Avalanche acquire left winger Matt Nieto from the Sharks

The Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks made an interesting, under-the-radar deal on Wednesday. According to Mike Stephens of The Hockey News, the Sharks traded left winger Matthew Nieto of Long Beach, California, and defenseman Ryan Merkley of Oakville, Ontario to the Avalanche for right winger Martin Kaut of Brno, Czechia, and defenseman Jacob MacDonald of Portland, Oregon.

Matthew Nieto

Nieto has been back and forth between San Jose and Colorado throughout his career. He initially was with the Sharks from 2013 to 2017, before being selected off waivers by the Avalanche on January 5, 2017. Nieto then played four seasons with the Avalanche from 2017 to 2020, before signing as a free agent with the Sharks on October 13, 2020.

In 45 games with the Sharks in 2022-23, Nieto scored eight goals and had seven assists for 15 points. He was a -22 with eight penalty minutes, two game winning goals, one power-play point, 70 shots on goal, five faceoff wins, 18 blocked shots, 28 hits, 20 takeaways, and 17 giveaways. Nieto’s game-winning goals came in a 4-0 Sharks win over the Montreal Canadiens on November 29, and in a 4-2 Sharks win over the Arizona Coyotes on January 10.

Ryan Merkley

Merkley was the Sharks’s first round pick, 21st overall, in the 2018 National Hockey League Entry Draft. In 2021-22, Merkley’s rookie season, he had one goal and five assists for six points with the Sharks. He played this season with the San Jose Barracuda, and had 14 assists for 14 points in 30 games.

Martin Kaut

Kaut had one goal and two assists for three points with the Avalanche this season in 27 games. He was a -2 with four penalty minutes, one game-winning goal, 24 shots on goal, two faceoff wins, five blocked shots, 15 hits, six takeaways, and one giveaway. Kaut’s game-winning goal came in a 5-1 Avalanche win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on November 5. Kaut also had an assist on a goal by Alex Newhook of St. John’s, Newfoundland in the win over the Blue Jackets, and another assist on a goal by Dryden Hunt of Cranbrook, British Columbia in a 4-1 Avalanche win over the Dallas Stars on November 26.

Jacob MacDonald

MacDonald is joining his third NHL team after one season with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19, and three seasons with the Avalanche from 2020 to 2023. In 33 games this season, he has two assists for two points and is a -3 with 11 penalty minutes, 29 shots on goal, 14 blocked shots, 29 hits, two takeaways and 12 giveaways. MacDonald’s first assist this season came on a goal by Andrew Cogliano of Toronto, Ontario in a 4-0 Colorado win over the Washington Capitals on November 19, and his second assist came on a goal by Newhook in a 2-1 Colorado win over the Seattle Kraken on January 21.

Photo Courtesy: Quintin Soloviev (Wikimedia Commons)