DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has acquired forward Denis Malgin from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Dryden Hunt.
Malgin, 25, has recorded four points (2g/2a) in 23 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. A fourth-round selection (102nd overall) of the Florida Panthers in the 2015 NHL Draft, Malgin has played in 215 career NHL contests with the Panthers and Maple Leafs, totaling 64 points (30g/34a).
The Olten, Switzerland, native returned to the NHL this season after spending the last two years in the National League, the top professional league in Switzerland. He totaled 94 points (40g/54a) in 93 combined contests with Lausanne and the ZSC Lions over those two seasons and was named a National League Media All-Star in consecutive campaigns. In 2021-22, Malgin led Zurich and ranked fifth among all players with 52 points and also paced the league in playoff goals (9) and ranked second in postseason points (18). He has produced 119 points (47g/72a) in 154 career National League contests, having also played in the Swiss league system prior to making his NHL debut with Florida on Oct. 13, 2016.
Malgin set NHL career highs in points (22), goals (11), assists (11) and games played (51) during the 2017-18 season with Florida. As a rookie in 2016-17, he recorded seven goals and 10 points, ranking second among Panthers first-year players in both categories. The 5-foot-9, 182-pound center has also played in 28 career American Hockey League contests for the Springfield Thunderbirds, producing 26 points (7g/19a).
Internationally, Malgin most recently represented Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics and the 2022 IIHF World Championship, where he ranked first among Swiss skaters and tied for fifth at the tournament with 12 points. He finished tied for first on the team in both goals (5) and assists (7). Malgin also represented his country at the IIHF World Junior Championship in 2015 and 2016 and the IIHF World Championship in 2017.
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