The Colorado Avalanche have added a top-six winger for the stretch run, acquiring left-winger Mikkel Boedker from the Arizona Coyotes for veteran National Hockey League forward Alex Tanguay and Canadian junior players Connor Bleakley and Kyle Wood.
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Boedker, 26, has 13 goals and 39 points in 62 games for the Coyotes this season. He has just 22 points (four goals, 18 assists) in 52 games this season.
The 8th overall selection by the Coyotes in the 2008 NHL Draft, Boedker has had only two seasons with more than 30 points and has yet to reach the 20-goal mark in one season. He was the third Battalion player to be chosen by Colorado, joining centres Wojtek Wolski and Matt Duchene, who were first-round picks in 2004 and 2009.
Stempniak, 33, was traded at the deadline for the fourth time in his career. Possession numbers are a concern because the Avalanche are the worst Corsi team in the National Hockey League and Boedker certainly won’t enhance that on his own. Gelinas is a hard-shooting third-year defenseman who provides Colorado depth on the blue line. A point-per-game player in the CHL, Bleackley fell out of favor with the Avalanche organization after underwhelming in training camp. He put up 40 points in 67 games in 2014-15. The Stars traded second-year defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka, forward Brett Pollock and a conditional second-round draft pick to the Flames. His best season was in 2013-14, when he registered 51 points.
-The Chicago Blackhawks traded defenseman Dennis Robertson to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for goaltender Drew MacIntyre.
MacIntyre, 32, is 11-13-1 with a 3.09 goals-against average in 28 games for the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL this season.
A person with direct knowledge of the details tells The Associated Press that the Arizona Coyotes have acquired winger Sergei Plotnikov from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for prospect Matthias Plachta and a conditional seventh-round pick in 2017.
Mikkel Boedker scores moderately more goals but produces far less primary assists than Alex Tanguay as well.
The acquisitions provided a boost to the Avalanche, who have won five of eight, and held a two-point edge over the ninth-place Minnesota Wild.
The Avalanche power play has hit the skids of late with just two power-play goals in their past seven games, and Boedker will clearly get a chance to help out.
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Sabourin, 23, has appeared in 125 regular-season games in the Kings organization.
