Deen’s Daily: How Will Four Avalanche Skaters Do at 4 Nations Faceoff?

Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen, Cale Makar, and Devon Toews are heading to 4 Nations. Mikko Rantanen will be there too. Also, how will the Penguins and Islanders navigate the trade deadline?

Colorado Hockey Now

Today is the first official day of practice for the 4 Nations Faceoff and four Avalanche skaters are ready to partake in the exciting tournament.

All eyes are on Team Canada where MacKinnon, Makar, and Toews are going to play massive roles. Team Finland is expected to have Lehkonen on the top line alongside his former teammate, Rantanen. Both were named to Finland’s roster before Rantanen was traded to Carolina.

Had Gabriel Landeskog been healthy, there’s a big chance that he’d not only be on Team Sweden but would’ve likely been named captain too.

But the four aforementioned names will represent the Avs.

How do you think they’ll do? Comment below and let me know who plays best, who struggles, and who might be an under-the-radar hero for their squad.

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: My favorite part about the timing of the 4 Nations break is that the trade deadline is less than four weeks away. And given what we’ve seen over the past handful of seasons, teams are getting more into the habit of using the lead-up to the deadline to make trades rather than keeping all the big moves for the day or week of.

So on that note, the Pens have a lot out there. Are they big names? Probably not — except for one forward not named Sidney Crosby. They’ve already dealt Marcus Pettersson, who was their biggest trade bait piece. Check out the latest Pens Blog for more on their trade assets and other news around the team.

Montreal Hockey Now: In one of two games early on Sunday, the Habs fell 5-3 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. A lot went on in this game, including the pulling of goalie Jakub Dobes. Montreal’s exciting stretch of hockey is but a mere memory at this point.

The Canadiens are 2-7-1 in their last 10 games and sit closer to the bottom of the Eastern Conference than to the wildcard.

NYI Hockey Now: Another team still trying to figure out what they are, the Islanders enter the break with a 1-3 record in their last four games following an exciting seven-game winning streak. Should they buy, sell, or both?

If they chose to sell, they’d have a lot to give up. Kyle Palmieri and Brock Nelson are probably the most notable names on the market if they went that route.