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Coyotes acquire Plotnikov from Penguins on deadline day
Posted On Feb 29 2016
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A little more toughness, too.
The Colorado Avalanche acquired forward Mikkel Boedker in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
In a separate trade, the Avalanche acquired defenseman Eric Gelinas from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.
Two big pickups – one big vote of confidence.
Arizona is slipping farther and farther from the playoff race, and the Avalanche are on the cusp of the final two Wild Card spots in the Western Conference.
Of course, numerous teams made a series of high-profile moves in the days and weeks leading up to the deadline.
Brown had one goal and two assists in 44 games for San Jose but was expendable after the Sharks traded for forward Nick Spaling from Toronto last week.
A tough business decision, for sure. He’s much young at 26, so perhaps this is as much a chance to Boedker to get to know the organization and potentially remain there.
The 36-year-old Tanguay is in his 16th National Hockey League season and has spent nine of those campaigns in two stints with the Avs. “It’s beyond just playing”.
Iginla is close friends with Tanguay and was sorry to see him leave, but he’s excited about the addition of Boedker. He’ll replace Tanguay on a line with the fleet Nathan MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog.
Appearing in all 82 games in 2011-12, Mikkel Boedker underwhelmed with 11 goals, 13 assists (24 points).
“It’s exciting to get somebody of Boedker’s caliber”, Landeskog said.
“Going into that lineup will be a tremendous opportunity and hopefully I can make the best of it”. “That’s what we want to do”. Gelinas has a goal and five assists in 34 games.
“He’s big and physical”.
“He was one of the top guys available”, Iginla said. “I had a couple battles”.
The 33-year-old Stempniak was traded at the deadline for the fourth time in his career. The salaries for both Boedker and Tanguay are nearly identical, so the Avs do not take on more salary or term while improving their offensive potential.
