Getting traded by your hometown team has to sting, but if it did, Charlie Coyle didn't show it.
"I'm pretty pumped," Coyle said after arriving in Denver via the Boston Bruins.
So far, he's backed it up with his play on the ice. Although the Massachusetts native hasn't been able to find the back of the net for his new team, the Avalanche have been spending a heck of a lot more time in the opposing team's zone than their own.
Through six games with Colorado, the Avalanche are controlling 62% of the shot attempts with Coyle on the ice. Even more impressive is the fact that their expected goals-for percentage with him comes in at just over 68%. The offense might not be there right now, but Coyle, who has spent most of his time centering the third line of Ross Colton and Joel Kiviranta, is doing exactly what the Avalanche brought him in to do at even strength.
That's not the only area where he's impressed.
The Avalanche staff immediately threw Coyle onto the penalty kill and in his second game, they threw him out there to (successfully) kill a 5-on-3. Colorado's staff had pinpointed that killing 5-on-3's was "one of Coyle's strengths," according to Jared Bednar.
Even a veteran like Coyle can receive a confidence boost when his new staff shows that much confidence in him.
"I like it," Coyle told The Denver Gazette. "You want to be useful and do what you can to help the team win. If that's what they're asking me to do right now, then yeah, sign me up and I'll do the best job I can while still learning the proper system and all that."
Most players kill penalties at a younger age but only a select few continue to do so at the NHL level. If you look through Coyle's career, he was used on the penalty kill in Minnesota a little bit but it wasn't until he got to Boston where he became a specialist, averaging over 2 minutes per game most seasons for the Bruins.
The 33-year-old is still learning the Avalanche system on the penalty kill but knows communication goes a long way when you're down a man or two.
"You need your (defensemen) and forwards talking, especially right now where I'm still kind of learning," Coyle said. "I keep telling the guys, 'Just yell at me. Let me know what to do in case I'm in the wrong spot. Don't be afraid to yell.'"
Coyle is the rare case of a deadline addition that won't be a rental. He's also not lacking in playoff experience, as he's played in the playoffs every season he's been in the NHL.
The trade to the Avalanche will allow him to keep that streak going.
Your daily report on everything sports in Colorado - covering the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and columns from Woody Paige and Paul Klee.
"When you look ahead, you can see where there could be a massive need for a player like that who's battle tested and who's a man out there," Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said.
What I'm hearing
—Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer admitted this week there's a chance their top defenseman, Miro Heiskanen, who had knee surgery Feb. 4, could miss round one. As things stand, it sure looks like round one will be against the Avalanche. That would change things significantly for that matchup, as Dallas' blueline doesn't look so hot without Heiskanen back there.
—With the Avalanche in Canada this week, there's some reminiscing about the 4 Nations Face-Off. While talking about Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, Toronto star Mitch Marner made sure to praise the other Colorado player on Canada's roster.
"I was really, actually, impressed with Toews," Marner told TSN. "Just with his calmness and his presence out there and just defensively. Him and Cale just work so well together as a pair that I think it just brings a lot of steadiness to your team."
What I'm seeing
—Clearly Jim Montgomery was not the problem in Boston. His St. Louis Blues might sneak into the playoffs in the final Wild Card spot. Considering they were 13th in the conference when he was hired, I'd say he's done a pretty good job.
—If the Blues sneak in, it will change things a bit. But as things stand now, both Wild Card teams in the West (Minnesota and Vancouver) have negative goal differentials. The final Wild Card spot in the East looks like it will almost certainly go to a team with a negative goal differential. Montreal currently has the spot and they're sitting at minus-16.
There just aren't a lot of good teams in the NHL right now and there certainly aren't many that would be considered great.
What I'm thinking
—Gary Bettman shut down any chance of the NHL changing its playoff format, which is unfortunate. The current system leads to some unbalanced matchups in round one. Just look at the Avalanche and Stars. Dallas has the second-most points in the West while the Avalanche have the fourth-most points. Doesn't seem right the two teams would have to play each other immediately.
—The success of the 4 Nations tournament seems like it might have killed the All-Star game for good. I'm not sure many people will actually miss it.
