Evan’s NHL Daily: Parise’s Plans, Avalanche Goalie Trade Chatter

The Colorado Avalanche got a decent performance out of Justus Annunen on Thursday night, but that likely won’t stop them from pursuing another goalie prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. Is Marc-Andre Fleury that guy? Apparently they’re one of the few teams he’d consider moving to…if he decides he wants to go anywhere. Or could it be Jake Allen? That was the hot rumor Thursday morning before some insiders debunked it.

On the ice, it was another tough loss, ending a brutal road trip for the Avalanche. Not a fun start to his Avalanche career for Zach Parise, who announced that this will be his last season in the NHL.

All that and more in this Friday edition of Evan’s Daily.

Colorado Hockey Now

CHN got to talk to Avalanche first round pick Calum Ritchie exclusively this week, who has taken some inspiration from Nathan MacKinnon on his diet and let me know just how bad his shoulder was hurt during his draft year.

That interview is free and available to everyone, but if you like content like this, please consider subscribing. Use code “evan10” to get a yearly subscription for just $29.99. That’s less than $2.50 a month.

On the ice, maybe the less said, the better. Another loss and the Avalanche fell to 1-4-1 on their long road trip.

Parise’s Last Year

Zach Parise hasn’t looked out of place, despite Colorado’s struggles since his signing, but he told NHL.com that this will indeed be his last season in the NHL.

“Yeah, this is it,” he told Tom Gulitti. “This is it.”

Hopefully, for everyone’s sake, the Avalanche can turn things around quickly. I’m sure they will.

Fleury Would Consider Avalanche

We’ve made it clear here at CHN that we think Marc-Andre Fleury would make sense for the Avalanche to acquire prior to the NHL Trade Deadline.

And apparently the Avalanche are one of the few teams he’d consider moving to…assuming the Wild fall out of it.

The Wild have climbed back into it, sitting five points out of a playoff spot. They’ve still got to leapfrog a few teams, so it seems unlikely they get there, but if they fall out of it, Fleury would look at three teams.

LeBrun on MAF (Insider Trading): “If Minnesota does fall out of it and it’s clear that they are out of it, Fleury potentially could look at 2-3 teams, among those options I’m told are the likes of Carolina, the likes of Toronto and the likes of Colorado”

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) February 15, 2024

Fleury holds all the power with a NMC, so he will get to pick where he wants to go.

Jake Allen Rumors

Some rumors circulated Thursday morning that the Avalanche were about to acquire Jake Allen from the Montreal Canadiens, but a few insiders shot those rumors down pretty quickly. However, their wording makes it seem like there’s always a chance it could happen, and it sure sounds like the two teams have examined the possibility of a deal.

There is no Jake Allen deal to Colorado. The two clubs haven’t spoken in days but there has been previous discussions. Nothing close at this stage.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 15, 2024

Told the reports of #habs Jake Allen being traded to the #Avs are inaccurate. Nothing happening there … at least right now.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 15, 2024

A trade for Allen would require money to be moved around. Allen makes $3.85 million not just this season, but also next year. The Avalanche can’t just fit that in under the NHL Salary Cap, so Montreal would have to take back a contract to make it work.

Allen’s raw numbers aren’t great, but when I checked his underlying numbers a few weeks ago, they didn’t look bad. Since then, they’ve dropped off in a big way, so he must have had a few rough starts.

Either way, despite a strong performance from Annunen on Thursday, I think it’s clear the Avalanche are looking for another NHL goaltender before March 8. Whether the price is right is the question.

National Hockey Now

What could the Devils deal to acquire Juuse Saros?