A few notes as we wait for the Avalanche to make some actual news:
They could be signing defenseman
Andrei Mironov to an entry-level contract soon, according to several reports based on comments Dynamo Moscow general manager
Andrei Safronov made to Russian media.
Mironov, 22, has one year left on his contract with the Kontinental Hockey League team, but Safronov said he would be given permission to opt out of the final year and join the Avalanche.
A sticking point could be whether Mironov, who has played five seasons with Dynamo Moscow, would be willing to spend some time with San Antonio of the AHL to get acclimated to the smaller North American rinks.
Mironov was Colorado's fourth-round pick (No. 101) in the 2015 NHL draft. A left-shooting defenseman, he is 6-feet-3 and 194 pounds. Said to be a smooth skater with a mean streak, Mironov had one goal, three assists, 10 penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating in 18 games this
season. He had three assists and four penalty minutes in nine playoff games.
Mironov won a silver medal for Russia in the 2015 World Championships, and bronze medals in the 2013 and 2014 World Junior Championships.
"We are currently waiting on the termination of his contract with Dynamo," Mironov's agent,
Daniel Milstein, told
Eurolanche. "The Colorado Avalanche organization fully understands the situation. Once he’ll be released, a deal could be signed. I’ll meet with Andrei at the World Championship.”
The tournament runs May 5-21 with games in Paris and Cologne, Germany.
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(Raleigh)
News & Observer columnist
Luke DeCock has an interesting column whose topic could very well involve the Avalanche, particularly the part where he writes that the Carolina Hurricanes are "in desperate need of a center capable of playing on the top two lines and a winger with goal-scoring ability."
There were plenty of rumors involving
Matt Duchene and
Gabriel Landeskog leading up the NHL trading deadline in March, but general manager
Joe Sakic's only moves were to send
Jarome Iginla to Los Angeles for a 2018 conditional fourth-round draft pick he'll probably never get, and to acquire
Sven Andrighetto from Montreal for
Andreas Martinsen.
The Avalanche had dropped out of the playoff picture long before, so there really was no reason to make a major trade for the sake of making one; a top-flight defenseman needed to be acquired as part of any package.
Whether Sakic makes that kind of move this offseason remains to be seen, but it's doubtful he'll do anything until after the June 21 expansion draft. The NHL draft is set for June 23-24 in Chicago.
The Avalanche aren't mentioned in the column, but we all know that Sakic needs to upgrade the defense, and the Hurricanes have a number of young defensemen who could help in that regard.
Here's the
COLUMN.
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The Colorado Eagles, who are the Avalanche's ECHL affiliate, have taken a 2-0 series lead in their best-of-seven second-round playoff series with the Allen Americans, the defending league champions.
The Eagles play Games 3 and 4 at their home rink, the Budweiser Events Center, on Wednesday and Thursday.
Three Avalanche draft picks are contributing in the playoff run.
Forward
Julien Nantel has three goals, two assists, two penalty minutes and a plus-3 rating in seven games. Defenseman
Sergei Boikov has three assists, two penalty minutes and an even plus/minus rating in six games. Defenseman
Mason Geertsen has six penalty minutes and a plus-three rating in seven games.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • 
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