Avalanche executive vice president and general manager Joe Sakic said Saturday he wasn't interested in trading any "core" players and wasn't looking for any short-term fixes before Monday's NHL trading deadline. He kept to his word.

The Avalanche's most significant trade was sending forwards Max Talbot and Paul Carey to Boston for right wing Jordan Caron, 24, and a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft.

They also called up Joey Hishon from Lake Erie. Hishon, 22, was the Avalanche's first-round pick (17th overall) in 2010. He has 14 goals and 18 assists in 50 games with the Monsters this season.

Coach Patrick Roy will discuss the moves after practice Tuesday.

Caron, 6-feet-3 and 204 pounds, was the Bruins' first-round pick (24th overall) in 2009, but he never panned out for them.

Caron had no points in 11 games with the Bruins this season, with 12 goals, 16 assists and 76 penalty minutes in 134 career NHL games. He has one goal in nine playoff games. Caron had nine goals and 10 assists in 23 games this season with Providence in the AHL. He has a $600,000 salary, according to NHLNumbers.com and will be a restricted free agent after the season.

Talbot, 31, killed penalties and has five goals and 10 assists in 63 games this season. He has one year remaining on his contract with a salary cap hit of $1.75 million, according to NHLNumbers.com. Carey, 26, is from Boston and was the Avalanche's fifth-round pick (135th overall) in 2007 out of Boston College. He had one assist in 10 games with Colorado this season, with 13 goals and 14 assists with Lake Erie in the AHL.

The Avalanche also made two minor-league deals. They acquired forward Freddie Hamilton from San Jose for defenseman Karl Stollery, and defenseman Mat Clark from Anaheim for forward Michael Sgarbossa. Hamilton and Clark will report to Lake Erie.

Hamilton, 23, is 6-1, 195. He was the Sharks' fifth-round pick (129th overall) in 2010. He has no points in 12 career games with the Sharks. He had nine goals, 21 assists in and 12 penalty minutes in 52 games this season with Worcester in the AHL.

Clark, 24, is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado. He's 6-3, 225. He was the Ducks' second-round pick (37th overall) in 2009 and had one assist in seven games with them. He had one goal, six assists and 60 penalty minutes in 45 games with Norfolk in the AHL this year.

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Nathan MacKinnon was in a good mood after practice Monday while talking about his broken nose and his benching in Friday's game in Dallas.

MacKinnon was hurt in the third period Saturday on a hit by Minnesota's Sean Bergenheim and will wear a larger face shield to protect it during practices and games.

"I guess I'm a hockey player now," he said. "I'm all right. I think it was his shoulder that hit me in the face. I haven't watched the video. I just remember coming off the ice, bleeding on my hand. Whether it was a penalty or not, I'm not sure. I got this fish bowl on my helmet right now, which sucks. I don't like this."

MacKinnon said breathing was a bit of a problem immediately after the hit.

"Right now, it feels OK," he said. "A couple of black eyes, raccoon eyes the guys were saying. Over the next couple days, it's going to get worse. I plugged my nose pretty good and numbed it. Sleeping has been good. First night was a little off."

MacKinnon played a season-low 12:35 against the Stars and wasn't used in overtime or the shootout. He was relegated mostly to third- and fourth-line duties Saturday against the Wild, though he got some power-play time. He played 14:54 and had four shots on goal.

"I haven't talked to Patty at all about it," he said. "He juggled the lines and (we) started playing well in Dallas. So when other guys are playing well, I wasn't having a very good game, so I mean, sorry, I'm not worried about it at all.

"We started rolling, so when things are going well, you don't want to mess with it. I get it. I'm not rattled by it. At first, you're kind of like in shock. It doesn't happen very often. Patty knows what he's doing and his best interest is winning. I know it's nothing personal."

MacKinnon had four goals in the two games before Dallas, including his first NHL hat trick.

"(Roy) has told me lots lately that I've been playing well, the best hockey of the season," MacKinnon said. "Just happened that game, great third (period) when I wasn't playing. It was a back-to-back, very next game he wanted to keep things together. I get that. When things are going well, don't want to mess with it. It's nothing personal. I'll move forward against Pittsburgh (on Wednesday)."

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Defenseman Jan Hejda's name was mentioned in trade speculation, and he got his wish when he wasn't moved.

"Just kind of waiting and hoping that I'll be an Avalanche player," he said after practice and before the deadline passed. "Obviously, I want to stay here for now and for the rest of my career. This is not a comfortable situation for me. Like you said, a lot of talks, a lot of rumors."

Hejda, who will be an unrestricted free agent after the season, has a cap hit of $3.25 million. He said he still believes the Avalanche can make the playoffs even though they're eight points out of the second wild-card spot in the West.

"I believe it's coming," he said. "This is my choice. I choose the Avalanche as my team, want to win a Stanley Cup for this team."



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