NHL Awards Buzz: Makar says Johansen 'a huge pickup' for Avalanche

Welcome to the 2023 NHL Awards buzz. The 2023 NHL Awards will be held at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Monday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS). Here is a roundup of news from media day on Sunday.

Colorado Avalanche

Cale Makar said getting center Ryan Johansen was "a huge pickup" for the Avalanche.

Colorado acquired Johansen in a trade with the Nashville Predators on Saturday for forward Alex Galchenyuk. Johansen had 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in 55 games this season before he had surgery on his right leg after he was cut by a skate blade against the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 21.

"He has that edge to his game that everybody wants nowadays," Makar said. "We played them quite a bit, but I'm not overly super familiar with his game, so I'm really excited to see how he fits into our lineup. He can be a very versatile player. The one thing I remember about him, too, is he wins quite a bit of face-offs. Having a big body like that that can play gritty and be productive night in and night out will be a huge piece for us."

Johansen has two seasons remaining on an eight-year, $64 million contract ($8 million average annual value) he signed with Nashville on July 28, 2017. The Predators agreed to retain 50 percent of his salary in the trade.

In 12 NHL seasons, Johansen has 555 points (189 goals, 366 assists) in 842 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Predators.

"I love the deal for us," said Makar, who is a finalist for the Norris Trophy, which is awarded to the NHL's best defenseman. "He could play the second-line center role and then he can also hop around your lineup. It's good to get a guy like that that can play those consistent minutes for you."

Makar added he felt the Avalanche were hurt by a lack of depth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the defending Cup champions were eliminated by the Seattle Kraken in seven games in the Western Conference First Round.

The aquisition of Johansen should help improve depth at forward for Colorado, which will again be without captain Gabriel Landeskog next season because of a right knee injury that required cartilage transplant surgery, a procedure he had done May 10.

Landeskog also missed this season because of right knee surgery.

"For us it's a puzzle," Makar said. "We were pretty complete and then you take a pretty large chunk of the puzzle out and it's pretty incomplete without him. There was always that hope this past season that he might be back at some point, whether it was later in the year, playoffs. And when we started realizing that he wouldn't be I think it was a morale hitter for guys in terms of him not being able to come back and the process that's ahead of him. But overall I think going into [next season] without him, and knowing he's doing everything he can, is going to uplift guys quite a bit. A lot of guys are more prepared to take bigger roles with leadership knowing he's not going to be around the room as much. It's more definitive now." -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

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New York Rangers

Adam Fox said he had a phone conversation with new coach Peter Laviolette last week and came away impressed and excited for the opportunity in front of him and the Rangers.

Laviolette was named the Rangers coach on June 13. The 58-year-old is eighth all-time and first among United States-born coaches in wins with 752. He won the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and advanced to the Final with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2010 and the Nashville Predators in 2017.

"His track record obviously speaks for itself," Fox said. "You don't know too much until you're in there and have some meetings, some systems stuff and are around all the time. But from what I've heard from our conversation, I'm pretty excited to get going."

Fox, who is a finalist for the Norris Trophy alongside Makar and Erik Karlsson of the San Jose Sharks, said he agrees with Laviolette's vision of the Rangers becoming a harder team to play against with more of a grinding, playoff style.

They did not play that way consistently under former coach Gerard Gallant.

"You look at the talent level we have, it's some high-end names, but it's tough to win just on talent alone," Fox said. "It's corny and cliché but it's true, I think you've got to be able to work teams, grind teams down. If that's something he's pushing, we're excited for it. I don't think it's a question of guys don't want to do it or can't do it, but in order to win it's something that has to happen. A lot of guys are excited to get going with him." -- Rosen

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Chicago Blackhawks

Alex Stalock said he hopes to play in the NHL next season, but the 35-year-old goalie acknowledged his future with the Blackhawks is "up in the air."

Stalock, who signed a one-year contract with Chicago on July 13, 2022, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

"If [I re-sign with] Chicago, awesome, I loved my time there," Stalock said. "The front office is tremendous, the coaching staff is great, but at same time, at my age, I kind of know my role and where I fit in, and we'll see what happens here in the next couple of weeks."

A finalist for the Masterton Trophy, which is presented annually to the NHL player voted to best exemplify the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey, Stalock was 9-15-2 with a 3.01 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and two shutouts in 27 games (24 starts) this season. He played one NHL game the previous two seasons after being diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, in November 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19.

"I want to play as long as I can," Stalock said. "I learned that at a young age from really good veterans that I had. You play as long as you can and as long as you love it and I still love going to the rink every single day. If you can play in the National Hockey League, it's a pretty good living." -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer