Deen’s Daily: Avalanche Depth Issues Take Center Stage; Matthew Tkachuk Status Update

The Avs lost two straight games over the weekend. Why can’t they seem to play well consistently? Is it time for Pittsburgh to trade Erik Karlsson? Also, the latest status updates on Matthew Tkachuk and Hampus Lindholm.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — February 25.

Colorado Hockey Now

There aren’t many positives to take away from the Avalanche’s weekend performance. Yes, they were the better team against Nashville. But the 30th-place Preds still only let in one goal and found a way to win 2-1. Here are Colleen Flynn’s 10 Observations from the back-to-back.

The season isn’t over by any means. But the two bad losses really put things into perspective. The Avs are struggling to get offense from all but four of their 12 forwards. The numbers are worse than you probably think. In my weekly Monday column, I dive into some of those numbers and ask: Is this Avalanche season worth saving?

Catch the latest episode of my podcast, Rinkside with Aarif Deen — Team Canada Wins — 4 Nations Fallout | February 23, 2025.

Around the NHL

Florida Hockey Now: Tkachuk’s injury is still being evaluated to see how long he’ll be out. But it sounds like rumors that his season is done aren’t true. Tkachuk, who was a star for Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off before getting hurt, is also making an appearance on the Tonight Show. How to Watch.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: If you’re wondering if any other teams had a rough weekend, look no further than Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. Dan Kingerski also writes that it’s time to trade Erik Karlsson.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings traded Ville Husso to Anaheim on the same day a high-profile Ducks forward was suspended for injuring Michael Rasmussen.

NYI Hockey Now: It looks like the Islanders are getting reinforcements back on the blueline.

Boston Hockey Now: There’s a lot of uncertainty around how the Bruins are going to handle the trade deadline. Specifically for their pending UFAs. It doesn’t help that the latest injury status update on Lindholm doesn’t sound great.