The Avalanche on Monday claimed forward
Marko Dano on waivers from the Winnipeg Jets.
Dano, 23, was a first-round pick (No. 27) of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2013 NHL draft, but he’s never been able to get his career on track.
He had two goals and an assist in 23 games with the Jets last season when he was a healthy scratch for 59 regular-season games and all 17 playoff games. He didn’t play in any of Winnipeg’s first five games this year.
Dano is the fourth member of the Avalanche to have been claimed on waivers in the past three seasons, joining defensemen
Mark Barberio and
Patrick Nemeth, and forward
Matt Nieto.
“We have a situation with
Nic Petan coming back that we had to open up a roster spot,” Jets coach
Paul Maurice told reporters on Sunday when Dano was put on waivers with the hope of sending him to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.
Petan was on an NHL-approved leave of absence following the death of his father last month.
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KENYAN HOCKEY TEAM by suiting up as teammates.
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“Marko has been an outstanding professional,” Maurice said. “Last year he went through the entire year dealing with this, not being in. We want to give him an opportunity to play. And if he gets picked up, he’ll get an opportunity to go somewhere and play. He’s too young to go through what he went through last year.”
Dano, who is listed at 5-feet-11 and 212 pounds, has 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists) in 130 NHL games. He had career bests for games (35), goals (eight) and assists (13) as a rookie with Columbus in 2014-15. He played part of one season with the Chicago Blackhawks and parts of the past three seasons with Winnipeg.
Dano had 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 82 games with the Jets. He has 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 89 career AHL games.
Dano was born in Eisenstadt, Austria, but he grew up in Slovakia and has represented the country in multiple international events.
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