The Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired forward Dryden Hunt from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Denis Malgin.
Two prospective contenders are getting some last-minute work done before the NHL's holiday roster freeze.
Early on Monday afternoon, the Toronto Maple Leafs did some light roster tweaking, sending forward Denis Malgin to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Dryden Hunt.
Hunt is a 27-year-old winger who broke into the NHL back in 2017-18 with the Florida Panthers before going on to spend future stints with the Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes and New York Rangers. In 28 games split between the Rangers and Avalanche this season, Hunt has racked up two goals and 15 penalty minutes, primarily playing a checking role lower in the lineup and averaging just under eight minutes in nightly ice time.
Despite his tiny workload, Hunt's possession numbers are actually deceptively impressive, with the gritty forward-driving play to the tune of a 52.6 percent CF/60 at even strength this season.
Heading to Colorado is Malgin, who made his return to the Maple Leafs organization this year after spending the past two seasons overseas in Switzerland and managed to earn a roster spot out of training camp. While Malgin had a hot start to the 2022-23 campaign, his production has dropped off considerably over the past two months, with the 25-year-old going pointless in his last 12 games while failing to gain any traction in a top-six audition alongside John Tavares and Mitch Marner.
Perhaps a fresh start could be what's best for both players who have each clearly fallen out of favor with their respective coaches.