Deen’s Daily: MacKinnon Has Had Enough; MacFarland Talks Coyle, Wood Trade; Marner to Vegas?!

We have more trade activity on Day 2 of the NHL Draft and potentially a massive deal on the way. The Avalanche also made their first selection. During the first round, rumors circulated around Sidney Crosby again and Nathan MacKinnon has had enough.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — June 28.

Colorado Hockey Now

The decentralized draft means the Avs’ front office is set up in the locker room at Ball Arena. I and other local media were invited to come watch the draft from the rink, and general manager Chris MacFarland met with us to specifically talk about the trade that sent Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus.

He’ll meet with us again at the conclusion of Day 2 to talk about everything else.

Read More: Avs Still Have Work to Do After Coyle, Wood, and Brindley Trade

MacFarland mentioned something about goaltending being the only position that’s figured out so far. I expect quite a bit of movement on the blueline and in the bottom six. Should be a fun few days ahead.

Here are my thoughts on the deal, and what should come next.

Read More: Deen’s View: With Coyle and Wood Gone, Avalanche’s Main Focus Should Shift to Defense (+)

The Avs have made two selections in the draft through the first four rounds. They took overage defenseman Francesco Dell’Elce No. 77 overall before selecting another blueliner, Linus Funck (what a name), at No. 118. The only remaining pick they have is in the seventh round (assuming they don’t trade for another pick).

And now for the funny stuff. There were some pretty ridiculous rumors flying around about Sidney Crosby again. My general rule of thumb is, unless they’re coming from the main insiders, it’s probably not going to happen. Especially with a name as highly regarded as Crosby.

Anyway, there’s been some chatter online that MacKinnon and Crosby were together when Kevin Weekes tiptoed around the idea on live television during the draft. After Spittin’ Chiclets posted it on Instagram, MacKinnon responded, “fake news.”

The Avalanche’s top star has had enough.

Let's not do the Crosby thing again. pic.twitter.com/Di1Gb9ioqh

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 28, 2025

Around The NHL

Marner to Vegas?! — This is so fresh that we don’t have an article on Vegas Hockey Now yet. Hannah Kreh is our wonderful writer covering the Golden Knights and she’ll be all over this in no time. Anyway, Elliotte Friedman and Darren Dreger are both reporting that Vegas is working on a sign and trade for Mitch Marner from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The deal would involve center Nicolas Roy, who is signed for two more years carrying a $3 million AAV. Honestly, that would be a great get for the Leafs. They were going to lose Marner for nothing and instead would fill a massive need on the third line and fill out their center depth with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and Scott Laughton.

Roy was a guy I was hoping the Avs could get after trading Coyle. It just doesn’t seem likely that Vegas would want to make a deal with Colorado.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings made the biggest move of the day (so far), acquiring goalie John Gibson from Anaheim. It’s actually a pretty solid trade for the Wings and a worthwhile risk for a player that has had quite a few injuries struggles in recent years.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pens swapped defensemen with the Buffalo Sabres and acquired a second-round draft pick in the process.

Florida Hockey Now: Sam Bennett wants to be part of a dynasty in Florida. That’s why he locked up a max-term deal on Friday.