The Colorado Avalanche acquired defenseman Ryan Merkley and forward Matt Nieto from the San Jose Sharks for forward Martin Kaut and defenseman Jacob MacDonald on Wednesday.

Merkley, a 2018 first-round pick, requested a trade earlier this month, according to Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.

More to come.

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The Edmonton Oilers will be without Evander Kane on Wednesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to a bankruptcy case, according to Daily Faceoff's Jason Gregor.

Kane is facing two bankruptcy trials in San Jose and is scheduled to appear in court for seven days over two weeks from Jan. 23 to Feb. 2, Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic reported Friday.

Edmonton plays twice during this period: Wednesday against the Blue Jackets and Saturday versus the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kane filed for bankruptcy with $26.8 million worth of debt in January 2021.

The 31-year-old has five goals and 13 points in 17 contests this season. He recently returned from a 31-game absence due to a laceration sustained Nov. 8 when his wrist was cut by a skate.

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The NHL is leaning into the sunny backdrop at the 2023 All-Star Game in Florida.

On Tuesday, the league announced three new events for the upcoming All-Star Skills Competition: Splash Shot, Pitch 'n Puck, and Tendy Tandem.

Splash Shot will take place on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. Four teams of two players will compete head-to-head shooting at targets, with the winner dunking their opponents into a water tank.

Pitch 'n Puck uses a combination of hockey and golf shots. Six players will play a par 4 on an island green. If there's a tie, a longest-drive competition will determine the winner.

In Tendy Tandem, one goaltender from each division is designated as either a shooter or a netminder. The shooting goaltender will attempt to hit a target from a designated mark, with his results determining how many players get to shoot for his team. The netminder from the opposing division will then face one, two, or three players, depending on the points earned by the shooting goalie.

Fastest skater, hardest shot, breakaway challenge, and accuracy shooting all return to the 2023 All-Star Game as well.

Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo will participate as a celebrity goaltender in the breakaway challenge. Team USA's Alex Carpenter and Hilary Knight, as well as Team Canada's Emily Clark, Rebecca Johnston, and Sarah Nurse will also take part in the festivities.

The individual winner of each event will earn $30,000.

The All-Star Skills Competition kicks off Feb. 3 at 7 p.m. ET. The All-Star Game will take place the following day.

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Rasmus Dahlin is well aware that only five of the 44 skaters selected for the upcoming All-Star Game in Florida are defensemen.

"I guess the fans want to see forwards," the Buffalo Sabres blue-liner told Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News on Monday. "It is what it is. I'm going on vacation and I'm going to have a good time, but, obviously, I want to be there. That's just how it goes."

Dahlin ranks second in scoring among NHL defensemen with 52 points, but he was not named to the Atlantic Division's All-Star roster. Tage Thompson was Buffalo's representative on the initial roster, while Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews and Boston Bruins sniper David Pastrnak earned spots through the NHL All-Star Fan Vote.

All nine skaters on the Atlantic Division's roster are forwards.

Though he'd prefer to participate in the All-Star festivities, Dahlin plans to enjoy a break from his 26:10 of average ice time.

"The rest is well-needed for sure," the 22-year-old said. "A few of us are going to have a good time - mental break and also a physical break. So I'm excited for that, too. Some days, you've got to take your day off if you have to, but I think the body gets used to it."

Dahlin earned the first All-Star nod of his young career last season. He's looking forward to watching Thompson - who's tied for third in the league with 32 goals - put on a show as the Sabres' representative this time around.

"People want to see his skill and what he's good at," Dahlin said. "So I'm super excited for him. I'm going to watch. I want him to do something sick out there and have a blast. I'm sure he's going to do it a few times more in his career, but enjoy this moment, for sure."

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Vancouver Canucks president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford was apologetic to Bruce Boudreau during Sunday's press conference introducing Rick Tocchet as head coach but insisted criticism for the team's handling of the situation has been "overplayed."

"I will apologize to Bruce for this: Probably, in my interviews over the course of the season, when people ask me a question, I'm probably too direct and too honest. ... Sometimes that affects certain people. And in this case, it probably did affect him," Rutherford said, per Sportsnet.

"I'm sorry I did that, and I've learned from it. So I've decided that I need to zip it. I'm not going to talk about the team; I'm going to let Patrik (Allvin, Vancouver's GM) and Rick Tocchet talk about the team."

There was significant speculation over Boudreau's future leading up to Sunday's firing. Colorado Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano criticized the Canucks' treatment of Boudreau, while Vancouver defenseman Tyler Myers admitted the conjecture was impacting the team.

After apologizing, Rutherford maintained the Canucks' search for a new coach was typical.

"It's not any different than most situations in professional sports, where a team is not winning as much as people would like, and there's speculation that there's gonna be changes," Rutherford said. "If you go back to the last time there was a coaching change here, there was speculation about it. And the owner was talking to Bruce about coming here before there was a change made. So, there's not a whole lot different other than what I've apologized for."

Rutherford added, "I have had several calls - and I know a lot more than you do - from people that feel that this was really overplayed by everybody."

Tocchet will debut as Vancouver's head coach when the Canucks face the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

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Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin sat out his first game of the season Saturday against the Vegas Golden Knights due to a lower-body injury.

Ovechkin has missed 48 games in his 18-season NHL career. Only 28 of those have been the result of an injury.

The 37-year-old's 30 goals this season rank sixth league-wide. He has 52 points through 48 contests.

The Capitals are fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 25-17-6 record.

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The Bruce Boudreau saga in Vancouver appears to be coming to an end.

The Canucks are expected to name Rick Tocchet head coach on Monday, according to Sportsnet's Jeff Marek.

Tocchet has featured on TNT's hockey panel as an analyst since the beginning of the 2021-22 season. He was most recently on an NHL bench in 2020-21 with the Arizona Coyotes.

The 58-year-old posted a 125-131-34 record as the Coyotes' head coach over four seasons. Tocchet made the playoffs once, losing in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche in 2020 after knocking off the Nashville Predators in the qualifying round. He parted ways with Arizona following the 2020-21 campaign.

Tocchet won back-to-back Stanley Cups as an assistant with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

Speculation over Boudreau's future has been rampant in recent days. Canucks defenseman Tyler Myers commented on the impact it has had on the team, while Avalanche forward Andrew Cogliano criticized Vancouver's treatment of Boudreau.

The 68-year-old was emotional on Friday when discussing the uncertainty of his future.

Sergei Gonchar and Adam Foote are expected to join Tocchet in Vancouver as assistants, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Gonchar coached alongside Tocchet for two seasons in Pittsburgh. The 48-year-old was last on an NHL bench in 2020 as an assistant with the Penguins. He's been an assistant coach with the Russian national team this season.

Foote spent parts of two seasons as head coach of the WHL's Kelowna Rockets before being fired in 2020. Previously, the 51-year-old was a team consultant with the Avalanche from 2013-17.

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The NHL announced the 12 fan-voted players heading to the 2023 All-Star Game on Thursday.

Two skaters and one goaltender have been added to each division's roster. The fan-driven selection process ran through Jan. 17, which included a Twitter component for the first time.

The eight-man initial rosters were unveiled on Jan. 6 and included one representative from each team.

Here are the newest group of players named to the All-Star Game.

Atlantic

Metropolitan

Central

Pacific

The festivities in Florida begin with the skills competition on Feb. 3 and wrap up with the All-Star Game on Feb. 4.

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The Montreal Canadiens have held preliminary contract talks with pending restricted free agent Cole Caufield, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.

"My understanding is that the preliminary talks of an extension between Cole Caufield's agent, Pat Brisson, and the Montreal Canadiens started roughly a month ago," Dreger said on Tuesday's "Insider Trading."

Caufield is in the final year of an entry-level contract he signed in March 2021. He's tallied 26 goals and 36 points through 44 contests this season.

The 22-year-old has blossomed into one of the premier young goal-scorers in the NHL over the past year and a half. After scoring just once in 30 games under Dominique Ducharme in 2021-22, Caufield has found the back of the net 48 times in 81 contests with Martin St. Louis behind the Canadiens' bench. Only eight players have scored more goals over that span.

Matt Boldy, drafted three slots higher than Caufield in 2019, recently signed a seven-year, $49-million extension with the Minnesota Wild.

The Canadiens are last in the Atlantic Division with an 18-23-3 record.

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The Detroit Red Wings waived goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic on Sunday.

Nedeljkovic has a cap hit of $3 million. He's set to become an unrestricted free agent at the expiration of his contract following the 2022-23 campaign.

The 27-year-old has a .880 save percentage and a 4.09 goals-against average in nine appearances with the Red Wings this season. He's not played for Detroit since allowing five goals on 41 shots against the Florida Panthers on Dec. 8.

Nedeljkovic was assigned to the AHL on a conditioning loan on Jan. 4. He's made six starts with the Grand Rapids Griffins, posting a .920 save percentage and a 2.30 goals-against average. Nedeljkovic recorded a 27-save shutout on Saturday in the final game of his conditioning loan.

Detroit acquired the netminder from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021 for a third-round pick and the UFA rights to Jonathan Bernier. Nedeljkovic had a .901 save percentage in 59 contests in his first season with Detroit.

Ville Husso has taken the Red Wings' starting job after signing a three-year contract with a $4.75-million cap hit in the offseason. The 27-year-old has a .902 save percentage in 29 appearances.

Detroit claimed 31-year-old Magnus Hellberg off waivers in November. He has played as Husso's backup while Nedeljkovic has been on his conditioning loan.

The Red Wings are sixth in the Atlantic Division with an 18-16-7 record.

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