In the Boston area Monday, Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick awakened from a nap.
“My girlfriend (Adrienne) mentioned to me that my phone had been ringing for an hour,” Hunwick recalled. “Once I saw who the calls were from, I knew it wasn’t a great sign, but I was happy to learn I was coming here.”
Hunwick, 25, eventually discovered the Bruins had traded him to the Avalanche for defenseman Colby Cohen.
The trade, Hunwick said, wasn’t a shock because with center Marc Savard on the verge of being activated, the Bruins were going to have to scramble to remain below the salary cap ceiling.
He said the reason he was encouraged when he heard he was going to Colorado was because of “this team’s style of play and the fact that there’s a great nucleus here, plus the tradition.”
Hunwick and winger Tomas Fleischmann, 26, acquired from the Washington Capitals on Tuesday for veteran de-fenseman Scott Hannan, went through their first practice with the Avalanche on Wednesday. Hunwick played against Atlanta on Tuesday, while Fleischmann arrived at the Pepsi Center during the game and watched the Avalanche fall 3-2 in overtime to the Thrashers.
There was a time when the Avalanche was the enemy for Hunwick. As a young hockey player growing up in the Detroit area, he was a Red Wings fan.
“I don’t know if I should tell you that,” Hunwick said. “I think everyone who grows up in Michigan and the Detroit area grows up a Red Wings fan. It’s hard not to root for them when you’re a kid. Good thing I’m no longer a kid and proud to be an Avalanche.”
Hunwick also was a teammate of Avalanche forward Kevin Porter at the University of Michigan.
“Our brothers are great friends, and they’re back in Michigan still,” Hunwick said. “I had a text from my brother saying Kevin already had contacted those two about getting a trip out here. I think we’re all great friends, the four of us.”
Fleischmann had fallen out of favor with the Capitals, and the Czech winger even had been a healthy scratch recently. He had four goals and six assists with the Caps this season after getting 23 goals for Washington in 2009-10. He said of the trade: “Obviously, I didn’t expect it. It’s another turning point in my life, and I have to make sure I work hard here and play as hard as I can.”
At practice Wednesday, Fleishmann skated on a line with Matt Duchene, but several Avs skaters — including Milan Hejduk, David Jones and Cody McLeod — were given “maintenance” days off.
Footnotes.
Goaltender Craig Anderson practiced Wednesday, and barring a reversal, he will be available to play on the upcoming five-game road trip that begins with games at Carolina on Friday and Tampa Bay on Saturday. Anderson didn’t return to the game after the first period last Wednesday at Vancouver because of a groin muscle problem. “We’ll see how tomorrow goes,” Anderson said. “Hopefully, I’ll be there one of the two games, with the back-to-back.” . . . Defenseman Adam Foote also went through the full practice and is expected to make the trip. He also hasn’t played since the game a week ago at Vancouver because of a leg injury. “It’s close,” Foote said. “I’m going to give it a test in the morning, get on before practice and see where it’s at. We have the back-to-back coming up, so we have to make sure we’re honest with the conditioning part and make sure we’re ready.” . . . Avalanche defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk’s 11 points in November were the most by a rookie defenseman in that month since 1991, when Detroit rookies Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov had 17 and 13, respectively.
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
