Deen’s Daily: Toews’ nagging injury; Avalanche Loses Goaltender; Formerly Avs Forward Traded

Kaapo Kahkonen, we hardly knew you.

The Avalanche’s third goaltender was placed on waivers Monday and reclaimed the following day by the Winnipeg Jets. Colorado originally acquired Kahkonen from Winnipeg on October 11th after a terrible performance from both Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen on opening night.

Kahkonen only played once for the Avs and didn’t quite get the opportunity he probably wanted. It also didn’t help that he had to deal with immigration and visa issues for eight days after the waiver claim, which likely lost him an extra start or two.

In his one game, Kahkonen allowed four goals in a 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It wasn’t great. But if you could find one positive to take away from his one-month tenure with the Avs, it’s that his addition likely put both Georgiev and Annunen on notice. And they responded well.

Colorado’s goaltending isn’t quite figured out, but both of their netminders have been playing better lately. At least for now, it’s clear the team is comfortable with the tandem they started with. Whether that changes between Game No. 17 and the trade deadline is anyone’s guess.

But if it does, they will have to look elsewhere.

Devon Toews: Head coach Jared Bednar revealed after Monday’s win over Nashville that Toews has been dealing with a nagging lower-body injury since training camp. Toews scored Monday — his first of the season — to help Colorado to a 3-2 OT victory.

Colleen Flynn caught up with Toews 1-on-1 on Family Sports to discuss the injury. You can read all about it here.

About the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: On his daily appearance on Sportsnet’s The Fan Hockey Show, Insider Elliotte Friedman said the Penguins don’t have a full sale, but are open to trading away some pieces if other teams have interest. Pittsburgh was blown out 7-1 by the Dallas Stars on Monday and are slowly seeing their season unravel.

Their division rivals, the Washington Capitals, stepped up and made a deal for former Capitals Stanley Cup champion Lars Eller.

The Caps originally lost Eller nearly two years ago when he was dealt to the Avalanche ahead of the 2023 trade deadline. Colorado gave up a 2025 second-round draft pick to acquire him. After the Avs lost in the first round to the Seattle Kraken that year, Eller left as a UFA and signed a multi-year deal with the Pens.

Evgeni Malkin had this to say about Pittsburgh’s embarrassing performance against the Stars.

Philly Hockey Now: Jonathan Bailey wonders if the Flyers could dive back into the trade market for another young defender. Last season, Philly was ultimately forced to trade Cutter Gauthier and settled on a deal that gave them Jamie Drysdale. It was reported at the time that the Flyers had also asked the Avs about Bowen Byram, but Colorado later traded him for Casey Mittelstadt.

Winnipeg Jets: The historic run continues for Winnipeg. After defeating the New York Rangers 6-3 on Tuesday, the Jets improved to 15-1-0 on the season. Their one loss was against the Toronto Maple Leafs.