Avalanche Claim Marko Dano

By Richard Gonzalez

The Colorado Avalanche have claimed forward, Marko Dano from the Winnipeg Jets. 

Dano, who was born in Australia, is listed as 5’11”, 212 lbs and has a left shot. Dano has played in 130 NHL games scoring 45 points (19 goals and 26 assists).

The 23-year-old was selected in the first round, 27th overall, by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2013 NHL draft.  Dano would spend two seasons with the Slovan Bratislava (KHL) playing in 78 games scoring 12 points (6 goals and 6 assists). He would sign his entry-level deal with the Blue Jackets on March 14, 2014. Dano made his NHL debut on Oct. 9th, 2014 and scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 11th. 

Dano would play 35 games with the Blue Jackets scoring 21 points (8 goals and 13 assists). He also spent time with the Blue Jackets’ affiliate team, the Springfield Falcons. 

The Blue Jackets traded Dano, Jeremy Morin, Artem Anisimov, and Corey Tropp to the Chicago Blackhawks for Brandon Saad, Alex Broadhurst, and Michael Paliotta. Dano spent the majority of time playing with the Blackhawks’ affiliate team, the Rockford IceHogs. He played in 34 games for the IceHogs scoring 23 points (4 goals and 19 assists). He played in only 13 games with the Blackhawks scoring a goal and assist. 

The Blackhawks would trade their first round pick (2016) and Dano to the Jets for Andrew Ladd, Jay Harrison, and Matt Fraser. Dano has played for the Jets for three seasons scoring 22 points (10 goals and 12 assists) in 82 total games. He also played in six games with the Jets’ affiliate team, the Manitoba Jets getting two assists.

Dano is known for his speed and grit style of play. He has moved around a lot in his young career and he is hungry to prove himself and to find stability. He will have the opportunity to do that with the Avalanche this season. I definitely agree with Ryan S. Clark of the Athletic when he tweeted that this gives the Avs “depth and more flexibility too.” He will most likely be slotted in the bottom six and can see him getting some PK time as well. This is a no-cost with a potential high or average reward for the Avalanche. I feel it is worth taking a chance on. 

Welcome to the team, Marko Dano. 

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October 16th, 2018