In mid-December, Swiss player Denis Malgin was traded from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Dryden Hunt. In 23 games he had played with the Maple Leafs prior to the trade, Malgin had scored two goals and added two assists (for only four points). It wasn’t enough to fulfill the potential he showed during the team’s training camp.
After starting as a top-six player with the Maple Leafs, eventually Malgin dropped to averaging only 11:37 of ice time per game. The trade was a one-for-one deal. Both Malgin and Hunt will have a chance to impress their new teams before the end of the 2022-23 season. Both become free agents at that time.
Malgin Started Playing Right Away with Colorado But Was Injured
After he was moved by the Maple Leafs, the Avalanche plunked him into their lineup quickly. However, Malgin was injured late in December. He only made it back to the lineup in later January.
In the time that Malgin had played with the Avalanche, he had eventually settled into playing middle-six minutes. However, on January 26, the Avalanche made a trade with the San Jose Sharks to bring back Matt Nieto (who had previously played parts of four seasons in Colorado). Given that trade, it might be that Malgin will have a time tough regaining a middle-six role with his new team.
In fact, that’s what has happened. When he returned in late January, Malgin played only 8:03 as a fourth-liner. Still, he earned an assist in the game.
Malgin Scores His First Goal with the Avalanche
Yesterday, in his team’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, Malgin finally scored his first goal with the Avalanche. It was a third-period goal – his third score of the season. The other two had come in his time with the Maple Leafs before he was traded to Colorado in mid-December.
On the season, Malgin now has seven points and a minus-4 rating in 36 games split between Toronto and Colorado. He’s now mainly playing a bottom-six role with the Avalanche.
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