{"id":112376,"date":"2021-06-20T08:43:44","date_gmt":"2021-06-20T12:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=112376"},"modified":"2021-06-20T08:43:44","modified_gmt":"2021-06-20T12:43:44","slug":"nhl-rumours-avalanche-blackhawks-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2021\/06\/20\/nhl-rumours-avalanche-blackhawks-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello and welcome to a Sunday edition of NHL rumours<\/a>! Every day brings us closer to the offseason, which means plenty of news is swirling. Teams are busy preparing for contract extensions and multiple drafts. Check in with Last Word on Hockey frequently for the latest from around the league. Today’s NHL rumours feature the Colorado Avalanche<\/a>, Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>, and Minnesota Wild<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n

Colorado Avalanche<\/h3>\n

Rumour:\u00a0The Athletic’s Peter Baugh recently had a mailbag<\/a> where he evaluated Seth Jones<\/a>‘ fit on the Avalanche roster.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Analysis:<\/em> It is tempting to view the former fourth overall pick as the last piece of need, but Colorado should steer clear of Jones. That isn’t a knock on the Columbus Blue Jackets<\/a> defender, but trading for a 26-year-old skater would fly in the face of everything Joe Sakic<\/a> has built. Such a trade would block one of the team’s other young defenders from playing a more prominent role next year.<\/p>\n

That is because Jones doesn’t offer a measurable improvement over the team’s existing options. He isn’t a great possession defender despite the majority of his zone starts coming on offence. He also doesn’t do significantly more on offence than any of the Avs’ notable defenders. The only thing he might add is a level of physicality with over 100 hits and blocks in 2020-21, but that isn’t something you trade for in the modern game. Getting Eric Johnson healthy and getting a year of improvement elsewhere would be more than enough to satisfy any production Jones might bring.<\/p>\n

If the team is really eager to add another right-shot defender, they might be better-served extending an offer to David Savard<\/a>. The current Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> defender seems like an excellent defensive counterpart to either Samuel Girard<\/a> or Bowen Byram<\/a>. Savard also might not break Colorado’s salary situation as he almost 31 years old. The Avalanche must take care of internal contract decisions first, but it is anyone’s guess what they prioritize after that. It just shouldn’t be Jones.<\/p>\n

Chicago Blackhawks<\/h3>\n

Rumour:\u00a0Larry Brooks of the New York Post recently indicated that the Blackhawks are interested in trading for Jack Eichel<\/a> of the Buffalo Sabres<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Blackhawks enter the Jack Eichel trade sweepstakes https:\/\/t.co\/FTVGd4FRjs<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QSWY21uMMg<\/a><\/p>\n

— New York Post (@nypost) June 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n