Saturday night will feature more than the Toronto Maple Leafs’ annual visit to Ball Arena. The visiting squad will come to town with two former Colorado Avalanche fan favorites.
The Maple Leafs will have defenseman Nick Blankenburg and forward Miles Wood on the roster, as Toronto looks to bounce back from a 4-3 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in their previous game.
For the Avalanche, it will certainly be nice to catch up with some old friends. While Blankenburg didn’t spend a great deal of time in Colorado, he quickly became a popular player. He filled a crucial role down the stretch with the Avalanche experiencing injury woes on the blue line.
Perhaps the most memorable moment for the 28-year-old was his goal in the playoffs against the Minnesota Wild. It culminated one heck of a run for the former Nashville Predator.
The Avalanche passed on re-signing him this summer. He sat on the sidelines until the Maple Leafs offered him a Professional Tryout (PTO), eventually signing him to a one-year, $1.4 million deal.
Blankenburg might just get the chance to play. Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been listed as day-to-day and may not suit up on Saturday night. If he can’t go, Blankenburg will likely get the call on the Maple Leafs’ third pairing.
Wood found roundabout path back to Avalanche territory
As for Miles Wood, his journey back to Avalanche territory has taken a bit of a winding path.
Wood started the season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. However, there was little indication that Columbus wanted to keep him around. So, the veteran forward found himself on waivers at the end of training camp.
Now, he had plenty of interested parties willing to claim him. But it was his $2.5 million cap hit that got in the way. Teams weren’t too keen on spending that much for a fourth-line guy.
Wood cleared waivers and landed in limbo.
All the while, the Maple Leafs and Blue Jackets worked out a deal in which Columbus insisted that the Leafs take Wood off their hands.
Toronto did and sent him to the minors. But a personal absence by forward John Tavares opened the door for the Leafs to recall Wood from the AHL. While it doesn’t seem like he’ll be getting into the lineup, the 31-year-old will be joining the club in Denver.
And it seems only fitting that Wood would get the opportunity to make his Maple Leafs debut in Colorado.
Reunions aside, the Avalanche will be looking to pound the Leafs as they look to build on the 7-3 victory in Calgary on Thursday night.
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