David Kirouac-Imagn Images
The Colorado Avalanche made a trade Saturday to improve their goaltending depth, shipping netminder Justus Annunen to the Nashville Predators for veteran backup Scott Wedgewood.
Some observers feel the Avalanche aren’t done dealing this season as they jockey for a wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
The Hockey News’ Adam Proteau included the Avalanche with the Predators and Minnesota Wild among teams that see themselves as playoff contenders. He anticipates they’ll continue making deals for players who can help them immediately.
Daily Faceoff’s Tyler Yaremchuk and Colby Cohen share that view. They look at how the Avalanche are constructed, noting they’re built to win now, anticipating they’ll have more trades in store before the March 7 trade deadline.
Cohen speculates their next move could be shoring up their depth at center. He doesn’t see them sticking with Ivan Ivan and Parker Kelly centering their third and fourth lines.
Related: Will The Avalanche Be Able to Re-Sign Rantanen While Keeping Their Core Intact?
Meanwhile, the rebuilding Montreal Canadiens find themselves again among the bottom feeders in the NHL standings. That’s sparked speculation over which veterans could be shopped before the trade deadline.
On Nov. 29, TSN’s Darren Dreger reported Canadiens GM Kent Hughes was listening to “just about anything” regarding pending UFAs David Savard, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak and Joel Armia. He also believes Hughes could entertain offers for Mike Matheson.
A puck-moving defenseman, the 30-year-old Matheson achieved career highs last season in assists (51) and points (62) and tied his career high of 11 goals. He’s signed through next season with an average annual value of $4.875 million and an eight-team no-trade list.
The Hockey News’ Karine Hains said Matheson’s value has never been as high as it is now, but the Canadiens need a veteran on defense, whether that ends up being Matheson or another veteran blueliner in a trade.
A reader asked The Edmonton Journal‘s Jim Matheson if the Oilers might pursue Savard. He believes they’d prefer Matheson if the Canadiens retained part of his cap hit.
Meanwhile, Montreal Hockey Now’s Marc Dumont cited Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wondering if the Pittsburgh Penguins would be interested in Kirby Dach. The 23-year-old Canadiens center is struggling to return to form after missing all but two games last season with a knee injury. Dumont doubted that the Habs wanted to move on from Dach.
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