Deen’s Daily: Colton Joins Avalanche Road Trip; Habs Forward Nears Return; Cossa Called Up

It’s already been over a month since Ross Colton broke his foot blocking a shot against the Chicago Blackhawks in late October. The 28-year-old joined the Avs on their five-game road trip and could be an option at some point. Colorado is in Buffalo tonight.

Head coach Jared Bednar confirmed that the forward wouldn’t travel if it weren’t a possibility that he’d play. Bednar also said he’d start Colton on the wing where he last played before the injury.

Having Ivan Ivan settle in as a full-timer the way he has this season makes it easier to shift Colton from the 3C position. That’s been Ivan’s role for the past few games.

Annunen: My weekly Monday Notebook covered the other part of the Avalanche-Predators trade. On Sunday I wrote about why the team landed on Scott Wedgewood as their new backup goalie. But yesterday I went into detail about why I feel the team was fine with moving on from Justus Annunen, who was once considered their goalie of the future. You can read about that here.

The same post also dives in on Casey Mittelstadt’s struggles in November.

Around the NHL

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs assigned Joshua Roy to the AHL on Monday, which sets up an imminent return for a superstar they’re excited to see get going.

Detroit Hockey Now: Sebastian Cossa might finally be getting his first taste of NHL action after the Red Wings called up the prospect goalie on Monday. Detroit selected Cossa when Jesper Wallstedt was still available in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. I always wonder if that was the right decision.

Chicago Hockey Now: The Blackhawks were unable to withstand the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies — both of whom recently returned from injuries — scored for the Leafs.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins are 3-0-0 since acquiring Phil Tomasino. I don’t think the former Preds forward totally understands how a team with this type of talent was struggling so badly before he arrived. Those three wins have been the best type of medicine for Mike Sullivan’s club.

Here’s Dan Kingerski’s thoughts on what (might have) changed the Penguins. This one’s behind a paywall but a CHN+ subscription also grants you access to the entire National Hockey Now family. Become a CHN+ member and make the rounds through all of our websites!

New Jersey Hockey Now: Here’s the recap from the Devils angle on New Jersey’s big victory over the New York Rangers. The Blueshirts are in the midst of turmoil and this loss isn’t going to help I don’t think.