Avalanche acquire Matt Nieto, Ryan Merkley in trade with Sharks
Jan. 25—The Avalanche made a trade with the Sharks Wednesday night in a shakeup of roster depth.
Colorado received forward Matt Nieto and defenseman Ryan Merkley from San Jose in exchange for defenseman Jacob MacDonald and forward Martin Kaut. The deal adds a $87,500 cap hit for the Avs, according to CapFriendly.com.
Nieto, 30, returns to Colorado where he played for three-plus seasons (2017-20). His arrival solidifies the bottom six with injured forward Darren Helm (abductor) potentially unable to return this year. Nieto has eight goals and seven assists through 45 games played in 2022-23 for San Jose.
Merkley, 22, is a promising AHL blueliner with 14 assists in 30 games for the San Jose Barracuda this season. He's a 2018 first-round NHL draft pick. Merkley is a project but could be in the mix this season with so many Avalanche injuries on the back end.
The departure of Kaut, a 2018 first-round pick, signals the end of his final chance to make the roster. He's played in 27 games this year but with little impact (one goal and two assists). In July, the Avalanche re-signed MacDonald on a two-year deal. But he recorded only two assists over 33 games this season.
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