Boedker, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, said he sensed he could be involved in a trade Monday but still was surprised when he was traded to the Avalanche for veteran forward Alex Tanguay and two prospects.
"There's been a lot of talk; I've been trade bait for the last month or so," Boedker said. "There was always that chance that you might get moved. And when I found out I was definitely excited. It's a good opportunity to come to Colorado and be a part of this team and see if we can make the [Stanley Cup Playoffs]."
Drafted by the Coyotes with the eighth pick of the 2008 NHL Draft, Boedker is with a new organization for the first time in his NHL career.
"It's going to be a lot of fun to try something new," Boedker said. "[There is] a lot of excitement coming here, coming to a young team that plays some real good hockey. Hopefully I can adjust quick and help this team out."
Boedker will slot into the lineup on Colorado's top line, with center Nathan MacKinnon and right wing Gabriel Landeskog. It's a line that coach Patrick Roy said he hopes will be able to create mismatches with its speed.
"I hope it's going to bring headaches; that's the objective," Roy said. "I'm very curious to see how they're going to play. I'm curious to see, is it going to fit? Is the chemistry going to be good? That's what you want to see."
Gelinas was a healthy scratch for his final nine games with the Devils and said he went into Monday not expecting to be traded. But once the Devils claimed defenseman David Warsofsky on waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins, Gelinas said he knew it was possible a defenseman could be traded.
"I didn't know who," Gelinas said. "I had heard a lot of rumors about [David] Schlemko. I was surprised [but] I was excited for sure." Gelinas was acquired for a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.
Minnesota will be without defenseman Jonas Brodin for at least one more game. Brodin, who has missed the past 12 games because of a broken foot, was activated from injured reserve Monday which indicated a possible return.
Wild interim coach John Torchetti said Brodin, as well as forward Jason Zucker, remain day-by-day. Zucker has been out since Feb. 21 because of a concussion. It's possible they could return when the Wild open a two-game road trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Here are the projected lineups:
AVALANCHE
Mikkel Boedker - Nathan MacKinnon - Gabriel Landeskog
Mikhail Grigorenko - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Shawn Matthias - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Cody McLeod - John Mitchell - Jack Skille
Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie
Francois Beauchemin - Eric Johnson
Eric Gelinas - Chris Bigras
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
Injured: Jesse Winchester (head), Brad Stuart (back)
Scratched: Zach Redmond, Andreas Martinsen
WILD
Zach Parise - Mikko Koivu - Charlie Coyle
Chris Porter - Mikael Granlund - Thomas Vanek
Nino Niederreiter - Erik Haula - Jason Pominville
Ryan Carter - Jarret Stoll - Justin Fontaine
Ryan Suter - Jared Spurgeon
Marco Scandella - Matt Dumba
Mike Reilly - Nate Prosser
Devan Dubnyk
Darcy Kuemper
Injured: Jason Zucker (concussion), Jonas Brodin (broken foot)
Scratched: David Jones
Status report:Bigras is a left-handed shot but has experience on the right side from his time in junior hockey and will move there for the time being to make room for Gelinas. ... Jones, acquired Monday in a trade from the Calgary Flames in exchange for goaltender Niklas Backstrom and a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, will not play because of work visa issues.
Who's hot:Landeskog has two straight multipoint games and six points in his past five games. ... Pominville has four goals and nine points in his past seven games.
