Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Trade for Blackwood; Why Grier Made the Deal for San Jose

Monday was one of the more newsworthy days for the Avalanche.

Not only did they make a huge trade for Mackenzie Blackwood just nine days after acquiring another goalie in Scott Wedgewood, but general manager Chris MacFarland also spoke to the media for the first time since the regular season began. It’s the first time we hear from him since the dreadful 0-4-0 start — the first time he comments on the team’s inability to stop the puck despite winning 16 of the first 29 games.

Colorado needed a change in goal and it was clear from early in the regular season that MacFarland wasn’t going to sit back and wait. Alexandar Georgiev, in the final year of his contract, seemed to have run his course with the team and Justus Annunen showed signs of decent play at times but also wasn’t the answer. Not for a team with Stanley Cup hopes like the Avs.

At Colorado Hockey Now, we covered the trade and the press conference entirely and will have more analysis on every notable piece in the coming days. Colleen Flynn has the full trade details here.

You can also catch up on some of the reasons why MacFarland felt the need to make the goalie swap.

San Jose Hockey Now: Furthermore, Sheng Peng in San Jose — the most plugged-in Sharks reporter — had a lot of content on the deal, too.

Peng spoke to Sharks GM Mike Grier in an exclusive one-on-one to outline why the Sharks made the move.

Peng also shared his thoughts on the trade, which includes comments from multiple NHL scouts. This one is behind the paywall but, a CHN+ membership also gives you full access to ALL paywall content in the National Hockey Now Network.

Detroit Hockey Now: Speaking of goaltenders, Sebastian Cossa had a historic NHL debut for the Red Wings.

Montreal Hockey Now: I think Patrik Laine has become one of my favorite players to cover in the Daily. Here’s another piece on his impact with the Habs following yet another goal on Monday.