NASHVILLE, TN –The Detroit Red Wings will have John Gibson examined further, but early indications are he's fine.
Gibson left the Red Wings' game after the first period after incurring an upper-body injury at Bridgestone Arena on Monday, March 2, and did not return .
"Right at the end of the period, he took a shot up high into the shoulder area," coach Todd McLellan said. "It was kind of like a stinger, if you will. When you get those, you don't get the feeling back right away.
"I think he's OK now. He's walking around. But we'll have him looked at when we get home."
The Wings (35-20-6) next play Wednesday at home against the Vegas Golden Knights. Tuesday is a day off.
He said he found out he would be entering the game with "about nine or 10 minutes left on the clock from the first intermission. I knew that he was in some discomfort so I just kind of started to stretch out, get ready just in case, and then got the official word around the 10-minute mark."
The Chicago Blackhawks traded Connor Murphy, who has been in trade rumors for a long time now, to the Edmonton Oilers.
In exchange for Murphy at a 50 percent retained salary, the Oilers sent back a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
Blackhawks GM Kyle Davidson continues to stockpile high-end draft picks for players who aren't a part of the long-term plan. Connor Murphy is a good player, but his age and contract situation forced the Blackhawks to make a decision.
He will help a playoff-bound Oilers team on the defensive side of the puck. Playing for the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career, outside of the COVID bubble, should be a great motivator for him to bring his best. Having teammates like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl will also be refreshing.
Murphy is on the top unit of the number one penalty kill in the NHL. The Oilers are seen as a power play type of offensive team, so adding a stay at home shut down defender/penalty-killer like Murphy makes them more dangerous as a unit.
Former Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman was famous for acquiring former players, and he showed that knack on Monday with this Murphy trade. Admittedly, this one makes sense for him more than others.
Trade grade for the Blackhawks: A
Kyle Davidson and the Chicago Blackhawks get a second-round pick, which is a high-value selection, for a player who is on an expiring contract. Landing a pick like that is not easy on the trade market, but Kyle Davidson was once again rewarded for sticking to his guns in negotiations.
Whether they use that pick in 2028 or move it as a trade chip remains to be seen, but they have a lot of time before they will truly worry about that. As sellers, you want to get as many assets for unrestricted free agents as you can. Davidson was successful in that venture this time, earning him an A-grade for the deal.
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The Minnesota Wild brought in a veteran forward on Monday, as they claimed Robby Fabbri off of waivers from the St. Louis Blues. However, in a corresponding move, the Wild placed a former Montreal Canadiens forward on waivers.
After spending all of last season at the AHL level with the Providence Bruins, Pitlick has gotten into a good amount of NHL action this campaign with the Wild. In 32 games this season with Minnesota, the former Canadiens forward has recorded two goals, 24 penalty minutes, and 78 hits.
If Pitlick clears waivers, Minnesota will then be able to assign him to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Wild. The Minnesota native has played in 12 games this season for Iowa, where he has eight goals and 11 points.
The Canadiens acquired Pitlick during the 2021-22 season as part of the trade that sent Tyler Toffoli to the Calgary Flames. In 14 games during that campaign with the Habs, he posted one goal, three points, and 15 hits.
Pitlick is not the only former Canadiens player who has been placed on waivers, though. This is because the Detroit Red Wings have placed defenseman Erik Gustafsson on waivers as well.
Gustafsson has played in two games this season with Detroit, where he has recorded zero points and a minus-2 rating. Down in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins this campaign, the former Canadiens defenseman has two goals and 20 points in 22 games.
Gustafsson played in five regular-season games for the Habs in 2020-2021, where he had two assists. He also played in 16 playoff games for the Canadiens in 2021, posting one goal and three points.
The Kings are playing their first game since firing their old head coach, Jim Hiller. Tonight will be the first game for D.J Smith as the head coach, and while it is not his first time being a head coach, it is his first time being the head coach for the Kings, and they do not get the easiest first matchup as they host the Colorado Avalanche, who are 1st in the NHL.
Kings Projected Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Kings tonight:
Artemi Panarin - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe
Alex Turcotte - Quinton Byfield - Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele - Kenny Connors - Corey Perry
Jeff Malott - Samuel Helenius - Taylor Ward
Joel Edmundson - Brandt Clarke
Mikey Anderson - Cody Ceci
Jacob Moverare - Brian Dumoulin
Anton Forsberg
Erik Portillo
Avalanche Projected Lines
Here are the projected lines for the Avalanche tonight:
Gabriel Landeskog - Nathan MacKinnon - Martin Necas
Artturi Lehkonen - Brock Nelson - Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton - Jack Drury - Victor Olofsson
Zakhar Bardakov - Parker Kelly - Gavin Brindley
Devon Toews - Cale Makar
Josh Manson - Brent Burns
Brett Kulak - Sam Malinski
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Line Changes and Injuries
The Colorado Avalanche are expected to use the same lineup as they did in the Chicago Blackhawks game. The Kings will be without Trevor Moore and Darcy Kuemper, who are both out due to illness. With those 2 players out, the Kings have called up Kenny Connors, who will make his NHL debut tonight, and Erik Portillo to back up Anton Forsberg.
Key Factors
The Kings are coming off a 2-0 win over the Calgary Flames, which was the first win for Artemi Panarin as a member of the Kings. The Kings currently sit 3 points back of the final wildcard spot, and a win tonight would be huge in their playoff race.
Tonight's matchup is one of the toughest for the Kings, as the Avalanche have firepower on offence and defence, led by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe have been playing very well together; in their last 3 games, they have both scored 3 points, and this duo can be a big enough factor for the Kings to pull off the upset.
The goaltending matchup tonight looks like Forsberg vs. Blackwood. Forsberg is coming off his 2nd shutout of the season, where he made 29 saves. Blackwood is coming off a 14-save win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Overall, this game is going to be a tough one for the Kings, but with their new dynamic duo and strong defence, there is a good chance they can pull off the upset.
The Detroit Red Wings picked up two huge points in the standings on Monday afternoon, defeating the Nashville Predators by a 4-2 final score at Bridgestone Arena.
Albert Johansson scored the go-ahead game-winning goal while shorthanded in the second period, helping the Red Wings leapfrog the Montreal Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 2, 2026
They have the same number of points as the Buffalo Sabres, who are in second place with a game in hand.
However, the question on the minds of fans everywhere will be the status of starting goaltender John Gibson, who left after the opening 20 minutes of play with an upper-body injury and did not return.
It was the Red Wings who opened the scoring in the first period thanks to rookie forward Emmitt Finnie, who banged home a rebound for his first goal since Detroit's 4-3 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Dec. 23.
A would-be goal from Simon Edvinsson, which would have increased Detroit's lead to 2-0, was overturned after Marco Kasper was ruled to have interfered with Predators goaltender Juuse Saros.
Nashville, who had a goal of their own waived off due to goaltender interference earlier in the frame, then knotted the score at 1-1 thanks to a power-play goal from Filip Forsberg, who now has 24 points in his last 24 games against Detroit.
A turnover from defenseman Simon Edvinsson in his own zone burned Detroit in the second period, as his pass was intercepted by Ryan O'Reilly, who fed a wide-open Jonathan Marchessault at the side of the net for a tap-in goal.
However, Lucas Raymond responded by beating Saros from a sharp angle after taking a beautiful cross-ice feed from Alex DeBrincat.
While shorthanded, the Detroit Red Wings grabbed a lead they would not relinquish when Albert Johansson beat Juuse Saros with a one-timer on a two-on-one rush alongside Marco Kasper.
With Saros pulled and the Nashville Predators pressing for the equalizer, Detroit sealed the win when Alex DeBrincat netted his 31st goal of the season.
Talbot, who replaced Gibson after the first period, finished with 18 saves; Gibson stopped 10 of the 11 shots he faced. Meanwhile, Saros made 27 saves.
The Red Wings will return home to face the Vegas Golden Knights at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday evening.
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A missed tripping call leading to a short-handed goal by the Detroit Red Wings stood as the game-winning goal in a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Monday at Bridgestone Arena.
On a Predators power play in the second period, Roman Josi was tripped along the boards by Marco Kasper, leading to a 2-on-1 the other way. Kasper made a cross-ice pass to Albert Johansson, who scored the game-winning goal.
The trip was not reviewed by the referees and the goal stood.
"I thought it was a trip. I felt pretty hard, but that stuff happens out there," Josi said. "I certainly make a lot of mistakes out there. That's not why we lost the game. We had a lot of other things that we could do better, and we had our looks in the third."
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 2, 2026
Both Nashville and Detroit also had goals disallowed in the game due to goaltender interference.
Emmitt Finnie opened the scoring 4:51 into the game, putting away a Kasper rebound as Juuse Saros lost his net for an early 1-0 Red Wing lead.
Filip Forsberg responded on the power play, one-timing a pass from Luke Evangelista into the net. It was Forsberg's 26th goal of the season and Evagelista's team-leading 37th assist.
In the second period, Jonathan Marchessault scored on a tap-in off a pass from O'Reilly to give Nashville its first and only lead of the game.
Nearly three minutes later, Lucas Raymond tapped in a cross-ice pass from Alex DeBrincat into the net to tie things up.
While the Johansson goal ended up being the game-winner, head coach Andrew Brunette said the one play wasn't the reason the Predators lost, as they "got away from their game" in the second period, getting outscored, 2-1.
"The game was lost in the second period, losing those puck battles that ended up leading to goals," Brunette said. "We turned too many pucks over in that area, and it got us. They're a really good rush team. It was disappointing because the effort was there."
Statistically, Detroit gave away the puck more on the night, 16 to 11.
DeBrincat iced the game on an empty net goal with 26 seconds left in the game.
The Predators fall to 27-25-8 on the year and still sit three points outside of the final Wild Card spot with 62 points. Tonight, Seattle (65 points) hosts Carolina and Utah (66 points) takes on Colorado in Salt Lake City.
The bubble between the playoffs and missing out continues to grow with the trade deadline now four days away.
"All we can control right now is winning games," Evangelista said. "We keep winning games, keep climbing the standings and getting points. That's what we can control, and if we do that, I think there's a good chance the team's gonna stick together."
Nashville has a quick turnaround, facing the Columbus Blue Jackets on the road on Tuesday at 6 p.m. CST.
The Chicago Blackhawks have traded defenseman Connor Murphy to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
The Chicago Blackhawks also made it happen by retaining 50% of Murphy's $4.4 million cap hit.
This has been a long time coming. The question was always going to be which team was the one that made the best offer for Kyle Davidson to consider retaining salary. Edmonton clearly wanted to add a defenseman like Murphy for their playoff run.
Outside of the COVID-19 bubble, Murphy has never come close to being on a playoff team. After the last nine years spent with the Blackhawks, mostly spent rebuilding, he will finally get his chance.
Murphy will always be remembered for being a great soldier in a tough situation. He never once complained about the fact that the team wasn't making the playoffs. Instead, he was a wonderful leader in the room. A lot of their young players will benefit in the long run from having had him around.
It was also well known that Connor Murphy was a wonderful asset to the city of Chicago. He is a community man who loves giving back. Now, he can bring some of that joy to the city of Edmonton.
The Oilers, who have been to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals, losing both, have aspirations of getting back there again with stars like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way. Murphy's defensive game is sure to help their depth.
They have work to do to get there, and they likely aren't done adding, but this is a great stepping stone.
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Following Sunday’s crushing last-minute loss to the New York Islanders, Florida’s second straight defeat, the Panthers now have just 22 games to overcome an eight-point deficit in the Wild Card race while simultaneously climbing over the five teams that are currently between the Cats and that final playoff spot.
It’s surely not impossible, but considering the overwhelming feelings of frustration based off how those two losses have occurred, it’s hard to blame the Panthers, or their fans, for feeling somewhat despondent.
The focus after Friday’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres was a challenged goal that the NHL’s decision-makers deemed worthy to stand despite contact between the player’s stick and goaltender’s glove, calling the interaction between stick and glove incidental.
Then on Sunday, the Panthers began a four-game road trip by storming out to a 2-0 lead on Long Island, only to find themselves trailing by a goal during the game’s final minutes.
Just when the team’s spirits were lifted thanks to a late, game-tying tally by Sam Reinhart, Florida allowed a backbreaking goal with 32 seconds left to shatter any chances of making progress in the standings.
“We pushed pretty hard tonight, but the games are too important to be giving up games like that,” Panthers center Sam Bennett said afterwards.
Indeed, the time to make up ground is shrinking by the day.
While it surely helps that the Panthers are getting healthier, welcoming defenseman Dmitry Kulikov back into the lineup Sunday and expecting Tomas Nosek, Seth Jones and Jonah Gadjovich to all join him in the coming fortnight, the lasting dark cloud looming over the team following such demoralizing defeats can be extremely difficult to dismiss.
As Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice explained, the best thing for Florida to do is focus on the positives and fall back on the knowledge of their experiences over the past several seasons.
“Any one good feeling, right?” Maurice said. “Any one good play, anything that gives them the feeling that there’s hope. That’s really what we’re trying to drive now. They’ve got miles on them, but they’ve played a lot of big games together, and that’s the key.”
One positive for the Panthers is that they don’t have to wait long for a chance to turn things right back around.
Florida will play three games in the next four nights, and two of them are against teams that are currently not in a playoff position.
The Panthers (63 points) face the New Jersey Devils (60 points) on Tuesday and the Columbus Blue Jackets (66 points) on Thursday before ending the road trip against the Detroit Red Wings (74 points) on Friday.
Detroit currently holds the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, with the Boston Bruins (71 points) clinging to the second spot.
Make no mistake, the Cats are running out of their nine lives.
At a time where the pain and anguish can feel like it cuts deeper than usual, the veteran squad will need to rally around one another and find a way to push through.
“We’re on the road and we know how important games are,” said Bennett. “We’re sticking together as a team, and we’re going to fight right to the very end.”
With a roster that continues to grow stronger, and plenty of past successes to draw from, the Panthers know they are capable of achieving their goal.
One game, one shift at a time.
“We’ll deal with the hockey, we don’t hide from it,” Maurice said. “We’ll deal with the game tomorrow, so we can move on and put our best foot forward in Jersey.
Photo caption: Mar 1, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) scores the winning goal against the Florida Panthers during the third period at UBS Arena. (Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images)
When the Montreal Canadiens returned from the Olympic break, coach Martin St-Louis stated that both of his goaltenders would get a game in the first week to get back in the swing of things and that he would take it from there. Now that Samuel Montembeault and Jakub Dobes have each played a game, the former against the New York Islanders and the latter against the Washington Capitals, it will be time for St-Louis to decide who will be between the pipes on Tuesday against the San Jose Sharks. The California outfit has won two of its three games since the break and is currently involved in the playoff chase, three points out of a wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
Montembeault gave up four goals on 26 shots against New York, which comes to an .846 save percentage: that’s not enough. Granted, he couldn’t do much on the game-tying goal in the third frame when the shot from the high slot was deflected right in front of his crease by Anders Lee, but the two goals from rookie wonder Matthew Schaefer came from a distance. While the blueliner has a great shot, there comes a time when a starting netminder has to come up big and make unexpected saves.
As for Dobes, he allowed two goals against Washington, both to the league's all-time best goalscorer, Alexander Ovechkin. The Czech netminder saved 27 of the 29 shots he faced for a .931 SV. The first goal was on a rebound that fell to the Russian sniper, right under the nose of the Canadiens’ defenders, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson. As for the second goal, Ovechkin was allowed to walk right into the slot and was all alone when he received the feed from behind the goal line. There’s not much a goaltender can do in that situation.
On top of those numbers, though, there’s also one fact: the Canadiens won with Dobes in net and lost with Montembeault. With Dobes, they were able to protect their lead and kept playing for the full 60 minutes. With Montembeault in the net, they sat back in the third frame, stopping their attack and focusing solely on defence. It’s almost as if they felt they needed to defend more. The last time Dobes lost in regulation was on December 9, whereas Montembeault lost two of his last five games in regulation.
Whichever way you look at it, Dobes should get the start on Tuesday. Of course, the Canadiens still have six back-to-backs to play until the end of the regular season, so logic dictates that those games will be split. Three of the six back-to-backs are coming up in the next two weeks, so we’re likely to see both goaltenders a lot over that span, and once those are out of the way, the Habs will need to go back to the masked man who performed the best and in front of whom the team looked most confident.
The last thing that the Detroit Red Wings need now that the calendar has shifted to March for their stretch drive toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs is an injury to a key player, but it looks like that's their situation.
Goaltender John Gibson, who has posted elite numbers for the Red Wings since the beginning of December, departed this afternoon's tilt against the Nashville Predators with an upper-body injury.
His chances of returning to the game are slim, as announced by the Red Wings on X.
UPDATE: John Gibson (upper body injury) is unlikely to return to today's game.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) March 2, 2026
Backup Cam Talbot, who started Detroit's previous game against the Hurricanes, replaced Gibson between the pipes.
The nature and severity of Gibson's injury are unknown, and whether it forces GM Steve Yzerman to consider a goaltending acquisition before Friday afternoon's NHL Trade Deadline, or potentially even consider a call-up of Sebastian Cossa from the Grand Rapids Griffins, remains to be seen.
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The Kings season continues to be an emotional roller coaster from the play on the ice to the Artemi Panarin trade, and now the coaching change. Nobody wants to see someone lose their job, but after a dreadful return to action, it was clear that a change was need sooner rather than later.
On Sunday, the Los Angeles Kings made a major move by firing Head Coach Jim Hiller after three years behind the bench. D.J. Smith will serve as Interim Head Coach, likely for the remainder of the season, while former King, Matt Greene was promoted to Assistant Coach.
Los Angeles was once thought to have a very promising young core led by the likes of Quinton Byfield, Alex Turcotte, and Brandt Clarke. Despite them being productive players, it's not far fetched to say they have not lived up to their draft night potential. A major coaching change could prove to be beneficial to L.A.'s young guns.
The Youth Movement
The Kings are in an interesting position, they're not good enough to be contenders, while not bad enough to embrace the tank. Some would they're in no man's land, where no franchise wants to be.
Whether it is D.J. Smith or someone else, the next Head Coach of the Kings should try and embrace the youth on the roster and allow the young talent to play their game and develop into their once very high potential.
Quinton Byfield
Byfield is the most established of the Kings young core, but even he hasn't reached his 2nd overall pick potential. He is still just 23-years-old, which gives him plenty of time to improve but the clock is ticking.
Anze Kopitar will be gone next season, and although it was thought to be Byfield, the Kings do not have a true replacement for their Hall of Fame center. He currently averages 19:59 of time on ice, which is the most as a forward on the Kings but the constant line juggling and perhaps Hiller's system have made it difficult for him to gain any offensive momentum. Slotting him in at center between Panarin and Adrian Kempe is more than worth a shot as it would be the first time that Byfield has played with a 100 point scorer in his career, which may lead to some momentum moving forward.
Brandt Clarke
Of the young players on the Kings, Clarke's situation has been in the headlines the most. Whether it's about ice time, production, or defensive player, there seemed to always be something going on with Brandt Clarke during Hiller's time as bench boss.
There is no reason for Clarke to be averaging under 20 minutes as a 23-year-old with a boatload of energy. Although he's not retiring like Kopitar, Drew Doughty is on the back nine of his career, and the Kings need someone to step in a be the new number one guy.
Clarke is the obvious choice and needs to start getting treated as such. Limiting his ice time and playing him on the bottom pair at times doesn't improve his growth, and likely makes the former 8th overall pick disgruntled. Clarke needs a coach that believes in him and allows him to play his game, he was drafted that high for a reason, let him show what he can do.
As perhaps the most disappointing of the bunch, Alex Turcotte has yet to sniff his 5th overall pick potential. In 152 career games in the NHL, the now 25-year-old has scored just 13 goals and 28 assists for 41 points.
It took Turcotte several years to fully break into the league after being drafted in 2019, but he's now in his third full season and has been basically buried in the Kings bottom six. Whether it's earned or not, sometimes it's worth it to take a flyer on a young player and see if he mesh's well in a top six role. The new regime should give Turcotte a chance and if he doesn't fit then they know exactly what they have in the player.
Alex Laferriere
Although he wasn't drafted in the top 10 like some of his fellow youthful teammates, Alex Laferriere has established himself as part of the young core the Kings have built. In 217 career games, 'Laf' has scored 45 goals and 47 assists for 92 points. Solid numbers for a third round pick who recently turned 24-years-old.
Hiller made the bold move of playing Laferriere at center with Kempe and Panarin. Although it hasn't worked out so far, it's not a bad move trying to get the young forward comfortable at center, but it might be too much for him to keep up with two offensive stars right away. Slot him in at center alongside two middle six wingers and go from there.
High draft picks always have the most pressure on them to perform, they need to supported and developed by their organization while also being held accountable for their mishaps and lack of production.
The Kings young core has been playing for Hiller for most, if not all of their young careers. Sometimes all it takes is a change for true potential to be seen.
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The Vancouver Canucks face the scorching-hot Dallas Stars at Rogers Arena on Monday, March 2, with the two clubs trending in complete opposite directions.
My top Stars vs. Canucks predictions and NHL picks are calling for a low-scoring result between the two tonight.
Stars vs Canucks prediction
Stars vs Canucks best bet: Under 5.5 (+110)
The Vancouver Canucks have only scored five times through three games out of the Olympic break to drop to just 2.08 goals per game during an active 3-17-4 skid.
So, with the Dallas Stars missing star Mikko Rantanen (lower body), I think the Canucks can batten down the defensive hatches and keep this a low-scoring tilt.
Of course, Dallas is also rolling along a 9-1 stretch while allowing the third-fewest goals per game (2.4), ranking fourth in Corsi For percentage and allowing the fewest expected goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5.
Stars vs Canucks same-game parlay
The Canucks have been battling on home ice of late and covered the puck line in seven of their past eight games at Rogers Arena, and this could be a potential letdown spot for the Stars on the front end of a mini, two-game road trip.
Turning to Vancouver starter Nikita Tolopilo, he turned away at least 25 shots in each of his past seven starts and eight of nine for the season. The 25-year-old goaltender also sports a solid .908 save percentage for the campaign, and as noted, Dallas has been an excellent possession team during its highlighted 10-game heater.
Of course, the Canucks have also surrendered the seventh-most shots per game (29.8) this season.
The Vancouver Canucks have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight home games (+4.90 Units / 32% ROI). Find more NHL betting trends for Stars vs. Canucks.
How to watch Stars vs Canucks
Location
Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC
Date
Monday, March 2, 2026
Puck drop
10:00 p.m. ET
TV
Victory+, Sportsnet Pacific
Stars vs Canucks latest injuries
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change. Not intended for use in MA. Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.
The St. Louis Blues have had to make roster decisions in the past week with players returning from injury.
They got Mathieu Joseph through waivers last week when Dylan Holloway was activated off injured reserve; they didn't have such luck with Robby Fabbri.
The Minnesota Wild put in a waiver claim on Fabbri on Monday, and thus his second stint in St. Louis comes to an end.
The 30-year-old, who signed a one-year, two way contract ($750,000 NHL/$300,000 AHL) on Dec. 10, played in 15 games for the Blues and had a goal ad three assists.
Fabbri became a roster casualty when Robert Thomas was activated off IR and made his return back to the lineup after missing 13 games with a right leg injury and personal reasons.
Fabbri's stint with the Blues was a good one, as the 2014 first-round pick, who spent the first three-plus seasons with St. Louis, became a hard forechecker and added some grit and physicality to his game to become more well-rounded. He should add some bite to the Wild's bottom six in Minnesota's playoff push.
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With the 2026 Trade Deadline just a week away, the rumour and insider reporting train has been full steam ahead with numerous teams linked to this year's big board of players who might be on the move, and the Colorado Avalanche are no different this year. A third-line center is all but the move at this point, but who are they eying, and most importantly, what is the package for these pieces going to look like?
Well reported by Eric Francis, senior columnist and analyst for Sportsnet, he reported that General Manager Chris MacFarland, Assistant General Manager Kevin McDonald, and assistant to the GM Andrew Cogliano were in attendance at last night's Calgary Flames game against the Anaheim Ducks, and Craig Conroy was in the building as well.
Well this is interesting. Three members of Colorado’s front office, including GM Chris MacFarland, asst GM Kevin McDonald, and assistant to the GM Andrew Cogliano, are all in attendance here in Anaheim for tonight’s Flames game. Craig Conroy here too, just 5 days ahead of the…
The clear connection is Nazem Kadri, whose name is among those of many centers linked to the Avalanche and other teams seeking depth at center. With other options like Mackenzie Weegar and Black Coleman, the main attraction is a reunion with Kadri, who helped with the 2022 Stanley Cup championship run.
Granted, the Avalanche do have a game tonight (March 3) against the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday in a back-to-back, but with the destinations so close on the west coast, there is no surprise management took a slight detour to do some early talks before the 3 pm March 6th deadline.
Kadri still has three more seasons on his contract, worth $7 million per season with a 13-team no-trade list. Him hearing an Avalanche reunion being in the works isn’t something I can make an issue of; it's the cap hit and the three years that follow. They have the cap space right now, but at 35 years old and with his production down tremendously, it's going to be tough to swallow that high of a cap hit with Martin Necas' extension kicking in next season and the next Cale Makar contract to follow.
Which exactly brings up why, while it would be nice to have a reunion, the price to bring him in and talk to Calgary to hold at least 25-30% of the rest of his contract is going to be steep. Which is exactly why, if they are going to find a center, it needs to be within a range they will expect or come to terms with, and a team taking on some relief to sweeten the deal.
Elliotte Friedman reported on the TNT panel about a Kadri reunion and how, if it happens, everything they do this season onward will revolve around Makar’s upcoming contract.
“Everything that Colorado does is about that Makar number. Everything that they do is about that number. Whenever it comes to a player with term and whenever I’ve asked around about what they’re up to, it’s always about protecting themselves from Makar’s number.”
This is why names like the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Scott Laughton and the New York Rangers' Vincent Trocheck are also connected to the Avalanche, their lower AAVs, and, if willing, the Avalanche could sweeten the deal to lower that cap hit even further. Friedman adds on top of that.
“So, unless Colorado’s going to be able to find a way to make that work or have the number not be as high, I think it’s going to be really tough…One of the centers I heard that could end up in Colorado is Scott Laughton, and he would be more of a rental.”
The Avalanche does have the cap space to make a lot of trades work, with just over $8 million available after the Brett Kulak trade. I assume the Avalanche wants to use this cap space to its fullest, not just on one deal that fills it all up.
A lot of the roster has trade protection, but Ross Colton’s name pops up frequently when it comes to moving off a player for a pick and a player to help free up some cap space. With a cap hit of $4 million this season and next, it's not a lot of money, but given the needs the Avalanche want to address at center, it could be a move, given the amount of wing depth this team already has.
It's going to be a very interesting deadline with the number of players reportedly available this deadline, especially for the Avalanche, as both the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are linked to multiple names the Avalanche are interested in, and how their potential trade packages could be more enticing than theirs.
Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs was spectacular over the past week.
He won both of his starts against the New Jersey Devils and Vegas Golden Knights, allowing only one combined goal. He also finished the week with a .981 save percentage.
Those numbers earned him the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday.
Second shutout of the season, .981 save percentage, and 2-0-0 over the week? That’s our kind of Arty party 🎊
Congrats to Arturs Silovs on being named @NHL Second Star of the Week!
Silovs has been on a heater as of late, winning five of his last six starts and allowing only 10 goals in those six games. Going back even further, he's 5-2-2 in his last nine games with a .936 save percentage.
He's making a strong case to be the Game 1 starter in the playoffs, should the Penguins make it.
He'll be needed a lot this week since the Penguins have four games, three of which are against potential playoff teams. They'll play the Boston Bruins on Tuesday, the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, and the Bruins again on Sunday.
