Colorado Avalanche Acquire Nick Blankenburg – Pro Hockey Rumors
The Colorado Avalanche have acquired defenseman Nick Blankenburg from the Nashville Predators, according to an official team announcement. The Predators are receiving a 2027 fifth-round decide in change for the defenseman.
The transfer continues Nashville’s latest efforts so as to add future draft picks in change for roster gamers. Fourth-liners Michael McCarron and Cole Smith they had been dealt yesterday. In these three offers, the Predators have added a second-round decide, a third-round decide, and a fifth-rounder, albeit by bolstering the depth of Western Conference playoff contenders within the course of.
In including Blankenburg, the Avalanche have added a succesful NHL defenseman who has loved one of the best years of his skilled profession in Nashville.
While the 27-year-old is undersized, standing 5’9″ 177 kilos, he performs on the type of tempo that can permit him to slot in seamlessly in Colorado. He has 21 factors in 49 video games this season, taking part in 17:57 per night time with the Predators.
He’s appeared on either side of particular groups, serving because the workforce’s second energy play quarterback (behind star Roman Josi) and is averaging 1:36 per recreation on the penalty kill. When Josi missed vital time final season resulting from damage, it was Blankenburg who stepped up and frolicked quarterbacking the workforce’s high energy play unit.
The manner Colorado’s protection is constructed, it’s unlikely he performs as giant a job. The proper facet of their protection is already well-stocked, with Cale Makar, Sam Malinskiand Brent Burns already within the fold. With Devon Toews, Josh Mansonand Brett Kulak On the opposite facet, the Avalanche have a viable assortment of expertise on their again finish. Adding Blankenburg, presumably within the seventh-defenseman position, solely provides to their stockpile on the place. If an damage hits, the workforce could have a top quality participant able to step in and fill the position of the injured blueliner.
From the Predators’ perspective, the deal provides a draft decide for a pending UFA and concludes what has been a stable developmental success story for the Predators.
Blankenburg was an excellent discover for the workforce’s hockey operations division in the summertime of 2024. He had misplaced his NHL position with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2023-24, taking part in within the AHL for the primary time in his profession. He signed a two-year deal in Nashville that contained a two-way construction in its first yr, one thing that finally did not consider an excessive amount of as Blankenburg solely performed 13 video games for the Milwaukee Admirals.
The Predators had been capable of finding an NHL position that was a match for Blankenburg’s talent set, and allowed him to occupy that position and rediscover his place as a full-time NHL participant. A fifth-round decide is not an enormous return for Blankenburg, but it surely’s nonetheless a further draft decide so as to add to their quickly rising stockpile. And the worth of rewarding Blankenburg by giving him an opportunity to hitch one of many NHL’s high groups can’t be discounted – if he performs nicely in Colorado, and will get into playoff video games, he’ll enter the free agent market on very sturdy floor.
It could be curious to see Nashville buying and selling away so many established gamers whereas they’re in the midst of a playoff chase, however the actuality is the Predators have top-of-the-line observe data throughout the league as builders of NHL expertise.
While elite expertise has typically eluded them, they’ve, as a rule, been capable of depend on their pipeline of expertise from AHL Milwaukee to supply them with gamers able to taking over particular roles as bottom-six gamers or third-pairing defensemen. The trades of the bottom-six forwards from yesterday will permit for larger alternative for creating gamers comparable to Ozzy Wiesblatt and Reid Schaefer on the NHL degree. The offers also needs to permit for promising heart Fedor Svechkov to re-join the NHL roster.
Today’s commerce accomplishes an identical position on protection. The Admirals have been led in scoring this season by a defenseman, 22-year-old Ryan Ufkoand he might get a glance within the NHL because of this commerce. It might additionally imply larger alternative for Justin Barronwho the Predators acquired final season from the Montreal Canadiens.
In any case, the Predators haven’t let this season’s stable short-term on-ice outcomes deter them from constructing in direction of a transparent long-term imaginative and prescient. Their strikes in latest days have seemingly been concrete steps ahead in service of that imaginative and prescient, even when they may considerably harm their odds of reaching the playoffs this season.
Photos courtesy of Mark Konezny-Imagn Images
