All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — August 30.

Colorado Hockey Now

The additions of Victor Olofsson and Joel Kiviranta in August means the Avs now have 12 NHL regular veterans under contract for the 2025-26 season. But the expectation is that Logan O’Connor will start the season injured.

That means at least one non-regular should crack the opening roster. Will it be Ivan Ivan for the second year in a row? Or will a new trade acquisition and two rookies give him a run for his money?

READ MORE: 4 Prospects That Could Earn a Permanent Roster Spot With Avalanche

Around The NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Assessing the power rankings for the Metropolitan Division. Where will the Pens finish? 

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs upgraded their defense with Noah Dobson. Is it enough? 

Philly Hockey Now: Penn State is hosting Michigan State in an outdoor game on Jan. 31.

Florida Hockey Now: The Panthers have mostly the same roster as the one that won the Stanley Cup in June. But three new names means new numbers.

Vegas Hockey Now: More on the Mitch Marner exit from Toronto, and how it landed him in Vegas.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Luke Hughes still doesn’t have a contract for this season. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald talks about the standoff.

The post Deen’s Daily: Avalanche’s Opening Night Roster Spot; Penn State Outdoor Game; Is Dobson Enough For Habs? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 27.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avs made one of two trades that broke before the NHL Draft on Friday. And they cleared a whole heap of cap space in the process.

Heading to Columbus are Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood. Heading to Colorado is prospect Gavin Brindley, and two draft picks. Get the full details of the trade below.

Read More: Avalanche Clear Cap Space, Trade Coyle and Wood to Columbus For Prospect, Two Draft Picks

Before the trade was announced, I answered questions in a quick pre-draft mailbag. And yes, clearing cap space was among those questions.

Read More: Avalanche Mailbag: Defense Upgrades, Necas Extension, Offloading Salary, & More

There have been rumors for weeks that a Coyle trade might happen. I still didn’t know if it would, but here we are.

What are the Avs’ next moves? One report has them linked to Bowen Byram. I still don’t think Byram would want to return and play behind Devon Toews and Cale Makar. But the report is out there.

Read More: Report: Avalanche Among Teams Interested In Acquiring Bowen Byram

Around The NHL

The NHL Draft is currently in process, and oh boy is it a slog. I’d take The Sphere over this any day of the week. I’d take anything over this.

Anyway, we’ll save draft recap stuff for tomorrow. But first, we’ve got another trade and a big extension to talk about.

NYI Hockey Now: The Islanders obviously selected Matthew Schaefer No. 1 overall. But before that, they acquired the No. 16 and No. 17 overall draft picks from the Montreal Canadiens. Noah Dobson was obviously the big piece going the other why. Here’s why he didn’t re-sign with the Islanders.

Montreal Hockey Now: It’s an incredible move for a team that just qualified for the playoffs and took that next step in their rebuild. Here’s why the Habs were smart to sell off assets for Dobson.

Florida Hockey Now: It’s official. Conn Smythe Trophy Winner Sam Bennett is re-signing with the Florida Panthers. I will say, he didn’t take as big a pay cut as I thought he would. The details of his contract are here.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Here’s the latest on the Pens trade rumors.

Also, the CBA extension became official on Friday, pending a vote from the teams and players. Here are details of what’s coming in 12 months.

The post Deen’s Daily: Habs Land Dobson; Coyle, Wood Traded Away; Avs Making Space — Is Byram Returning? appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 22.

Colorado Hockey Now

What if, rather than trading Charlie Coyle, the Avs double down on center depth and have several natural centermen shift to the wing? It appears they had that thought process when they heavily targeted Jonathan Toews earlier in the week.

You can never have too many centers. Colorado tried to shift natural wingers like Ross Colton to center, but the transition is usually much easier the other way. They didn’t get Toews — he’s off to Winnipeg. But maybe another bottom six depth center makes more sense? I guess we’ll find out by July 1.

Read More: Necas for Peterka: Are the Avalanche Positioned for a Sneaky One-for-One Trade?

Read More: Offseason Musings: Rumors Galore — An Avalanche of Opportunities to Explore

Around The NHL

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings are rumored to be making a big offer for Noah Dobson. Could a former Avs centerman be part of the package?

NYI Hockey Now: We’re five days away from the draft, and the Islanders selecting No. 1 overall for the first time in 25 years. This, and the Dobson rumors, are both huge steps in their build back to relevancy.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: It’s going to be a big week ahead for the Pens. Should they trade up in the draft?

Ottawa Hockey Now: The Sens are betting on talent with the extension they gave Fabian Zetterlund.

Chicago Hockey Now: T.J. Brodie cleared waivers. Next up: buyout.

The post Deen’s Daily: The Importance of Having Center Depth; Rumored Offer For Noah Dobson appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — February 20.

Colorado Hockey Now

Is there anything more on brand than having injury updates dominate the first day of Avalanche practice following a 12-day break? Buckle up.

• Josh Manson is still not ready to return and Valeri Nichushkin’s status will be determined on Thursday and Friday when the team practices two more times before their next game. Will the Russian forward make his return during this weekend’s back-to-back? Find out more in Wednesday’s practice report.
• How about an update on the captain? Gabriel Landeskog was on the latest road trip before the break but that doesn’t mean anything has changed. In fact, there’s still nothing new to report. Landeskog said last May that he hopes to play between September of 2024 and April of 2025. April is less than six weeks away.
• Scott Wedgewood missed the last four games before the break but he’s back and healthy. Until he wasn’t. Then he was again. (No but seriously, he’s fine).

Bednar says he saw Wedgewood go down and thought the worst.

Then he heard Wedgewood took a shot “to the jewels” and said “thank god.”

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) February 19, 2025

4 Nations Face-Off News

Ottawa Hockey Now: Brady Tkachuk and brother Matthew have been the talk of Team USA during the 4 Nations Face-Off.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Without Charlie McAvoy, and with others dealing with the flu, the Americans made two call-ups, adding a forward and a defenseman to the roster as replacements in case any of their remaining skaters are unable to play in tonight’s championship.

Boston Hockey Now: Speaking of McAvoy, could his injury have a lasting effect on this tournament and future World Cups?

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The legendary voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mike Lange, has died. Read more about his impact on the franchise here.

Detroit Hockey Now: Fighting for a wildcard spot, new Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan believes the true identity of his team will rear its head over the upcoming eight weeks.

NYI Hockey Now: The Islanders got Noah Dobson back on the ice during practice.

The post Deen’s Daily: Nichushkin Still Recovering; Pittsburgh Legend Dies; 4 Nations Championship! appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.