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Re: Avalanche Report

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Avs round out deadline day with minor-league swap

Colorado's sixth trade on Monday was much smaller than the other five.

The Avalanche traded veteran defenceman Ladislav Smid and AHL forward Otto Somppi to the St. Louis Blues for defence prospects Artyom Grushnikov and Vladislav Kolyachonok.

St. Louis was looking to dump all its Russian and Belarussian players in light of the invasion of Ukraine. And while Avalanche management unequivocally condemns the invasion and the war criminal Vladimir Putin, it's not going to get in the way of team-building in a sim game.

Smid, 36, has spent the season rotting in the AHL press box, playing only three games in order to avoid vopatization for a potential trade return such as this. But he is a fine depth defender.

Somppi, 24, has some NHL potential but simply refuses to put in the work on his defensive game. He has 18 goals and 50 points in 59 AHL games this season.

Grushnikov was the Blues' fourth-round pick, 107th overall, in the 2021 draft. He projects as a third pair shutdown defenceman in the future and will join the AHL Colorado Eagles in 2023-24.

Kolyachonok, 20, was drafted 112th overall by St. Louis in the 2019 draft. He could get some NHL time in the future as an injury callup but was mainly acquired to replace the traded Slava Demin in the AHL.
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Re: Avalanche Report

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Flyers claim Fischer off waivers

When the Avalanche briefly called up David Fischer during Owen Power's suspension, they didn't know it would end up removing $1.1 million in dead money from next year's payroll.

But that's what happened when they demoted him after one NHL game and he was claimed off waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Avs got some futures for taking Fischer's contract off Tampa Bay's hands last off-season and he's been buried in the AHL ever since, other than that one-game callup. Fischer is a capable stay-at-home #6 type, but is overpaid.

After adding Jake Oettinger, Alex Nylander and Ryan Gropp at the deadline, two of which are due significant raises, getting Fischer off the books will relieve some pressure on the cap next season.

"Thank you, GM Gritty. The Avalanche organization salutes you for your service," said GM Josh Lewis.
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Re: Avalanche Report

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Thrun gets callup for last game of season

As their season winds to a close, the Colorado Avalanche will give one more defence prospect a taste of the NHL.

Henry Thrun, who turned 21 last month, has had a solid first season in the AHL. Although his 12 points might not show it, his game has come a long way especially in the second half. He started the year on the Eagles' third pair, but through improvement and the callups of Owen Power and Daniil Misyul, he's been on the top pair for some time.

Thrun was one of two prospects picked up in the September 2020 deal that sent Jack Campbell to Detroit. A former 3rd round pick of the Wings, he has solid #4 D potential. The other prospect acquired in that trade was centre Jaromir Pytlik, who has made big strides since being called up to the Avs after an injury to Ivan Barbashev, despite only having a goal and two assists in 25 games.

Thrun will suit up alongside Donovan Sebrango on the Avs' third pair for Game 82 on Tuesday against Edmonton. Colorado was eliminated from playoff contention long ago, but the game does have meaning for the draft order. The Avs could finish anywhere from third-last to sixth-last. However, they'll almost certainly drop three spots in the lottery no matter where they finish, because those are the laws of the universe.
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Re: Avalanche Report

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Colorado Avalanche 2021-22 Season in Review

It was another rebuilding season for the Colorado Avalanche, finishing 28th in the EHEC with a 26-46-5-5 record for 57 points.

Major injuries to Janne Kuokkanen and Ivan Barbashev hurt the team's chances, though it certainly wasn't going to be a playoff year regardless. However, some long-term upgrades to the roster at the trade deadline gave fans some hope for improvement in the future.

The Burgundy and Blue added Alex Nylander, Jake Oettinger and Ryan Gropp at the deadline, among others, and with a full training camp and regular season in Denver, this trio could make a real impact next year.

The 2021-22 season also saw top prospect Owen Power take big steps toward his potential, arriving in Denver in February after two-thirds of the year in the AHL, and rounding into a solid player already who will start 2022-23 on the second pair. Other prospects who became useful NHL regulars include Xavier Bernard, Daniil Misyul, Jack Perbix, Ostap Safin, Donovan Sebrango and Jaromir Pytlik.

Mitch Marner led the Avs in scoring with 22 goals and 53 points, coming on strong in the second half after early struggles. Nolan Patrick was their second 50-point man with 51, including 25 goals, after they had none last year.

Mid-20s forwards Brayden Point and Taylor Raddysh took big steps forward, with 49 and 48 points respectively, with both earning top six ice time after the injuries to Kuokkanen and Barbashev. Nylander put up good numbers after the trade from Vancouver, where he had struggled production-wise, and Barbashev was on pace for a career-best 55 points when he went down for the year.

Kailer Yamamoto had underwhelming offensive numbers for the second straight year with 39 points, though part of that could be attributed to the loss of Kuokkanen, who managed just 18 points in 45 games before and after his injury. It was a lost year for one of Colorado's most important players up front.

Speaking of underwhelming, Noel Gunler left us wanting more in his first full NHL season with 13 goals, 29 points and not a whole lot of personal growth. He produced at a lower pace than last year when he had 11 points in 32 games. Perbix, meanwhile, tallied 25 points in 69 games on the third line after an early-season callup.

Safin established himself as a very effective defensive winger, becoming a staple on the fourth line with 128 takeaways, second on the team. He was acquired from St. Louis in preseason for Jesse Ylonen, a case of trading uncertain potential for youthful utility and it worked out quite well.

Physical shutdown forward Tyler Biggs found himself reduced to fourth line duty this year as the Avs continued to develop as many young players as possible, and he was even scratched a few times when there was a logjam. He finished with 23 points in 65 games.

Duncan Siemens was a beast on the back end, not missing a beat when his D partner Dmitry Kulikov was dealt for Drew Doughty at the deadline. Siemens finished second in the league in hits and sixth in takeaways, doing his best to anchor a bad team. Doughty finished with 33 points between the Predators and Avalanche.

Bernard established himself as a good shutdown option as a rookie, with the second-most hits on the team. Sebrango also showed he's ready for this level, with a little more offence than the other rookie defencemen, though his defensive upside is lower. Misyul was very impressive after coming up mid-season, as was Power.

Other players who came up for a handful of games (or less) were Dmitri Semykin, Simon Holmstrom, Linus Karlsson and Henry Thrun.

In net, Oettinger ended up playing 65 games between New Jersey and Colorado (two very bad teams), posting a 3.21 GAA and .880 SP. Prior to that deal, Ilya Konovalov had taken over the starter's job after coming over from the Canucks on the eve of the regular season. In 34 games, he had a 3.28 GAA and .883 SP. With Isaiah Saville expected to mount a challenge for the backup job, Konovalov could end up walking as a free agent.

The AHL Colorado Eagles had a much better year than their parent club, going 47-30-2-2 for 98 points. Ivan Morozov was leading the league in scoring until an injury cost him 11 games and he struggled upon his return, finishing third with 50 goals and 145 points.

Morozov was one of four 50-goal scorers for the Eagles. Antoine Morand had 53 as part of a 112-point season, good for 13th in the league. Linus Karlsson tallied 55 goals and 92 points in 71 games, while Simon Holmstrom did his best Cy Young impersonation with 52 goals and 14 assists. Radel Fazleyev also had a good year with 31 goals and 67 points in 72 games. Secondary scoring came from the likes of Tuukka Tieksola, Marcus Karlberg and Connor Bunnaman (23 points in 34 games after being acquired from Detroit as a contract dump in the Damir Galin deadline deal). Power had 16 points in 49 games before his callup.

In net, Filip Larsson and Trent Miner split the load evenly until Saville returned to the organization at the deadline, playing 10 games down the stretch. None of them had stats good enough worth mentioning here.

Now the Avs will look ahead to the draft, and the lottery where they will surely drop from the third pick. Such is tradition.
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Re: Avalanche Report

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Avs win draft lottery, secure back-to-back #1 picks

Barring a trade, the Colorado Avalanche will select first overall in the EHEC Draft for the second straight year.

The Avs won the draft lottery on Sunday, moving up from third overall to first with a winning lottery ball combo of 3-8-11-12.

The organization's good fortune comes on the heels of drafting Owen Power first overall in 2021, but that didn't come from a draft lottery win. The Avalanche finished last in the league and then dropped to fourth in the lottery, only to move back up to the top with two separate trades.

"This is another building block in our rebuild, no doubt about it," said Colorado GM Josh Lewis. "A lot more progress is needed to put the franchise on a path toward winning, but adding another top talent will help speed up the process."

The EHEC isn't expected to issue its final scouting reports until closer to the draft. However, in Central Scouting's final rankings the top players are forwards Shane Wright, Juraj Slafkovsky and Logan Cooley.

"We haven't made any decisions yet, but with a really strong crop of D prospects headlined by Power, we'd certainly be happy to add a forward stud to our group," the GM said.

The impact of adding Power last year already began to be felt late in the season. After spending most of the year in the AHL, the 18-year-old was called up for his first 25 NHL games, posting a goal and four assists and already earning a promotion to the second defence pair.

Whoever Colorado drafts this time around is also expected to jump straight to the AHL next season.
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Re: Avalanche Report

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Avalanche open off-season with Doughty trade

Within days of the Dallas Stars lifting their second Stanley Cup in three years, the Colorado Avalanche announced three trades, including a couple of big ones.

The club’s first move was trading star defenceman Drew Doughty to the Toronto Maple Leafs, along with young defender Donovan Sebrango and goalie prospect Trent Miner, in exchange for the eighth overall pick in this summer’s draft, defencemen Jett Woo and Valeri Orekhov, and goalie Tristan Jarry.

Doughty, 32, was acquired from Nashville at the trade deadline along with futures for Dmitry Kulikov. He finished the season with 33 points between the two teams and is eligible for free agency this summer. Ultimately the Avs’ return for Kulikov consists of the eighth overall pick this year, a 2nd in 2023, a 4th this year, Woo, Orekhov, Jarry and goalie prospect Isaiah Saville.

Sebrango, 20, was a third-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2020 and acquired at the 2021 trade deadline. He’s coming off a solid rookie season with 21 points in 71 games and has a long career ahead of him, but the Avs feel he’s hit his ceiling as a player already.

Miner, 21, was picked up in a deal with San Jose last summer. In 35 games with the AHL Colorado Eagles this past year, he went 19-13-2-1 with a 4.35 GAA and .837 SP. Ugly numbers, which stem from his lack of consistency, but a change of scenery could help with that.

The biggest piece Colorado gets back is another top 10 pick to go with the first overall selection they already have. Look for them to target forwards with both picks, depending on the final rankings.

The three players the Avs get back are all relatively young, but are owed a combined $5.1 million next year. That includes Orekhov, a 23-year-old impending RFA who would be owed $1.8 million on his next contract. The 23-year-old is strong defensively but doesn’t bring much on the offensive side, posting 10 points in 61 games this year, his second in the NHL. The Avs may end up letting him walk, but that decision hasn’t been made yet.

Woo, soon to be 22, brings a skilled two-way game although it didn’t show in his numbers this year - eight points in only 29 games. The 2018 second-round pick has a bit more room to grow at both ends of the ice and could play on either the second or third pair for Colorado next year. Ultimately, Woo is probably a placeholder while their top remaining defence prospects move into the AHL and develop. He has two years left on a deal that pays him $2 million per.

Jarry, 27, is under contract for another year at $1.3 million. He was a busy backup for the Leafs in 2021-22, going 11-15-1-3 in 30 starts with a respectable 2.88 GAA and .889 save percentage. He’s played 141 games in his career, all with Toronto, with a lifetime 2.73 GAA. It’s not clear if the Avs will keep him to back up Jake Oettinger next season or trade him this summer.

Depending on what they do with Orekhov, this deal potentially opens the door for Henry Thrun to make the jump full-time in 2022-23. The former Red Wings third round pick had a strong rookie season with the AHL Eagles and was called up for Game 82 to make his NHL debut.
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Avs trade Point to Canucks, Konovalov to Panthers

In the summer of 2020, the Colorado Avalanche signed Brayden Point to a bargain three-year deal as a then-24-year-old UFA. Two seasons later, on Tuesday, they traded him to the Vancouver Canucks.

The Canucks sent a third-round pick in 2022 and forward prospect Oscar Back in exchange.

Point, now 26, is coming off a career year in which he posted 19 goals and 49 points, good for third on the Avalanche in scoring.

However, the emergence of several forward prospects as NHL-ready options has created a backlog of forwards for the Avs. While Point has the offensive tools to play in any team’s top six, his lack of any physical play made him a target to be shipped out.

“This is about getting caught in the numbers game,” said GM Josh Lewis. “Brayden did a great job last season seizing the opportunities created by injuries to Janne Kuokkanen and Ivan Barbashev. As a rebuilding team though, we have to make room for these younger kids.”

Point has one more year on the deal he signed with Colorado, at the low price of $1.05 million. He has 114 points in 292 career EHEC games with the Avs, Devils and Oilers.

Back, 22, was drafted 48th overall by the Canucks in the 2018 draft. He projects as a strong defensive, physical centre with moderate offensive ability who can anchor a third or fourth line. After two years in the AHL, including 14 goals and 29 points last year, he appears to be NHL-ready but it’s not clear if the Avs can make room for him to make the jump this fall. He also got into two games for the Canucks last season.

The third-round pick, originally belonging to Detroit, is 72nd overall and adds to a massive pile of 2022 draft picks for the Avs, at 17 picks and counting.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche also traded goalie Ilya Konovalov to the Florida Panthers on Thursday for third and fourth-round picks in this year’s draft.

Konovalov, 24, played in 34 games for Colorado this past year after being acquired from Vancouver during the preseason. He posted a 3.28 GAA and .883 SP while holding down the starter’s job for a while prior to the Jake Oettinger trade. He struggles with consistency, though on skill alone he’s among the league’s most talented netminders.

“We were going to let him walk as a free agent because of the major raise he’s owed, and we didn’t want to give big raises to both him and Oettinger,” the GM said. “Ilya did a really solid job here.”

The picks will be 68th and 120th overall.

Finally, the Avs dealt 22-year-old right wing prospect Yegor Sokolov to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team that drafted him, for 19-year-old centre prospect Ty Voit.

Sokolov, a defensive forward, had 11 goals and three assists last year, his second in the AHL. He was a 2020 fifth-round pick of the Lightning, who later dealt him to Colorado for Dalton Smith.

Voit, a fourth-round pick of the Florida Panthers in 2021, projects as an offence-first forward with no physical aspect to his game.
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Avalanche land McAvoy in shock trade

The Colorado Avalanche make a lot of trades, but it’s safe to say nobody saw this one coming.

On Monday, the Avs shipped top prospect Noel Gunler to the Dallas Stars in exchange for star defenceman Charlie McAvoy and the 56th overall pick in the second round of this year’s draft. Colorado also moves up from 33rd to 30th in the draft as part of the deal.

McAvoy, 24, is a #1 defender with elite shutdown ability and solid offensive skill signed for one more year at the bargain rate of $1.6 million.

But it’s still a surprise to many that the rebuilding Avs would part with Gunler, the 20-year-old right winger they drafted 10th overall in 2020, who already has 114 NHL games under his belt. The young Swede is a stud first liner in the making who can snipe with the best of them and create offence in other ways, and is also solid defensively.

Gunler was also the first player drafted by GM Josh Lewis after he was hired. He posted 13 goals and 29 points in his first full season last year.

“It’s tough to part with Noel, no doubt about it. But if you want an elite young defenceman, you gotta pony up.” he said. “Between young guys already on the roster and some other high-end prospects - not to mention the 1st and 8th overall picks this summer - we have lots of options to fill the wing spots in our top six with high-octane offence.”

Mitch Marner and Janne Kuokkanen are the current right wingers on the top two lines, while Alex Nylander, Kailer Yamamoto and Nolan Patrick can all play the right side as well.

In McAvoy, Colorado gets a true top-of-the-lineup blueliner who will form a potent top three alongside Owen Power and Duncan Siemens. McAvoy’s big drawback is his lack of physicality, but the Avs feel they have that covered between several other d-men on the roster and some high-end defence prospects.

“McAvoy’s a cornerstone that we’ll build around. We do hope he’ll help us return to respectability in the near future, but this guy is also here for the long haul,” the GM said. “You can pencil him onto the #1 PK and PP units as well as the top pair at even strength. He has excellent endurance - he can handle it.”

He was a big part of the Stars’ Stanley Cup championship team this year. After posting 18 points in 63 regular season games, McAvoy really amped up his contributions in the playoffs with 15 points in 25 contests.

Colorado also gets some futures in the deal, hedging their bets somewhat as they continue to rebuild. They now have three first round picks and two seconds as part of a massive list of 18 picks in this year’s draft.

“You can’t overstate how huge this draft is going to be for our franchise,” Lewis said. “These picks will deliver some real high-end talent to add to our core and some solid prospects later on to either develop or use as future trade chips to improve the roster.”

Minor-league deal with Lightning
In a slightly less stunning move, the Avs shipped AHL left winger Lenni Killinen to the Tampa Bay Lightning for AHL centre Tyler Madden.

Colorado was scarce on minor-league centres while having more wingers than they needed.

Killinen, 22, had a solid rookie pro season of 39 points in 2020-21, but the former fifth-rounder dropped off in both usage and production last season with seven points in 56 games.

Madden, also 22, had a much better sophomore year with 28 goals and 51 points for the Bolts' farm team. He was a fourth-round pick in 2018.
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Avalanche acquire Zablocki from Lightning

The Colorado Avalanche have completed their second deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning in a matter of days.

The Avs re-acquired right winger Lane Zablocki in exchange for forward prospect Dmitri Ovchinnikov and a 4th round pick in this year’s draft.

Zablocki, 23, has 47 NHL games under his belt, as a decent fourth line grinder who can also play centre. He was originally traded by Colorado to Tampa in 2020.

“After trading Noel Gunler, we had room to carry another forward and Zablocki made sense as a defensive option who can hold down a regular spot or fill in for injuries as an extra guy,” said GM Josh Lewis.

Ovchinnikov, 19, was drafted 116th overall by Colorado in the fourth round of the 2020 EHEC draft. He has an outside shot of making an NHL team but probably projects as a strong AHLer. The 2022 pick dealt with him is 108th overall, and the Avs still have six other picks in the fourth round.
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Avs trade Raddysh to Penguins

The Colorado Avalanche continue to reshape their forward group through trade, with the latest deal sending winger Taylor Raddysh to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

In exchange the Avs get an early third-round pick in this year’s draft, 62nd overall.

Raddysh, 24, was brought on as a reclamation project in 2021 from the Dallas Stars. Seeing potential for him to become an elite playmaker and top six forward, the Avs gave him plenty of ice time last year and he ran with it.

With 18 goals and 48 points, it was a breakout year for the former 1st round pick in 2016. He spent most of the season in the top six after an injury to Janne Kuokkanen.

Despite making some progress offensively though, the Avalanche believe he is still well short of reaching his upside and decided to invest that development time in younger prospects as they continue to rebuild. Raddysh makes $1.7 million so the deal leaves Colorado with more than $5 million in cap space.

“Taylor’s established himself now as a top 9 guy and odds are good he will still get better. But we had a sense that he’s gone as far as we can take him without blocking the path for younger prospects who are ready to take on bigger roles.”

Some of those players include Jaromir Pytlik, Jack Perbix and the recently acquired Oscar Back.

The Avs now own 18 picks in this year’s draft - 12% of all selections - including eight in the first 72 picks.
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Avs trade Barbashev, acquire Der-Arguchintsev

The 2022 EHEC Draft is well underway, but before we bring you up to date on Colorado's draft picks, we have a number of trades to report.

The Avalanche have traded left winger Ivan Barbashev to the Arizona Coyotes for the 46th overall pick in this year's draft and defence prospect Stanislav Svozil.

Barbashev, 26, put up 40 goals and 103 points in 192 games over the last three years with Colorado. Last season he was on pace for a career-best 56 points before an injury ended his season.

Acquired from Nashville for a third round pick shortly after GM Josh Lewis took the reins in 2020, Barbashev has been a productive member of the top six, but was also its oldest member on a rebuilding team.

Svozil was a third-round pick of the Coyotes in last year's draft. He projects as a strong third-pair defender with some offensive capability, who could play as high as the second pair.

The pick was used to select Artyom Duda, another defenceman, who is more of a shutdown type with slightly less offence than Svozil. He could be a top 4 guy down the road.

Barbashev was dealt to make room for Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, a 21-year-old forward with major offensive potential who was a second-round pick of the San Jose Sharks in 2018. Colorado sent the 30th pick, the last in the first round, to the Sharks for him.

SDA racked up 40 goals and 90 points in just 61 AHL games last year, and got into 10 NHL games with two goals and two assists. He looks to be an all-around offensive threat in the making and a particularly stellar playmaker. His hitting, however, is non-existent so he's not expected to ever play in the bottom six. He's expected to slot onto the Avs' second line.

Meanwhile, Colorado shipped defenceman Jett Woo - previously acquired from Toronto this summer in the Drew Doughty trade - to the Philadelphia Flyers for a third-round pick in this year's draft. With Owen Power, Daniil Misyul and Henry Thrun all expected to be full-timers on the blueline next season, Woo was pencilled in as the 7th d-man despite being owed $2 million for the next two years.

Finally, the Avalanche paid the Florida Panthers a fourth-rounder in this year's draft to take the last year of forward Keegan Kolesar's $2 million contract. He was similarly expected to be a frequent press box guest in Denver. In return Colorado received AHL defenceman Oleg Sosunov.

Kolesar had 12 points in 40 games with the Avs last year.
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Avalanche draft Slafkovsky with second straight 1st overall pick

Juraj Slafkovsky is the latest top prospect to be selected 1st overall by the Colorado Avalanche.

The Slovak left winger was chosen over several other contenders for first overall, including Shane Wright, Simon Nemec and Logan Cooley.

Scouts see Slafkovsky as a future first line threat with a strong all-around game. A big-time offensive producer with great hands, he also plays an extremely physical game and doesn't neglect defence. He could even kill penalties at the NHL level.

"This was an incredibly difficult decision for the organization. There were multiple players legitimately good enough to go #1. Ultimately we decided a defensive presence was important, especially on the wing where we somewhat lack that in the top six," said Avs GM Josh Lewis.

Slafkovsky is expected to be assigned to the AHL Colorado Eagles next season, but could make the Avalanche in 2023-24.

With the 8th overall pick, acquired for Drew Doughty, Colorado went for another strong defensive forward - and another Slovak - in right winger Adam Sykora.

Although he doesn't have the offence of most forwards taken in the top 10, Sykora does a solid enough job there. What attracted the Avs is he's a shutdown beast, a physical player who can be matched with the best of them and close them down. Think #1 PKer, an excellent third liner who can play on the second, and a possible Selke candidate if the offence really comes around.

"Defence wins championships, and that includes forwards," the GM said. "Adam is just a dominant, smothering shutdown guy and there's enough offence there that he could crack a #2 power play unit."

After trading 30th pick for Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, the Avs decided to move up in the second round from 48 to 44. They also acquired the 46th pick and a prospect for Ivan Barbashev.

At 44 they took a pure offensive skill guy in David Goyette. The centre pays little attention to defence and is very inconsistent, but the Avs decided to take a swing with their third pick on a potential first line playmaker with puck wizardry skills.

Two picks later Colorado selected their first defenceman of the draft, Artyom Duda. He looks to be a #4 or #5 shutdown d-man with great positioning who excels at stopping the rush. He has some moderate offensive ability but not enough to get any PP time.

With the 56th overall pick, the Avs went for physical winger Reid Schaefer, following their theme from the first round. Schaefer produces offence at maybe a third line level, mainly from his big shot, but devastating hits are his bread and butter.

At #62 Colorado took their first goalie of the draft, and the first goalie on their list, Tyler Brennan. He was the third netminder to be drafted.

"Tyler has the best combination of ability and consistency in the draft, in our minds," the GM said. "He's got starter upside and joins Calle Clang as the best goalie prospects in our system."

With their most recent pick, at 68th overall, the Avalanche went for winger Fraser Minten, another physical two-way forward comparable to Schaefer.

After dealing the 72nd pick for Rasmus Kulmala and a 2025 3rd, Colorado picks next at #81.
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Avalanche add Alscher, Ostlund to 2022 draft class

With more picks in the 2022 draft than any other team, the Avalanche continue to add to their prospect pool.

With the 81st pick in the third round, Colorado selected shutdown defenceman Marek Alscher.

The Czech rearguard will never bring much offence to the table, but excels in all areas defensively with the ability to deliver crunching hits.

"He's the tough-as-nails kind of guy every coach wants on his third pair in the playoffs," said Avs GM Josh Lewis. "We're happy to get him at this point in the draft."

Four picks later, the Avalanche selected boom-or-bust forward prospect Noah Ostlund. The Swedish centre is Alscher's opposite in almost every way. His offensive upside is his calling card, especially as a skilled playmaker and puckhandler. But there is some question as to whether his game will translate to the NHL level. And while he could reach a point where he is adequate defensively, at 5'11'' he will never possess an ounce of physicality.

"Noah has his warts, for sure, but the scoring upside is intriguing. And considering this is our ninth pick of the draft, it's an appropriate time to gamble. He could wind up an attractive trade chip down the road as well," the GM said.

Next up, Colorado has four picks late in the fourth round: 116, 117, 118 and 120. They also have two fifth-round picks.
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Avs round out bumper draft crop with six more picks

The Colorado Avalanche rounded out their 2022 draft class of 15 players by selecting six more in the fourth and fifth rounds.

With the first in a string of three straight picks, at 116th overall, they selected defenceman Tomas Hamara.

Although it’s not entirely clear how his game will translate to the NHL - like most players selected this late - Hamara could be a solid two-way guy with a focus on defence and positioning, perhaps a #5 d-man.

With the next pick they took forward Servac Petrovsky, who is seen as a long shot but with third-line potential. His defensive responsibility is his bread and butter but there is some offence as well.

With the 118th pick, Colorado went for defensive forward Connor Hvidston. He could be a penalty killer at the NHL level and a solid fourth line energy guy, but will never bring much scoring.

To close out the fourth round, goalie Niklas Kokko was the Avs’ pick at #120. Consistency is a major issue in his game, but the talent is there to be a future starter.

Three picks later, in the fifth round, the Avalanche took another guy with consistency struggles in Benjamin King, who nevertheless has top 9 offensive potential with strong playmaking instincts.

Finally, for the second straight year Colorado decided to use their final pick (130th overall) on a stay-at-home defenceman from the QMJHL in Angus Booth. He’s a similar player to last year’s final pick, Zach Biggar, as a steady shutdown guy with no offence.

The Avs’ class of 2022 includes nine forwards, four defencemen and two goalies.
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Avalanche trade Biggs to Detroit

The Colorado Avalanche have finally traded expensive defensive forward Tyler Biggs, after many trade talks that failed to materialize in the year and a half since he was acquired.

The devastating hitter and shutdown forward was shipped to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, with the Avs retaining half of his $6.6 million salary for this year. In return they received offensive defenceman John Moore, young forward Isac Lundestrom, D prospect Antti Tuomisto, a 2nd rounder in 2024 and 3rd rounder in 2023.

Biggs, 29, is one of the league’s best bottom six forwards but his age and contract didn’t fit with the Avs’ direction. He posted 11 goals and 23 points in 65 games last season while throwing 131 hits with 126 takeaways. But due to Colorado’s dizzying array of prospects needing development time, he found himself a healthy scratch at times despite his play not warranting it.

“Biggs is the type of guy every contender needs,” said Avs GM Josh Lewis. “We’re not at that stage yet though and we get some nice young assets in return.”

Moore, 31, was taken back as a contract dump. He has one year left on a deal paying him $4.8 million. He’s offence-first with no physicality, but can certainly produce. He posted 11 goals and 48 points for the Wings last year, and has 553 points in 963 career games.

However, he’s likely to spend long stretches of the season as Colorado’s #7 defenceman for the same reason Biggs was scratched 17 times last year. Their blueline will feature four players aged 22 or under in Owen Power, Daniil Misyul, Xavier Bernard and either Henry Thrun or Antti Tuomisto.

Lundestrom, 22, is coming off a rookie season that saw him record 12 goals and 29 points in 70 games for Detroit. He’s a well-rounded player who can make plays and pays attention to defensive responsibilities. He’s also an excellent faceoff man who can play centre or left wing. He’s expected to hold down a job somewhere in the bottom six.

Tuomisto, 21, made his NHL debut last season with two games for the Wings. He was drafted in the second round, 55th overall, by Ottawa in the 2019 EHEC draft. His potential is very similar to that of Thrun, projecting as a strong shutdown defender with moderate offensive ability who could top out as a top 4 guy.

The deal addresses Colorado’s lack of a third-round pick in 2023 and adds another second to their 2024 draft, in which they traded their first rounder for Nolan Patrick.

Meanwhile, with unrestricted free agency underway the Avs are not expected to be big players, but are said to be looking for a worthy defensive winger for their third line. Otherwise, the roster appears to be set.
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Avalanche sign Sanford, offer sheet Seider

The Colorado Avalanche made a slightly bigger splash than originally intended in the UFA market this week.

Along with signing defensive forward Zach Sanford to a one-year, $850,000 deal, the Avs signed young Pittsburgh Penguins defender Moritz Seider to an offer sheet.

Pittsburgh has until Friday to match the four-year offer at an AAV of $4.95 million.

Sanford, 27, is a hard-hitting winger with a responsible defensive game who can also contribute a moderate degree of offence. He’s a strong skater with good hands for someone who stands 6-foot-3.

He posted 21 points each of the past two years for the Penguins, as well as 11 goals and 27 points in 2019-20. He also threw 166 hits that year with 160 takeaways.

“Zach is going to be a strong addition to our third line and in a more general sense the type of bottom six we want to build,” said GM Josh Lewis. “He joins Ostap Safin, Ryan Gropp, Jaromir Pytlik, Lane Zablocki and to a lesser extent Isac Lundestrom as guys who can play that responsible bottom six type of game.”

Meanwhile, the Avalanche re-acquired their own third-round pick in 2023 from Vancouver on Wednesday to make an offer sheet possible.

Several RFAs have been targeted by other teams but the Avs chose to bid on Seider over several other young defencemen. The 21-year-old had six goals and 39 points for the Penguins last year, following up a career-high 43 points the year before.
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Avs acquire Backstrom for Lundestrom

The Colorado Avalanche have filled a hole in their top six by flipping recently acquired centre Isac Lundestrom in a deal with the San Jose Sharks.

Coming back is veteran forward Nicklas Backstrom, who will play the left side on the second line. At 34 he becomes by far the oldest player on the team, but fills a key hole on on the last year of a contract paying him $1.15 million.

Backstrom posted 20 points in 59 games last season and was recently on waivers. The Avalanche preferred to send a player back to avoid using limited cap space.

Colorado also acquired young forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev from the Sharks at the draft but he can’t play left wing. The job was filled last year by Ivan Barbashev, who was traded to Arizona.

“Alex Nylander was the only guy out of our seven best offensive forwards who could play the left side and we didn’t want to go with a less than ideal solution like Lundestrom or Rasmus Kulmala on the second line,” said GM Josh Lewis.

Lundestrom was acquired last month from Detroit in the Tyler Biggs deal. The return for Biggs, 50% retained, now includes Backstrom, John Moore, D prospect Antti Tuomisto and second and third-round picks.

“With the emergence of young grinders like Jaromir Pytlik and Ostap Safin, the trade for Ryan Gropp and signing Zach Sanford in free agency, the loss of Biggs will be cushioned somewhat and we’re happy with the return. It looks like our bottom six this year will be much more purpose-driven as a six-man defensive and checking unit.”

Meanwhile, the successful offer sheet for Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Moritz Seider will improve the team’s blueline, put them closer to the cap (an estimated $1.25 million in space) and send Henry Thrun back to the AHL, barring a trade.

Thrun had been expected to make the team, but the Seider signing pushes either Xavier Bernard or John Moore into the #7 role. This left the AHL Colorado Eagles with 10 defencemen. Minor leaguer Oleg Sosunov was then traded to Boston but the Eagles still have a logjam.

With pre-season now over, here is Colorado’s expected 23-man roster going into the season:

Forwards:
Nicklas Backstrom
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Ryan Gropp
Rasmus Kulmala
Janne Kuokkanen
Mitch Marner
Alex Nylander
Nolan Patrick
Jack Perbix
Jaromir Pytlik
Ostap Safin
Zach Sanford
Kailer Yamamoto
Lane Zablocki

Defencemen:
Xavier Bernard
Charlie McAvoy
Daniil Misyul
John Moore
Owen Power
Moritz Seider
Duncan Siemens

Goalies:
Tristan Jarry
Jake Oettinger
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Avalanche 2022 draft review

The Colorado Avalanche added 15 prospects to the organization in a massive 2022 draft crop: nine forwards, four defencemen and two goalies.

1) Juraj Slafkovsky, LW
With their second straight #1 pick, the Avs took the Slovak over several other contenders for the pick. Scouts see Slafkovsky as a future first line threat with a strong all-around game. A big-time offensive producer with great hands, he also plays an extremely physical game and doesn't neglect defence. He could even kill penalties at the NHL level. Slafkovsky will jump to the AHL Colorado Eagles this season.

8) Adam Sykora, RW
Colorado added an even stronger defensive forward - and another Slovak. Athough he doesn't have the offence of most top picks, Sykora does a solid enough job there. He's a shutdown beast, a physical player who can be matched with the best of them and close them down. Think #1 PKer, an excellent third liner who can play on the second, and a possible Selke candidate if the offence really comes around.

44) David Goyette, C
A pure offensive skill centre who pays little attention to defence and is very inconsistent, but the Avs decided to take a swing on a potential first line playmaker with puck wizardry skills.

46) Artyom Duda, D
Duda looks to be a #4 or #5 shutdown d-man with great positioning who excels at stopping the rush. He has some moderate offensive ability but not likely enough to get any power play time.

56) Reid Schaefer, LW
A very physical winger, Schaefer produces offence at maybe a third line level, mainly from his big shot. But devastating hits are his bread and butter.

62) Tyler Brennan, G
The Avs felt Brennan had the best combination of ability and consistency of any goalie in the draft. He has the upside to be a solid if unspectacular NHL starter.

68) Fraser Minten, RW
Minten was Colorado's fifth forward pick, a physical two-way type comparable to Schaefer who could hold down a top 9 role in the future.

81) Marek Alscher, D
The Czech rearguard will never bring much offence to the table, but excels in all areas defensively with the ability to deliver crunching hits.

85) Noah Ostlund, C
A boom or bust player opposite to Alscher in almost every way. His offensive upside is his calling card, but there is some question as to whether his game will translate to the NHL level. Don't expect any hits.

116) Tomas Hamara, D
It’s not entirely clear how his game will translate to the NHL but Hamara could be a solid two-way guy with a focus on defence and positioning, perhaps a #5 d-man.

117) Servac Petrovsky, C
He's seen as a long shot but with third-line potential. His defensive responsibility is his bread and butter but there is some offence as well.

118) Connor Hvidston, LW
A defensive forward who could be a penalty killer at the NHL level and a solid fourth line energy guy, but will never bring much scoring.

120) Niklas Kokko, G
Consistency is a major issue in his game, but the talent is there to be a future starter. He joins several other goalie prospects in Colorado's system.

123) Benjamin King, C
Another guy with consistency struggles, who nevertheless has top 9 offensive potential and strong playmaking instincts.

130) Angus Booth, D
For the second straight year Colorado used their final pick on a stay-at-home defenceman with no offence from the QMJHL.
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2022 Off-Season Review

The Colorado Avalanche's summer of 2022 started out with moderate trade activity and roster changes, but nothing franchise-altering. The real splashes came in a pair of bold but perhaps questionable moves to bolster the back end.

Out:
Drew Doughty
Noel Gunler
Ivan Barbashev
Tyler Biggs
Brayden Point
Taylor Raddysh
Donovan Sebrango
Ilya Konovalov
Keegan Kolesar
Trent Miner
Yegor Sokolov
Lenni Killinen
Isak Walther
2022 2nd round pick
2023 1st round pick
2023 2nd round pick
2023 3rd round pick


In:
Moritz Seider
Charlie McAvoy
Nicklas Backstrom
Semyon Der-Arguchintsev
Rasmus Kulmala
John Moore
Tristan Jarry
Antti Tuomisto
Oscar Back
Tyler Madden
Stanislav Svozil
Ty Voit
2022 1st round pick (Adam Sykora)
2022 2nd round pick (Artyom Duda)
2022 2nd round pick (Reid Schaefer)
2022 3rd round pick (Tyler Brennan)
2022 3rd round pick (Fraser Minten)
2022 3rd round pick (Noah Ostlund)
2022 4th round pick (Connor Hvidston)
2023 3rd round pick
2024 2nd round pick
2025 3rd round pick
2025 5th round pick

Other 2022 draft picks:
Juraj Slafkovsky
David Goyette
Marek Alscher
Tomas Hamara
Servac Petrovsky
Niklas Kokko
Benjamin King
Angus Booth

The Avs started the off-season with a big deal, shipping defencemen Doughty and Sebrango to Toronto for a package centred around a top 10 pick used on Adam Sykora. Smaller but significant moves reshaped the roster in other areas with the likes of Barbashev, Point, Raddysh and Konovalov all being shipped out for picks and prospects.

Then the first real bomb: Gunler to Dallas for McAvoy, with some picks sprinkled in. Colorado gave up on their top prospect after one NHL season just like that. Management's firm belief in building around defence fuelled this blockbuster and McAvoy is on a ridiculously cheap contract for another year.

The Avs left the draft with their chest of prospects bursting at the seams, making 15 picks including their second straight #1, Juraj Slafkovsky.

Another big trade came shortly afterward with physical grinder Biggs dealt to Detroit. For retaining 50% of his monster salary, they wound up with Backstrom, Moore and good futures.

Finally, in free agency they signed checking line winger Zach Sanford to a one-year deal and it looked like that would be that. Then they gambled on an offer sheet to Pittsburgh defenceman Seider. The offer was for four years at a $4.95 million AAV. The Penguins ultimately decided not to match and gained Colorado's first, second and third round picks next year. A ballsy move for a team that's finished bottom three the last two years going into the Bedard draft.

But adding McAvoy and Seider, somewhat similar players with some offence, to a core led by Duncan Siemens and Owen Power could make defence Colorado's strength. With Moore, Daniil Misyul, Xavier Bernard and several NHL-ready prospects, there is no shortage of talent.

Jake Oettinger returns for his first full season as starting goalie with Jarry backing up. It's a tandem the Avs trust to at least hold their heads above water.

There is also potential for a big improvement up front as trade deadline pickups Alex Nylander and Ryan Gropp, combined with major growth in the likes of Jaromir Pytlik and Ostap Safin, could help create a much deeper forward corps. Along with Backstrom, top guys like Nolan Patrick, Kailer Yamamoto, Mitch Marner and Janne Kuokkanen are all back and expected to lead. The bottom six is much more focused on shutting down the opponents this year, with a hitting third line and a checking fourth.

Without their first-round pick, there is some real pressure on the Avs to pick up their socks this season. A bottom-five finish isn't going to cut it. It's probably unrealistic to expect a playoff spot, but the team will be expected to put up a good fight for one.
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Avalanche trade deadline update

More than three months after the EHEC trade deadline passed, the GM of the Colorado Avalanche has finally deigned to fill us in on the moves he made.

The Avs, who finished 11th in the West and 21st overall, shipped out two young defencemen and two veteran forwards for a collection of draft picks, prospects and one roster player.

First, they traded 22-year-old blueliner Daniil Misyul to the Edmonton Oilers for defence prospect Guillaume Richard and a second-round pick in 2023.

Misyul completed his first full NHL season with 14 points in 75 games after spending the second half of the previous year in Colorado. He was originally a 35th overall pick by the Dallas Stars in 2019.

Misyul has rounded into a solid, physical, defence-oriented rearguard but probably tops out as a strong #5 defenceman or a potential fill-in on the second pair.

“He’ll play in the league for a long time, for sure,” said GM Josh Lewis. “We were looking to bring up some young NHL-ready talent though, such as Henry Thrun and Antti Tuomisto, who also have promising futures.”

Richard, 20, projects to be a slight downgrade on Misyul but still capable of holding down a third-pair role. He will jump to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles next season. The draft pick will fall at 53rd overall.

Colorado’s next trade shipped out fellow young defender Xavier Bernard to the Toronto Maple Leafs for blueliner Robbie Stucker and a third-round pick in 2024.

Bernard, 23, was originally drafted by the Anaheim Ducks 41st overall in 2018 and was later flipped to Colorado for goalie prospect Stuart Skinner.

In his second NHL season he posted three goals and three assists in 51 games, adding another three assists in 13 playoff games for Toronto.

Hitting is a big part of his game, with no offence to speak of - even in the AHL, Bernard managed only nine points in a full season.

“With so many D prospects coming through our system, Xavier was already finding himself a healthy scratch on a semi-regular basis. He’s got an NHL toolkit, but tops out as a third pair shutdown guy. Discipline is a weakness for both him and Misyul,” the GM said.

Stucker, 24, has 38 games of NHL experience between the Avs, Leafs and Montreal Canadiens, with a total of eight points. He’s a decent #6 option on the back end but nothing special. Under contract for one more year at $800,000, it’s not clear if he will play in Denver next year or be traded over the summer.

Finally, the Avs completed a deal with the Florida Panthers involving four players and two draft picks.

Winger Nicklas Backstrom and centre Rasmus Kulmala went to Miami, er, Sunrise, for prospects Ilya Ivantsov and Connor Dewar, a third-round pick in 2024 and a fourth in 2023.

Backstrom, 35, had been a pleasant surprise for Colorado this year after an early-season trade with San Jose. The veteran was among the top scorers in the league at one point early on and finished the year with 26 goals and 58 points, which would have been third on the team if he hadn’t been traded.

Kulmala, 29, is a faceoff wizard - his last four NHL seasons were all over 60% in the dot - but in terms of his overall game, his upside is limited. The Avs had deployed him as their fourth line centre. He finished the year with 14 points in 70 games.

Dewar, 24, has been a potent AHL producer whose offensive game is fully ready for the big league, but his defensive and physical game leaves much to be desired. He is a year removed from putting up 50 goals and 101 points in the AHL but has yet to make his NHL debut.

Ivantsov, 20, was drafted 139th overall by Florida in 2021. His bread and butter is also offence, with consistency and physicality being his pitfalls. He is expected to jump to the AHL next year.
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Avalanche land Radulov from Flyers

After yet another disappointing season that saw them finish 25 points out of a playoff spot, the Colorado Avalanche made a trade Thursday that had some wondering if their rebuild is over.

The Burgundy and Blue acquired soon-to-be-37-year-old sniper Alexander Radulov from the Philadelphia Flyers, along with a third-round pick, for young offensive forward Kailer Yamamoto and second and fourth rounders, all in 2023.

Radulov is coming off a down year that saw him record just 23 goals and 49 points after topping 30 goals and 70 points each of the previous two seasons.

The Russian also comes with some significant warts - defence, physicality, consistency and endurance among them - but he brings a blistering shot that is sorely needed in the Avs’ top six crew full of playmakers, such as Pavel Buchnevich, Mitch Marner, Janne Kuokkanen and Alexander Nylander.

Radulov, a left shot, will also bolster Colorado’s left side, giving them him and Nylander to man their top two lines.

“I wouldn’t say the rebuild is over - we still have plenty of promising prospects working their way through the system - but we recognized the need to beef up our offence and although Alex is nearing the twilight of his career, he made a lot of sense for us on multiple levels,” said GM Josh Lewis.

Yamamoto, acquired from San Jose in 2020, was once seen as a crucial piece of the Avs’ future up front. But he never really played to his potential in Denver.

He finishes his Avs tenure with just 88 points in 186 games. His best rate of production came this past season with 29 points in 54 games, but by then the coaching staff had grown frustrated with his performance compared to other options and he spent much of the second half in the press box.

“We wish Kailer all the best. But the reality is he’s a runt who doesn’t have a physical component whatsoever, and while his faceoff ability brought some redeeming value, it was time to move on.”

Colorado surrendered the 53rd and 111st overall picks in this year’s draft and received 89th overall in return. That leaves them with one pick in the top 85.

Notwithstanding any other trades the Avalanche may pull the trigger on, they have a large crew of impending free agents to make decisions on this summer.

They include Nylander, Buchnevich, Ryan Gropp, Zach Sanford, Jack Perbix, Ostap Safin, Duncan Siemens, Charlie McAvoy, Tristan Jarry and John Moore.

It’s unlikely Jarry or Moore will be re-signed, as AHL prospect Calle Clang is expected to take over the backup job next year and Moore’s contract was buried in the minors after the trade deadline. It’s also possible that Sanford, who was signed as a free agent last summer, will price himself out of Denver on his next deal.
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Avs trade Perbix, Stucker for Eriksson Ek

The Colorado Avalanche have swung their second trade of the 2023 off-season in a three-player deal with the Dallas Stars.

On Friday the Avs acquired two-way centre Joel Eriksson Ek from the Stars in exchange for centre Jack Perbix and defenceman Robbie Stucker.

Eriksson Ek, 26, had spent his entire career with the Toronto Maple Leafs until February when he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, then flipped to Dallas the same day. In 83 games with the Leafs and Stars, he compiled 12 goals and 25 points.

Dallas retained $600,000 of his $3.4 million contract, which has one year left.

He has never been a major producer, with 183 points in 620 career EHEC games, including a career-best of 33 points in 2016-17. He was drafted 36th overall by the Leafs in 2015.

However, the Avalanche see him as a good fit to centre their third line with strong defensive positioning and faceoff ability, as well as being a good skater with a solid shot. Last season he had 92 takeaways and 23 shot blocks, along with a 52.6% faceoff rate.

"This move makes us stronger down the middle," said Colorado GM Josh Lewis. "Joel is sort of a jack of all trades who is a definite asset on the third line, and would also be able to handle himself higher in the lineup in case of injury."

Rookie Jaromir Pytlik was the Avs' third line centre last year, but with Eriksson Ek and the emergence of top prospect Juraj Slafkovsky, they now have the option of moving their hit and grind line with Pytlik and Ostap Safin to the fourth unit.

In Perbix, 22, the Avalanche give up a player on the upswing who was sixth on the team in scoring last year with 16 goals and 37 points. He spent significant time on their second line in the first half of last season and has 62 points in 158 career games.

"Jack has shown some real flashes of potential, but he hasn't grown to the point where he's a lock to stay in our top six, and he hasn't been a great fit on the fourth line," the GM said. "Joel was a better fit for what we needed."

Perbix was originally acquired from the New York Rangers in 2021 for Joe Pavelski. The Rangers drafted him in the third round, 69th overall in 2018.

Stucker, 24, was acquired from Toronto at the trade deadline in exchange for Xavier Bernard. He had a goal and four assists in 22 games between the Leafs and Avs, and was expected to be used mostly as a seventh defenceman next season.
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Avs trade two prospects to Tampa

The Colorado Avalanche have made their third trade of the off-season, albeit a minor one not involving roster players.

Goalie prospect Niklas Kokko and forward prospect Servac Petrovsky, both selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft, were shipped to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a fourth round pick this year and a pair of conditional picks.

This year's pick belongs to Los Angeles and falls in the same area where both players were taken last year.

If Kokko receives a con boost after the trade, Colorado also gets a third round pick in 2026 and a fifth rounder in 2025.

Kokko, taken 120th overall, has the skill to be a top 10 EHEC goalie, but his consistency is poor.

"With Tyler Brennan, Calle Clang, Isaiah Saville and Patrik Hamrla, we're happy with our stable of goalie prospects. We took a flyer on Kokko late with the intention of trading him for future pick(s)," said GM Josh Lewis. "If he doesn't boost, we get back the pick we invested in him. If he does, we get a third, fourth and fifth for a guy we took in the fourth."

Petrovsky, who plays centre and left wing, was the 117th overall pick in 2022. He has the tools to be a good bottom six forward if he makes the EHEC, but is considered an extreme long shot to make it.

The Avalanche now have eight picks in the 2023 draft, though six of them are in the bottom two rounds.
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Kolyachonok traded to Chicago

The Colorado Avalanche made a minor-league swap of defencemen with the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Avs prospect Vladislav Kolyachonok was shipped out for AHL veteran Ian Cole, who has 600-plus NHL games to his credit but has regressed to AHL level and will not be re-signed this summer.

Kolyachonok, 22, is solid defensively for the AHL level but would top out as an injury call-up on most teams. He was acquired from the St. Louis Blues at the 2022 trade deadline.

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2019 draft by the Blues, he posted 12 points in 50 AHL games last year.

"We have five junior defencemen eligible to jump to the AHL," said GM Josh Lewis. "Kolyachonok is a good AHL player but there's just no room."
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Avs raise questions with trade for EHEC legend Staal

Local emergency rooms can blame the Colorado Avalanche for the sudden influx of snapped necks after making perhaps the most surprising trade of GM Josh Lewis’ tenure last week.

The Avalanche, a team that has missed the playoffs 14 years straight and finished 25 points out last year, acquired one of the best players in EHEC history but one who will turn 39 by the time the next season starts.

Eric Staal had been shipped to San Jose at the deadline after a long, dominant career with the Carolina Hurricanes. Last week the Sharks flipped him to Colorado for prospects Reid Schaefer, Matvei Petrov and Nikita Okhotyuk.

Staal is fifth all-time in goals and points with 677 and 1,475 respectively. Counting only his EHEC numbers, he’s racked up 503 goals and 1,096 points in 1,108 career games.

But the important question is how much the superstar centre has left in the tank. Although he managed 33 goals and 75 points last year, the latter good for eighth in the league, he has been losing some steam.

“It’s not a deal without risk, but we’ll re-sign him to a one-year deal and monitor how he does throughout the season,” said the GM. “Load management will definitely be on the table, depending on how other players perform and whether we look to have a shot at the playoffs.”

His game-breaking offensive skillset gets most of the attention, but Staal has also been a stellar defensive and physical performer, winning the Selke Trophy in the past. He consistently dishes out far more hits and takeaways than he receives, despite being the most targeted player on his team by opposition checkers every single night. This is a truly impressive measure of his all-around effectiveness.

The Thunder Bay native is also one of the most dominant faceoff wizards the league has ever seen. He has surpassed a 60% win rate every single season of his career, even breaking 70% three times. In fact, his 61.3% rate last season was the lowest since his rookie year. The Avs have struggled to find a natural #1 centre who excels on draws in the past.

“He certainly checks all the boxes for our #1 centre vacancy,” said the GM. “The question is for how long.”

In Schaefer, Petrov and Okhotyuk, the Avs give up three solid prospects who could all have NHL careers, but none would be ranked in the top 10 of their massive prospect pool.

Schaefer, a physical winger selected 56th overall in the 2022 draft, was the highest drafted of the three and could be missed the most. He produces offence at maybe a third line level, mainly from his big shot, but devastating hits are his bread and butter. He projects as a somewhat similar player to Avs winger Zach Sanford.

Petrov, selected 65th overall in 2021, was set to make his AHL debut with the Colorado Eagles this fall. His shot is his best asset, and he’s got the talent to be a decent second liner. He somewhat pays attention to defence but will never be a penalty killer.

Okhotyuk projects to be a solid shutdown defender but has some weaknesses, like consistency, offence and discipline. He was originally drafted 104th overall in 2019 by the New York Rangers.

“We’ve weakened our pool of B prospects a bit, but ultimately these guys are replaceable for the most part and we still have a number of decent value picks in the next few drafts,” the GM said.

Staal is expected to centre the top line with Mitch Marner and either Alex Radulov or Alex Nylander.
Last edited by AvalancheGM on Wed Aug 02, 2023 12:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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All-In.
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Avs bring back Bereglazov for a third time

Alexei Bereglazov has played for five EHEC teams, but like Luc Robitaille and the Kings, he always seems to come back to the Colorado Avalanche.

The 29-year-old hard-hitting defenceman was re-acquired by the Avs on Tuesday in a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes. Defence prospect Artyom Grushnikov went the other way.

Bereglazov’s first stint in the Rocky Mountain State was from 2015-18, when he suited up for 163 games over three seasons with a truly impressive 23 points.

After some time in Los Angeles, he was brought in again for the 2020-21 season when he managed 10 points in 60 games. He was then dealt to Tampa for veteran winger Evgeni Svechnikov.

Now, after spending the last two years with Arizona and Carolina, the rearguard with 545 career games under his belt is back again.

“He has almost no offensive ability or discipline, and isn’t very consistent, but after Moritz Seider went and got himself suspended 25 games during a meaningless April contest, we needed a guy to fill in as a #4 or #5 d-man for a little bit,” said GM Josh Lewis.

Until Seider returns, Bereglazov will battle youngster Henry Thrun, who has just 24 games of experience, for the #4 spot. When Seider is back either Bereglazov or another youngster, Antti Tuomisto, will be relegated to the #7 spot.

“His usage will all depend on how Thrun and Tuomisto develop through pre-season games and early on in the year,” the GM said.

Bereglazov is signed for one more year at the paltry sum of $1 million.

Grushnikov, 20, was acquired from St. Louis at the 2022 trade deadline in a deal that involved journeyman defender Ladislav Smid going the other way.

He was the Blues’ fourth-round pick, 107th overall, in the 2021 draft. He projects as a third pair shutdown defenceman in the future but with even less offensive ability than Bereglazov.

“Grushnikov would have made his AHL debut next season, but we’re not hurting at all for young blueliners to develop,” the GM said.
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Avalanche select eight prospects in 2023 EHEC draft

The Colorado Avalanche didn’t have the No. 1 pick or even a first-rounder, unlike the past two years, but they managed to add some depth to their already bulging prospect pool at the 2023 EHEC Draft.

Colorado drafted eight players, including four forwards, three defencemen and a goalie. Six of those picks came in the last two rounds.

After surrendering their own first, second and third-round picks to Pittsburgh with the Moritz Seider offer sheet, the Avalanche had to wait until 48th overall to make their first selection.

They chose Carey Terrance, a defensive centre with elite positioning, good puck skills and a solid shot. There is no physicality in his game, so he would have to centre a third or fourth line that doesn’t use the hit and grind tactic.

The US-born prospect scored 30 goals and 47 points in 67 games with the OHL’s Erie Otters last season and also played at under-18 worlds.

“Carey is obviously a less flashy name than Juraj Slafkovsky or Owen Power. But at 48, with how the talent level dropped dramatically after the first round, we’re happy with the pick,” said Avs GM Josh Lewis.

Colorado was set to pick next at 88th overall late in the third round, but they traded 2022 fourth rounder Connor Hvidston to Pittsburgh to move up five spots.

With the 83rd pick they selected shutdown defenceman Carter Sotheran. The 6-foot-3 Manitoba native will never bring much offence to the table at the NHL level, but is expected to be a dominant stay-at-home force. Hitting might be the strongest part of his game, but his positioning and defensive play are also superb.

He posted 23 points in 68 games with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks in 2022-23.

“We’re very pleased to get Sotheran late in the third round,” the GM said. “There was almost no one left on the board that we felt was worthy of going that high, so parting with one of our many long-shot prospects was a fair price to move up.”

They took another defenceman, Daniil Karpovich, with their next pick at 98th overall. The 6-foot-3 Belarussian has some major consistency issues, but in terms of defensive skill set he projects very similarly to Sotheran as a big hitter who marks opposing forwards tightly.

Although his offence isn’t what caught scouts’ attention, he recorded strong numbers in Russia’s top junior league with 10 goals and 35 points in 47 games for Avto Yekaterinburg.

“Karpovich was ranked right after Sotheran on our list, so to get him 15 picks later was pretty good,” Lewis said.

The Avs were up again six picks later, selecting right winger Yegor Rimashevsky, another Belarus native.

An offence-first winger whose puckhandling is his best asset, he also plays a serviceable enough defensive game to avoid being a liability. He had 26 points in 29 games for Dynamo Moskva in the top Russian junior league.

“Considering the Islanders took the top guy on our list one pick before, Jesse Nurmi, we were scrambling a bit. But we got a similar player,” the GM said.

With their third pick of the fourth round, 119th overall, Colorado took goaltender Adam Gajan.

“We got this pick for the con booster goalie we drafted last year, Niklas Kokko, so it’s only fitting that we used it on another con booster goalie.”

Gajan, like Kokko, is extremely talented but also extremely inconsistent. He was the sixth goalie selected.

He starred for Slovakia at this year’s World Juniors, being named goalie of the tournament, and posted a .917 save percentage in 34 games with the North American Hockey League’s Chippewa Steel.

Colorado also had three picks in the fifth round. They traded the 137th selection to Pittsburgh for Simon Despres, but then acquired No. 147 from Dallas for AHL goalie Isaiah Saville.

With the 129th overall pick, they took Finnish defenceman Emil Pieniniemi. Like their other two rearguard picks, he is defence-first but not as good as Sotheran or Karpovich. Positioning is his best skill and he isn’t afraid to throw hits. But don’t expect any offence if he makes the NHL.

Pieniniemi had 13 points in 31 games at the Finnish U20 level and also played for his country at the under-18s.

One pick later, the Avs chose their second centre with a strong skill set away from the puck in Brad Gardiner.

The Ontario native plays an extremely physical brand of hockey, gives opponents little space to work with in his own end and can also shoot the puck decently enough, although offence will never be his calling card.

He had 19 goals and 39 points for the OHL’s Ottawa 67s last season.

With the pick acquired for Saville, Colorado took yet another non-offence-first forward. Beckett Hendrickson is a similar player to Gardiner, except he plays left wing.

The American brings even less offence to the table and hitting is his best asset by far, with his defensive game average at best.

He spent last season with the US National Team Development Program and is committed to the University of Minnesota in 2024-25.

“The odds of him being anything more than a 13th forward are pretty slim, but what do you expect with four picks left in a shallow draft?” the GM said. “We weren’t going to re-sign Saville, due to Tyler Brennan and Patrik Hamrla both graduating from junior to the AHL this fall.”

Although none of the new prospects are high-end, they add talent at all positions to a pool of prospects that is already arguably the league’s deepest. Thirteen of their prospects are expected to move up to the AHL next season and that’s before most of their massive 15-player draft class of 2022 hits the pro level.
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Avs sign Tobias Tornkvist in free agency

The Colorado Avalanche have not been overly busy in the UFA market since it opened on Friday, but they did make one signing of note.

Hard-hitting two-way right winger Tobias Tornkvist was signed to a one-year deal worth $950,000 on Monday.

The 29-year-old posted 22 points, 147 hits and 146 takeaways in 77 games with the St. Louis Blues last year, also appearing in 13 playoff games. He has also played for the New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks, recording career highs of 19 goals and 34 points in 2019-20 with the Jets.

GM Josh Lewis said the plan is to play Tornkvist on the fourth line with Jaromir Pytlik and Ostap Safin, although he is a player who can move up a line if necessary.

"Brandon Coe was going to fill that spot as a rookie, and he will still get some playing time - but he has a fair bit of developing to do and Tornkvist brings more physicality and offence. Coe will be the 13th forward but the hope is to get him into 40+ games."

Tornkvist is not very disciplined, going over the 100 PIM mark three times in his career, and struggles with consistency. But otherwise he is a well-rounded addition to the bottom six.

Meanwhile, four of the Avs' five UFAs have signed with new teams.

Defenceman Duncan Siemens is now a Pittsburgh Penguin, while John Moore is a New York Islander. They both signed two-year deals for $900,000, a major haircut from their previous contracts.

The Avs acquired Simon Despres from Pittsburgh last month to replace Siemens. They are somewhat similar players but Despres is much more disciplined.

Winger Zach Sanford inked a two-year deal with the St. Louis Blues for $850,000, the same salary he made last year, while goalie Tristan Jarry took a two-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets for $900,000.

Winger Pavel Buchnevich remains unsigned but is believed to be talking with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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Avs sign prospect, AHL swingman

Tobias Tornkvist was the only pickup of significance for the Colorado Avalanche in free agency, but they inked deals with two other players.

The Avs signed undrafted 19-year-old winger Alex Bump, along with 26-year-old defenceman/right winger Nick Boka.

Boka will join the AHL's Colorado Eagles and provide some roster flexibility as a guy who swings both ways, though he's not likely to see much playing time with the team expecting to have a 25-man roster.

He is certainly better suited to a D role, however. Over the past four years on Carolina's farm team, he had highs of four goals and 18 points.

Bump, meanwhile, will finish up his junior career before turning pro. The IRL fifth-round pick of the Flyers in 2022 had 39 points in 48 games last year in the USHL.

"He has a chance to develop NHL-calibre offensive skills, with a good shot and smooth hands," said GM Josh Lewis. "But there's no physicality or much defence in his game, so he's a long-shot. I'd compare his skill set to Marcus Karlberg - a guy who can be a good scorer in the AHL at least."

Meanwhile, the Avalanche have won their first two pre-season games despite a lineup heavily laden with prospects. Juraj Slafkovsky was the only roster player of significance to play in either game. They shut out Minnesota 4-0 and edged Anaheim 4-3.
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Prosvetov signed to man Eagles crease

It turned out the Colorado Avalanche weren’t done in the free agent market.

The team signed 24-year-old goalie Ivan Prosvetov to a one-year deal worth the league minimum $600,000 on Monday.

The team had been planning to run with 20-year-olds Patrik Hamrla and Tyler Brennan between the pipes in the AHL, but another signing became necessary because a certain GM didn’t look closely enough at Brennan’s birthdate.

Brennan turns 20 on Sept. 27, 12 days after the cutoff to play in the AHL without underager status.

The Eagles are expected to use their underage spot on centre David Goyette, a second-round pick in 2022, so Brennan will head back to junior.

Prosvetov has enough skill to be a serviceable NHL backup but has mediocre consistency. He last played in 2021-22 for Winnipeg’s AHL team, going 7-14-3 with a 5.39 GAA and .836 save percentage in 25 games.

He will likely split starts evenly with Hamrla, but the Eagles will be expecting better numbers than that.
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Avs make four-player deal with Sabres

Ivan Morozov has torn the AHL to shreds the last two years with the Colorado Eagles, but now their top line centre is gone to free up cap space for the parent club.

The Avalanche traded Morozov, forward Oscar Back and defence prospect Guillaume Richard to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday for AHL defenceman Vojtech Budik.

Morozov and Back, both 23, would have counted a combined $950,000 against the cap even in the AHL this year and the Avs are tight on cap space after the acquisition of Eric Staal.

“We thank both these guys for their contributions. Ivan was an AHL superstar and Oscar has NHL potential, but just got caught in a numbers game with our very full prospect pool. Richard was the price to pay to dump their hit, and he’ll have an NHL career. But with the likes of O’Rourke, Duda, Iorio, Grans, Alscher and Svozil still in the fold, he was expendable,” said GM Josh Lewis.

Morozov led the AHL in scoring by a wide margin last year with 66 goals and 179 points. He was third in goals, with linemate Linus Karlsson leading the league with 68.

Morozov was also primed to win the scoring race in 2021-22 before an injury cost him 11 games. He still had 50 goals and 145 points. He also put up two previous 100+ point years in Vancouver’s system until they traded him to Colorado in 2021. The second round pick in 2018 has 13 games of NHL experience.

“He’s a very solid all-around player, but one of those tweeners who just hasn’t been able to elevate himself into an NHL lineup as a regular,” the GM said.

Back, meanwhile, posted 11 goals and 44 points for the Eagles last year while getting into three NHL games. He was acquired from Vancouver in 2022 along with a third-round pick for Brayden Point.

“He should be able to find a spot in Buffalo to grow into the solid bottom six forward he can be,” Lewis said. “With the influx of junior prospects coming into the AHL, we couldn’t even guarantee him top six ice time at that level.”

Richard, 20, was set to join the Eagles this fall. The 54th overall pick in 2021 was acquired from Edmonton at this year’s trade deadline, along with a second-round pick, for young defenceman Daniil Misyul. He won’t bring much offence at the NHL level but should settle in as a third pair guy.

Budik, 25, joins the newly signed Nick Boka as the seventh and eighth options on the Eagles’ blueline. He had four points in 24 AHL games last year and was drafted in the fifth round in 2016.
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Training camp update

With two games left in the pre-season, the Avalanche have 40 players left in camp - although that includes 14 players who will be sent back to junior in a week.

So far, 43 different skaters have appeared in pre-season action along with four goalies. Players yet to appear include Eric Staal, Alexander Radulov, Mitch Marner, Alex Nylander, Nolan Patrick, Ryan Gropp, Charlie McAvoy, Simon Despres, Alexei Bereglazov and Jake Oettinger. Moritz Seider remains suspended.

The Avs own a 5-1 record despite their lineups only now beginning to feature significant talent from the NHL roster.

Top prospect Juraj Slafkovsky leads the club with four goals and nine points in six games and his hitting ability has soared, as noted in the latest episode of the EHEC Podcast which drops today.

Oskar Olausson, Brandon Coe and Henry Thrun each have five points while Simon Holmstrom, Xavier Bourgault, Adam Sykora, David Goyette and Antti Tuomisto have four apiece.

Other strong performers include prospect Noah Ostlund, whose stock is on the rise, and Calle Clang, who earned a shutout in each of his two starts.

This is the team's expected lineup to start the year:

Nylander-Staal-Marner
Radulov-Patrick-Kuokkanen
Slafkovsky-Eriksson Ek-Gropp
Safin-Pytlik-Tornkvist
Ex: Coe, Holmstrom

McAvoy-Power
Despres-Thrun
Bereglazov-Tuomisto
Ex: Seider (suspended 13 games)
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Avalanche trade futures for geezer again

For a team that missed the playoffs by 25 points last year and has struggled out of the gate with a 2-4-2 record, the Colorado Avalanche continue to add players in their late 30s.

After the acquisitions of Eric Staal and Alex Radulov comes veteran defenceman Brent Seabrook in an eight-player deal with the Buffalo Sabres.

Colorado gave up two-way forward Janne Kuokkanen, left wing prospect Oskar Olausson, hitting winger Ostap Safin and young defencemen Antti Tuomisto and Helge Grans in exchange for Seabrook at 50% retained, young offensive winger Vitali Kravtsov, veteran bottom six winger Logan Shaw and a pair of third-round picks.

Seabrook, 38, has over 1,000 EHEC games to his credit with 551 points. Last year in San Jose he posted 32 points in 67 games before being signed by Buffalo in the off-season.

His career high is 64 points back in 2014-15, but the Avs will be looking more to his defensive and physical prowess, with star D Moritz Seider suspended another four games and Colorado’s defence dropping off in quality after the top three.

Seabrook is under contract for this year only, costing the Avs a hit of $3.625 million. He also brings leadership, strength and consistency to a team that is still quite young, with 17 players under the age of 27.

“Seabs will stabilize our defence and overall roster,” said GM Josh Lewis. “This is our second straight year without a first round pick; it’s time to make some noise. We might have lost our first six games but there have been some promising signs. We’ve played quite well in most of our games, including some where we outshot the other team but lost. Beating Chicago back-to-back is hopefully a sign of better things to come.”

Kravtsov, 23, is a promising two-way winger with a big shot, a solid all-around game, and he still has room to grow. He’ll slot into Kuokkanen’s third line spot, but could be a top six option down the road.

Kravtsov posted seven goals and 13 points in 66 games last year, his first full season in the league. He was the 12th overall pick in 2018 by the Rangers. He is strong defensively, disciplined and brings more grit than Kuokkaken.

“Losing Kuokkanen sucks. It really does. He was the last original player in the organization from when I took over in 2020. For a while he was one of our best offensive players and he’s a great checker. But he has warts, including lack of physicality and faceoff,” the GM said. “Kravtsov is a different but similar player, younger, cheaper, with untapped potential.”

Shaw, 31, is back for his second stint in Denver. The hard-hitting winger is excellent defensively and produces offence, with a decent shot, and has scored at least 19 goals three times.

Colorado signed him as a free agent in 2020, but later traded him to Tampa for Sami Vatanen.

“Shaw is a terrific hit and grind winger who brings more offence than Safin. We’re happy to have him back and quite happy with our fourth line now of Shaw-Pytlik-Tornkvist.”

Olausson, 20, was drafted 22nd overall in 2021 by the Avs. He was among their top forward prospects, with two-way potential. He had been pencilled in for a second line spot down the road and expected to be called up later this year.

“Olausson was the biggest stumbling block in the negotiations. We tried to keep him out of it, but credit to Buffalo, they knew who they wanted. Although he is a highly rated prospect, there are lots of guys out there like him.”

The Swedish winger has two goals in eight AHL games so far this year.

Tuomisto, 22, had seven points in 28 games with Colorado between the end of last year and the start of this year. He projects to be a similar player to current Avs d-man Henry Thrun.

“He’s got upside as an NHLer, for sure. But guys like Ryan O’Rourke and Dmitri Semykin have been chomping at the bit, and plenty of other guys are
coming up behind them. O’Rourke will get a chance to make his NHL debut while the trade is being processed.”

Grans, 21, is in his second AHL season after the trade that brought him from Winnipeg along with Nolan Patrick. He had two goals and seven points last year, and so far has three assists through eight games.

“Helge has more offensive potential than most of our D prospects, but was still unlikely to have a long career in Colorado,” the GM said.

The Avs also received third-round picks in 2024 and 2025, bolstering their pool of picks in years where they don’t have their first-rounder.
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Avs shore up goaltending with minor deal

Avalanche starting goalie Jake Oettinger has turned it around somewhat after a slow start, but Colorado still did not have a backup they could trust.

That led to a swap with the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

The Avs acquired journeyman netminder Jon Gillies from the Orange and Black in exchange for forward prospect Alex Bump.

Gillies, 29, has 220 games of EHEC experience with Pittsburgh, Dallas and New Jersey, with a lifetime 3.01 GAA and .877 save percentage, .

However, he has toiled in the AHL since his last big league action in 2019-20 when he appeared in 22 games for the Penguins.

"We're basically giving him a tryout," said Avs GM Josh Lewis. "There were tons of goalies out there who could be tried, but we decided to give him a shot first. The price was right."

Bump, 20, was signed as a free agent this summer and is considered a longshot to make an impact at the NHL level. He was undrafted.

The need for a goalie came about after young tender Calle Clang failed miserably at both pro levels to start the year. After an atrocious .824 save percentage in the AHL last season, he was pencilled into the backup job, but after two awful games he was sent back down, where he has continued to struggle.

However, his performance Monday night stopping 20 of 21 shots could be a sign he is ready for a turnaround.

"We only need 15-20 games out of our backup, with Jake carrying the mail," the GM said. "Whether those games are played by Gillies or Clang or someone else or a combination of them, we'll see. If Calle shows progress at the AHL level he could get another shot eventually."

Patrik Hamrla has served as the backup since Clang was sent down, but the rookie pro did not see any action. Colorado also has 24-year-old Ivan Prosvetov, signed to back up Hamrla in the AHL, but he now appears consigned to No. 3 duty.
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Seider making case for Avs MVP - if he behaves himself

For the second time this season, Moritz Seider returned from a suspension and sparked a turnaround in the Colorado Avalanche's fortunes.

Colorado languished without the defenseman to start the season then went on a run when he came back. Then the 22-year-old got himself suspended again for 14 games and the Avalanche plummeted to the bottom of the standings. With him in the fold again they have five wins and a draw in their last six games.

"We have played frustratingly poorly at times without Mo in the lineup," said GM Josh Lewis. "He seems to be the straw that stirs the drink."

The German rearguard has seven points in 12 games and fans hope he doesn't do anything else stupid.

Colorado has a steep hill to climb. Although they sit just four points out of a playoff spot, they have played more games than anyone in the West and have four teams to leapfrog. However, they have more than 40 games to right the ship.

"We have seen an abnormal number of suspensions this year," said the GM. "If we can keep our core healthy and out of trouble, those flashes could turn into something more."

Alexander Radulov and Eric Staal lead the team with 36 points each, including 21 goals by Radulov. Alexander Nylander, Mitch Marner and Juraj Slafkovsky round out the scoring leaders.

Owen Power has filled in admirably for Seider on the back end, while Jake Oettinger has put in a workmanlike, up and down 31 games.

With Slafkovsky and Staal serving short suspensions, top prospect Adam Sykora has been called up.

The eighth overall pick in 2022 has 20 goals and 40 points in 38 AHL games as a teenager. While his biggest upside lies as a power forward and shutdown winger, he's showing he can hang offensively.

While his big league stay will be short as his automatic $1.7 million draft slot isn't easy to fit in - the Avs temporarily sent down waiver-exempt Henry Thrun - it's a guarantee he will graduate for good before the season is over. The focus until then will be on getting stronger.
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AVS IN CONTENTION FOR FIRST-EVER PLAYOFF SPOT

It was a rocky start to the year for the Colorado Avalanche, and for most of the season suspensions and injuries didn't make it any easier.

But now, after making several major upgrades at the trade deadline, the Avalanche are within striking distance of their first-ever playoff spot. Yes, first ever, in year 15 of Eastside's Hockey Elite Collide.

Tuesday's shock 5-2 road win over the San Jose Sharks, despite backup Jon Gillies playing to satisfy the goalie quota, kept Colorado's hopes very much alive in the three-way race against the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks for the last spot in the West.

Colorado is riding streaks of eight straight wins and 11 games undefeated, despite losing key rookie winger Juraj Slafkovsky to a season-ending suspension.

The Avs' biggest enemy is the two games in hand held by both the Stars and Nucks. The Avs and Stars are tied at 76 points, while Vancouver sits four back. Colorado needs their luck to hold out and some help from the Stars in their extra games.

For their last four games, the Avs hit the road to face Vancouver and Calgary, then return home for their final two games against Minnesota and Nashville.

"I've had a lot of success in my career," said top line centre Eric Staal. "But helping an underdog make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years would be maybe the coolest accomplishment of them all - even if we do get curbstomped by the Sharks in the first round."

Sophomore d-man Owen Power, the first overall pick in 2021, had a different take.

"If we make it, this is just the start bitches. Welcome to the Owen Power Era."

The Avs even have a few GMs cheering them on to the finish.

"Go Josh Gooo jumping on the bandwagon!!" Chicago GM Bern was heard saying outside the nursing home while picking up his AHL players for their game last night.

Whether they make it or not, with a record of 35-32-5-6, Colorado is likely to finish with their best regular season record ever.
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