Now that the Colorado Avalanche have moved No. 3 center Charlie Coyle to Columbus, CHN’s Aarif Deen wonders if it makes sense for the Avs to reacquire J.T. Compher.

Compher helped the Avalanche win a Stanley Cup as a No. 3 center in 2022 before signing with Detroit as a free agent.

Deen points out that the Avalanche have $6.55 million in cap space, but need some of that to take care of other business. He writes that the Red Wings would need to retain salary to make it happen.  Compher has three years left at $5.1 million per season. That’s certainly an impediment to moving him because he’s coming off a sub-par season. Plus, GMs are loathe to take on term these days.

The plus for Colorado would be that they know the player, and he played well for them. Detroit wouldn’t expect much in return  The minus would be that Compher didn’t play last season with the effectiveness he showed in 2021-22 for Colorado.

“Compher still has a lot of hockey left in him,” Deen wrote, “and might be one of the better buy-low candidates on the market.”

Jesse Kiiskinen has to complete his obligation to his Finnish team before coming to North America.

lkPaywall story: Scouts hope the Detroit 2025 NHL draft will yield some late-round success stories. To subscribe to DHN+ stories, click here:

Patrick Kane and James van Riemsdyk may get to play together 18 years after going No. 1 and No. 2 in the NHL draft.

Red Wings Extra

NHL.com released its offseason fantasy rankings for the 2025-26 season and the forward rankings suggest no one loves Detroit’s offense. The NHL.com Top 100 forwards don’t include a Detroit player until Alex DeBrincat pops up at No. 43. Then we see Dylan Larkin at No. 46 and Lucas Raymond at No. 52.  Patrick Kane, at No. 88, is the only other Red Wing on the list.

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