records in the league but lacks their first-round pick – given to the Colorado  Avalanche in the deal that landed Duchene – it stands to reason that GM Pierre Dorion will strongly consider recouping as much trade capital as possible if extensions are not in place by the trade deadline. Given the uncertainly surrounding the ownership status of Eugene Melnyk, whose tactics thus far leave much to be desired anyway, Warren believes that Duchene, Stone, and Dzingel, as well as any other free agent in the coming off-season, will think twice about a future in Ottawa. All things considered, it’s beginning to look like the trio stand a better chance to all be traded away in the coming months than any of them do of signing a long-term extension.

  • The Athletic’s Graeme Nichols wonders if yet another Senator is prime trade bait right now as well. With veteran goaltender Craig Anderson playing his best hockey of the season so far, Nichols opines that Ottawa would be best-served to try moving their starter while his stock is high. While the recent home-and-home series with the Montreal Canadiens did not go so well, Anderson did look very good in wins over the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks prior, recording 63 saves on 65 shots over the two contests. Anderson also made 48 saves against the Dallas Stars last month and notched wins over the Tampa Bay Lighting and Pittsburgh Penguins. Admittedly, even as this best, Anderson is still a 37-year-old replacement-level goaltender at this point in his career and won’t command much of a return. However, the Senators’ season is sinking and they should get what they can while his value is potentially at its peak. The knock on moving Anderson this season has been that Ottawa has no suitable replacement – backups Mike Condon and Mike McKenna have performed very poorly in limited appearances – and thus trading Anderson means giving up on the season. Yet, with Duchene out long-term, any postseason hopes will fade and moving Anderson will begin to make more sense. As Nichols recalls, Anderson himself also alluded to a desire to move on from Ottawa this summer, so making a deal seems to be in the best interest of all parties. There are plenty of teams out there who would be intrigued by adding an established veteran in net this year and Anderson could soon fill that role.
  • The Chicago Blackhawks made it known yesterday that they are looking to move out some of their defensive depth, but NBC Sports’ James O’Brien asks if they are focused on the wrong players. Rather than try to flip the likes of Brandon Manning or Jan Rutta, for which they would receive relatively little, O’Brien believes that the team’s long-term needs would be better served by trading away a mainstay like Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook. This is not so cut-and-dry, as O’Brien admits, but would be worth looking into. Both players carry no-trade clauses that Chicago GM Stan Bowman would first need to ask them to waive. Even if Seabrook was to agree, it seems very unlikely that Bowman would find a taker for the depreciating defenseman and his albatross of a contract. If by some chance he does, it would be a small return similar to Manning or Rutta, but with a far greater salary cap relief. Keith is another matter; while not what he once was, the 35-year-old is still a very capable defenseman who would play in the top four for nearly every team in the NHL, at least for now. The worry is that Keith will continue to age and his ability will fall off, while the Blackhawks continue to pay him more than $5.5MM per year and rely on him for top minutes. Removing that crutch (and cap hit) now, in what appears to be another lost season for the team, would give Chicago a strong return that they could use to begin rebuilding the team. The alternative, which also appears to be the current plan, of waiting for the current roster to turn things around, will only increase the risk of injury or drop-off from Keith while damaging his market value as he ages. A move now would be painful to the fan base in the short term, but the right move looking toward the future.
  • One team who could be a dangerous player at the trade deadline this season are the Colorado Avalanche. Per CapFriendly, the Avs are currently projected to have more than $56MM in cap space available at the deadline, or in other words have no limit to the amount of talent they can bring in if they so choose. Colorado is currently tied for the lead in the Central Division with the Nashville Predators and could even emerge as President’s Trophy threats this season. Armed with the best line in the NHL, including the top two scorers in the league, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon, and the best power play as well, the Avalanche are second in goals for per game among all teams. They also play well in their own end, seventh in goals against per game behind the efforts of Semyon Varlamov. Yet, the Avalanche are not without fault and could stand to add a contributor or two both on defense and up front. The team was expected to add top prospect Cale Makar to their blue line by the end of the regular season, but with his college squad, the UMass Minutemen, ranked No. 1 in the nation, Makar could be occupied through the Frozen Four tournament in mid-April. A capable puck-moving defenseman should thus be at the top of the list for Colorado, followed by an injection of offensive ability and two-way accountability among the forward corps, where their secondary scoring and penalty kill could both use work. While the matter of cost in trade capital is another question entirely, the Avalanche will have the cap space to hypothetically address their needs by adding the likes of Jordan Eberle, Kevin Hayes, and Jay Bouwmeester for example. That’s a dangerous premise for other contenders to consider as Colorado continues to excel this season.

Arbitration| Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Dallas Stars| Injury| Montreal Canadiens| NHL| Nashville Predators| New York Rangers| Ottawa Senators| Pittsburgh Penguins| Players| San Jose Sharks Brandon Manning| Brent Seabrook| Cale Makar| Craig Anderson| Duncan Keith| Jan Rutta| Jay Bouwmeester| Jordan Eberle| Kevin Hayes| Mark Stone| Matt Duchene| Mike Condon| Mikko Rantanen| Nathan MacKinnon| Salary Cap| Trade Rumors

5 comments

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Colorado Avalanche

December 1, 2018 at 7:25 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads past the one-quarter mark. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. Let’s take a look at what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Colorado Avalanche. 

What are the Avalanche most thankful for?

The continued improvement. Last season the Colorado Avalanche had an incredible season, going from one of the worst teams in the league to just squeaking into the playoffs. Colorado found themselves matched up with the top team in the league in the Nashville Predators and while no one gave the Avalanche any chance to beat the powerhouse squad, but the team still managed to take two games from them. This year has only gotten better for the franchise as they are currently tied for first place with the Predators in the Central Division and have started to show that they have an impressive team that is only getting better.

Who are the Avalanche most thankful for?

Their top line. Colorado’s top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog was impressive last year, but they have only gotten better this year. MacKinnon, who had a breakout season last year after posting 39 goals last year, already has 18 goals and is on pace for an even bigger year. MacKinnon, the runner-up for the Hart Trophy, could take the award this year with the way he is playing as he has 41 points already and he’s not even at the half-way point of the season.

Rantanen already has 11 goals and 43 points in just 26 games as he’s on pace for an even bigger season. He could be one of MacKinnon’s biggest challengers for the Hart Trophy if the 22-year-old continues to play the way he has. Landeskog, on the other hand, is playing well with 15 goals already, which likely has him headed for a career-high. While they were a very good line a year ago, the pairing has become one of the top lines in the NHL now. With Landeskog only being 26 and the veteran of the group, the line could be together for a long time.

What would the Avalanche be even more thankful for?

Secondary scoring. One of the team’s biggest problems is getting more scoring from its other lines. Many people felt that Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher might step up as well as other players, including Alexander Kerfoot and Colin Wilson. While they each have made some contributions, none of them have taken the next step. Jost has shown to be impressive when moved to the second line, yet he has just four goals and 10 points this season. Compher could be the answer, but has been out with a head injury. However, he has seven goals in the 10 games he’s played this year. Kerfoot has 18 points in 26 games, but only four of those are goals, while Wilson has seven goals and 10 points in 26 games.

The team needs one or two of these players (and preferably everyone) to take that next step and start providing the team with secondary scoring so when the first line gets shut down, the team doesn’t get shutout.

What should be on the Avalanche’s Holiday Wish List?

A young impact player. The team is quite young, but there is more talent on the way. The team could get a significant boost from 2017 first-round pick Cale Markar. The 20-year-old defenseman has been lighting up the college scene this year with the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. After posting respectable numbers as a freshman of five goals and 21 points in 34 games for the Minutemen, he has already topped those numbers in just 13 appearances. He already has six goals and 18 points with more than half a season to go. If the team can convince him to turn pro after the season, there is a good chance the fourth-overall pick could step right onto the ice during the stretch-run of the season and give the team another impact player on their defense.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Colorado Avalanche| Nashville Predators| Thankful Series 2018-19 Alexander Kerfoot| Colin Wilson| Gabriel Landeskog| J.T. Compher| Mikko Rantanen| Nathan MacKinnon

0 comments

Snapshots: Three Stars, RFAs, Marleau

November 26, 2018 at 3:45 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

The NHL has released their latest Three Stars of the Week, and to absolutely no one’s surprise Patrik Laine finds himself on top. Despite plenty of other outstanding performances last week, Laine was the easy choice after scoring 11 goals in just four games including a five-goal effort on Saturday night. The young Winnipeg Jets forward set all kinds of franchise records with the outstanding performance, and joined an incredibly small group of players to post five goals in a game before their 21st birthday. Only Laine, Don Murdoch and Wayne Gretzky have ever done so; Laine will have to do it again this season to tie Gretzky with two such performances.

Coming in second and third this week are Marc-Andre Fleury and Nikita Kucherov, two players well versed in this award. Fleury earned third star honors just over a month ago, while Kucherov has been in the top three several times throughout his career. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender and Tampa Bay Lightning forward will have to continue their strong play if they hope to compete for the Stanley Cup again this season, and may even find themselves on this list again down the road.

  • While the William Nylander situation is still unresolved, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription required) looks ahead to how it could affect several other future restricted free agents. LeBrun lists a group of players including Laine, Auston Matthews, Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Mitch Marner, Matthew Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, Sebastian Aho, Timo Meier and Brock Boeser that are all about to see their entry-level contracts expire, and will be watching closely to see what Nylander is eventually signed for. Speaking to several agents and executives, LeBrun puts forward the idea that this may not be the last contract negotiation we see leak deep into the regular season.
  • Patrick Marleau will play his 1,600th career game tonight when the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Boston Bruins, becoming just the 11th player to ever do so in the NHL. Marleau hasn’t missed a game since the 2008-09 season and very well could finish the year in fifth place all-time on the games played list behind just Gordie Howe (1,767 GP), Mark Messier (1,756), Jaromir Jagr (1,733) and Ron Francis (1,731). Marleau is currently tied with Nicklas Lidstrom on the all-time point list with 1,142, and will try to take sole possession of 54th overall tonight.

RFA| Snapshots| Tampa Bay Lightning| Toronto Maple Leafs| Vegas Golden Knights| Winnipeg Jets Auston Matthews| Brayden Point| Brock Boeser| Kyle Connor| Marc-Andre Fleury| Matthew Tkachuk| Mikko Rantanen| Mitch Marner| Nikita Kucherov| Patrick Marleau| Patrik Laine

1 comment

Mikko Rantanen Fined For Embellishment

November 21, 2018 at 10:20 am CDT | by Gavin Lee 5 Comments

The NHL has issued a $2,000 fine to Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen, citing two instances in which he broke Rule 64 for Diving/Embellishment this season. Fines will increase for Rantanen for any subsequent instances, and eventually include financial punishment to head coach Jared Bednar as well. The first incident, which garnered just a warning, was on October 16th against the New York Rangers, while the latest was during a November 14th game against the Boston Bruins.

Rantanen has been one of the league’s brightest stars this season and still leads the entire NHL in scoring with 32 points. His play alongside Nathan MacKinnon has been a revelation, and has the Avalanche poised to become one of the league’s most dangerous offensive teams. Unfortunately with this history, he’ll now be watched even more closely by the officials and may not get the benefit of the doubt on close calls. He also could very well draw the ire of his coaching staff if he causes them to be fined, or costs his team with an ill-timed penalty.

Colorado Avalanche| Jared Bednar Mikko Rantanen

5 comments

Central Notes: Jost, Zadorov, Nichushkin, Kane

November 17, 2018 at 7:31 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

With a dominant top line that includes Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, the Colorado Avalanche can’t be happier as they have combined for 75 points so far this season. However, the biggest concern for the team has been their secondary scoring, which most recently seems to have improved when the team re-inserted center Tyson Jost together with wingers Alex Kerfoot and Colin Wilson, according to Kyle Newman of the Denver Post.

Jost had spent some time with that line earlier this year, but between a demotion to the team’s fourth line and an injury that kept him out for four games, Jost finally got a chance to center the two wingers and has made the most of his opportunity with a pair of goals in the past week as well as improved play from both Wilson and Kerfoot.

“It’s tough to score every night, but I want to see them generate chances every night and I want to see them doing the right things defensively,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re starting to earn more trust on the defensive side of the puck as a young line, and they’re finding ways to chip in, and the last (few games) are a prime example.”

  • Sticking with the Avalanche, Ryan S. Clark of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Bednar has lost faith for the time being in defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who led the league in hits with 278 last year and averaged 19:28 of ice time last season. However, his role has changed as he is averaging just 15:12, was benched in the third period Wednesday against Boston and then finally was a healthy scratch for the team’s game against Washington on Friday. “We’ve got some D that are playing well,” Bednar said. “Like I said, we’ve got the depth at D now, seven (defensemen) and sometimes you gotta make tough decisions. … Sometimes that means moving around the lineup, elevating guys, lowering guys in the lineup with their minutes. Other times it means you have to make tough decisions and scratch some guys. That’s what we did with Nikita. He’s going to get an opportunity to go back in and continue to play. We’ll see how the game goes.”
  • Dallas Stars winger Valeri Nichushkin hasn’t scored an NHL goal in 989 days. Granted, he just spent the last two season in the KHL, which has something to do with that statistic. However, Nichushkin went 26 combined regular season and playoff games without scoring back in 2016 and now has gone 14 straight goalless games this season, according to SportsDay’s Matthew DeFranks. His struggles are not stopping him, however. “Tough start, but I feel better every game, especially the last three games, I had a lot of moments,” Nichushkin said. “I need to score and I think everything will be good. Team’s winning so I don’t care. I know I will be better.”
  • Chicago Blackhawks new head coach Jeremy Colliton has utilized the strategy of playing Patrick Kane as much as possible since he’s taken over, but another interesting stat is that Colliton has used Kane almost entirely on the power play, according to the Chicago Tribune’s Jimmy Greenfield. In fact, Kane has been used for 16:50 of power play time under Colliton in a total of 17:52, an unbelievable usage rate for a 30-year-old player. “I don’t think it’s been a problem so far, and I think the power play’s moving in the right direction,” Colliton said. “I thought the power play was better tonight than it was against St. Louis, but we scored against St. Louis so it (wasn’t) a talking point. We’ve just got to work on it.”

Chicago Blackhawks| Colorado Avalanche| Dallas Stars| Injury| Jared Bednar Colin Wilson| Gabriel Landeskog| Mikko Rantanen| Nathan MacKinnon| Nikita Zadorov| Patrick Kane| Tyson Jost| Valeri Nichushkin

0 comments
« Previous Page
Load More Posts
    Top Stories

    Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal

    Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal

    Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg

    Ducks Sign Mikael Granlund To Three-Year Deal

    Islanders Sign Jonathan Drouin To Two-Year Deal

    Mammoth Sign Nate Schmidt, Brandon Tanev To Three-Year Deals

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Ivan Provorov To Seven-Year Deal

    Recent

    Alex Pietrangelo Placed On LTIR, Unlikely To Play Again

    Flames Ink Goalie Ivan Prosvetov To One-Year Deal

    Ducks Finalize Coaching Staff

    Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Islanders Sign Simon Holmstrom To Two-Year Deal

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Penguins Sign Justin Brazeau, Caleb Jones To Two-Year Deals

    Hurricanes Sign Mike Reilly

    Golden Knights Sign Dylan Coghlan, Jaycob Megna, Cole Reinhardt

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version