Avalanche Fill Goaltending Vacancies By Way Of Trade & Free Agency

The biggest gaping hole for the Colorado Avalanche heading into next season was undoubtedly in between the pipes. Amidst a bit of a rebuild, having dependable goaltending is crucial for the Avs and therefore required careful consideration to any available options by way of free agency or trade. As it turns out, Colorado went both routes.

The Avalanche first made a play for Semyon Varlamov from the Washington Capitals, who was likely headed to the KHL had he been unable to find an NHL suitor willing to pay him reasonable dough and offer him acceptable playing time. Colorado somewhat ignorantly surrendered a potential lottery pick in the first round next year, as well as a second rounder in either 2012 or 2013, in exchange for a goalie that's claim to fame is one splendid playoff series against the New York Rangers two years ago. It became even more questionable when Varlamov was signed on a two-year deal worth $2.75 million per season - or a figure that only would have cost Colorado just a second round pick had it been tendered via an offer sheet. Avs general manager Greg Sherman, however, contends Washington would have matched it - a point I find debatable considering there was relatively little future left for him with the Capitals. Now, the Caps lose a goaltender they weren't really going to invest into all that much further and have a potential lottery pick in their pocket considering Colorado is still a ways away from being playoff contenders.

While a move of that nature made it logical to assume the 23-year old Russian would be Colorado's No. 1 netminder, a later move made for either an interesting training camp or legitimate splitting of starts for next year.



The Avalanche followed up Varlamov's acquisition with the signing of Jean-Sebastien Giguere to a two-year, $2.5 million contract. At $1.25 million per season, the 34-year old former Stanley Cup Champion and Conn Smythe Trophy recipient is a nice veteran addition to the team. Maybe his best days are behind him and he can't quite come up as huge as he did on a nightly basis as a member of the Anaheim Ducks. But Giguere is not yet a mere backup and will surely compete for the starting job against Varlamov, who is still largely unproven over the long haul. And though Varlamov may be the guy Colorado is hoping will develop into their franchise goalie of the future, I'm leaning toward Giguere turning into the more rewarding of the two additions.

The Avalanche ended last year with Peter Budaj and Brian Elliott sporting their crease, so Varlamov and Giguere are obvious upgrades now that Budaj signed in Montreal to backup Carey Price and Elliott will assume a similar role behind Jaroslav Halak in St. Louis. But Colorado really paid more than it needed to for a questionable young goalie, especially right before signing a still reliable veteran that may end up becoming the Avs' top option for the next year or two anyway.

Toronto Maple Leafs Add Defenseman John-Michael Liles

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is always active around this time of year. And he was just ahead of the draft by pitching a deal with the Colorado Avalanche to add a weapon along the blue line in the form of 30-year old veteran John-Michael Liles.

It seems like Liles has been a rumor of trade bait for quite a few years already, so it's not entirely shocking that he was eventually dealt by a Colorado organization that he has spent his entire career with but is also trying to get its team somewhat rebuilt. The fact that the Maple Leafs only needed to let go of a second round pick in this weekend's draft is a bit baffling, however.

Liles essentially replaces Tomas Kaberle, who Toronto dealt to Boston near the trade deadline last season. In fact, it was the same second rounder that Burke acquired from the Kaberle deal that he sent right over to Colorado.

Liles could afford to be more consistent in his play, but he remains one of the league's better scoring defenseman with excellent value on the power play. He is coming off a season with six goals and 46 points with 18 total power play points. He boasts career-bests of 14 goals during both of the immediate seasons coming out of the lockout and racked up an impressive eight scores on the man advantage in 2006-07.

He will enter the final year of his contract next season, which pays out $4.5 million but counts as a $4.2 million cap hit to Toronto's payroll.

Oilers Select C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins With First Overall Pick

The first overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft went to the same team that possessed the pick a year ago - the Edmonton Oilers. In 2010, the question presented to them was a simply matter of Taylor (Hall) or Tyler (Seguin). This year, it was a bit more complicated. Did general manager Steve Tambellini want to continue building his team's offense, fill a position that is lacking on defense or perhaps even trade the pick to move down and acquire more assets?

When it came time for him to kick off the selections at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, he went with the centerman from Red Deer, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Hopkins was the consensus top offensive players available and will be paired up soon enough with a couple of Edmonton's other top scoring threats, including last year's first overall pick Taylor Hall and 2011 Goal of the Year Award winner, Jordan Eberle.

In 69 games this past season with the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, he posted 31 goals and a league-high 75 assists for 106 points. He added four goals and seven assists in 11 postseason contests.

The Colorado Avalanche followed the Nugent-Hopkins pick with another offensive selection. The Avs grabbed 18-year old Swedish winger Gabriel Landeskog of the Kitchener Rangers. Playing a more North American style game, he netted 36 goals and 66 points in 53 games for the Rangers last season. He was also plus-27 with 61 penalty minutes.

The Florida Panthers grabbed center Jonathan Huberdeau with the third overall pick. A center with the Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL, Huberdeau is coming off winning the Memorial Cup MVP. During the regular season, he had 43 goals and 105 points while adding 16 goals and 30 points during the playoffs.

The New Jersey Devils broke the offensive mentality of the draft by finally grabbing defenseman Adam Larsson out of the Swedish Elite League. The Devils are known for their defense, but it has been lacking in recent years. Larsson was the undoubted top defensive pick in the draft and TSN's Pierre McGuire considered him a steal at the fourth overall spot. The 6'3", 200-pounder is considered a great puck-moving defenseman that can play both ends of the ice well. He isn't an offensive dynamo, but can produce on the score sheet as witnessed by his four-point performance at the World Junior Championships.

Avs, Sens Swap Goaltenders

The Ottawa Senators have been dumping players left and right over the past few days in an effort to begin the rebuilding process that should keep the Senators out of the playoffs for the next few years. Their latest departure comes in the form of goaltender Brian Elliot, who heads to the Avalanche in a straight up one-for-one deal that has Craig Anderson coming back to Ottawa.

The Senators realized that Elliot was simply never going to emerge as their bonafide No. 1 goaltending option. The 25-year old is struggling in his third NHL season with a goals against average at 3.19 and a save percentage clip at .894. Perhaps it was just the way things were going to go with anybody sporting a Senators jersey. But the time came for general manager Bryan Murray to cut ties with the team's ninth round pick from 2003.

Murray received Anderson in return. Anderson was a journeyman backup goalie for most of his NHL, but he came out of nowhere last season with a tremendous overall campaign in his first year as a free agent pickup with the Avalanche. He played over 70 games with Colorado in 2009-10, sporting a 2.63 goals against average and .917 save percentage as he backstopped the Avs into the playoffs.

But he hasn't brought upon that same type of magic this season. The Avs are very much on the outside looking in on the playoffs picture, and his statistics similar to those of Elliot in 33 games this year have not helped.

For Murray, this is an opportunity to get rid of a goalie that he didn't feel would ever live up to the expectation of starter and bring in a more veteran presence who had at one point showed the ability to be a No. 1. If things work out, Murray could re-sign Anderson over the offseason at what would likely be a very reasonable rate.

"The good thing about it is we get a chance for 20-something games to look and watch (Anderson) and, during that time period, I would think that we'll have discussions and we'll see where we want to be and where he wants to be," Murray said.

Forsberg Set To Skate For Avs Against Columbus


It's been about three years since Peter Forsberg last skated on NHL. But he is set to make his return with the team he has spent most of his NHL career with - the Colorado Avalanche.

The Denver Post's Adrian Dater reported Thursday morning that the 37-year old forward would make his comeback tonight and skate on the left wing side of a line alongside Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk.

"I'm excited - and nervous," Forsberg told The Denver Post, after taking part in the morning skate with teammates at Nationwide Arena. "I don't know how it's going to go, but I'm going to be skating with two great players, so hopefully they can help me out a little bit out there."

Forsberg left the NHL after last playing in Game 3 of the 2008 Western Conference Semifinals due to his lingering foot problems that hampered him since his days with the Philadelphia Flyers. He has played, albeit in a limited capacity, over in Sweden with MoDo over the past two years and even managed to suit up for Sweden in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

A return to the NHL was a long shot, however. He began working out with the Avalanche recently with the intent of judging how possible a comeback would be. Apparently, everything went well and he inked a pro-rated $1 million contract on Sunday.

Nobody should honestly expect the Forsberg of old. He is older, three years removed from the most intense league in the world and has not shown a true ability to hold up very well over the long haul. But Forsberg is also one of the greatest offensive players intellectually of all time and was at one time considered the best playmaker in hockey. He is also a tremendous playoff performer and helped guide Colorado to two Stanley Cups during his first tenure with the organzation.

For a team that needs an offensive boost and the quality leadership skills Forsberg can still bring to the table, it's definitely worth a shot to see if Forsberg can help. Just don't expect him to play every game or be on the score sheet in every single game he does play.

News From Around The Crease: Fedotenko Attending Rangers Camp, Thrashers Moving Byfuglien To D, Avs Re-Sign Mueller

~ A career-worst performance with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year brought his two-year tenure with the club to an end. At 31 years old and still an unrestricted free agent, Ruslan Fedotenko has decided to accept an invitation from the New York Rangers to attend their training camp on a tryout basis and potentially earn a contract to reunite with head coach John Tortorella from their Tampa Bay Lightning days.

Larry Brooks of The New York Post broke the news Tuesday that the Rangers invited Fedotenko to camp, and TSN confirmed on Friday evening that Fedotenko did accept the offer.

This is a case of the Rangers trying to catch a guy rebounding off a bad year in hopes that he can rekindle his success as a depth player capable of netting important goals in critical situations. He only posted 11 goals and 30 total points last season to go along with a horrendous minus-18 rating with the Penguins. But he typically is a 15- to 20-goal scorer with a pretty decent playoff history and two Stanley Cups to his name. He scored 12 goals in the 2004 postseason in which the Lightning won the Cup, including both goals in Game 7 of the Finals against the Calgary Flames.

Since this is strictly a tryout, it's really is a no-risk situation for the Rangers. If he plays hard and will agree to essentially a minimum salary contract, New York can definitely benefit from the the veteran playing a wing position on the third or fourth line. If he fails, they cut him loose and he'll probably end up in Russia. Either way, the Rangers get to see what he has to offer. And if anybody can push him to be his best, it's Tortorella.