Central Notes: Tanev, Stastney, Avalanche

Chris Tanev’s time in Dallas has been limited so far – just five games since being acquired – but GM Jim Nill already knows he’d like to have the veteran in the fold for the long haul.  Speaking with David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Nill expressed a desire to re-sign the pending UFA after the season:

Whenever you make a move for somebody you like, and you’ve done your research on, and I’ve seen Chris Tanev play a lot, heard all the stories about him, and now we get to live it and stuff. And he has everything we’ve heard, living up to the billing, so we think he’s a great fit for us. Let’s get the games going, let’s get the playoffs going. And but he’s definitely a guy that if we can make it work, we’d love to bring him back here.

The 34-year-old rarely puts up points but is known as one of the better defensive blueliners in the NHL.  Accordingly, he is well-positioned to earn a raise on his current $4.5MM price tag in the summer, one that will be tricky for the Stars to afford within their salary structure.

More from the Central Division:

• The Predators announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Spencer Stastney is out week-to-week with an upper-body injury. The 24-year-old was injured on Thursday, his first game with Nashville since mid-December.  Stastney has a goal in ten NHL contests so far this season while he has chipped in with 20 points in 44 appearances with AHL Milwaukee.  With Dante Fabbro also injured, Nashville is down to just six healthy defensemen so they may recall someone before today’s game against Seattle.
• Avalanche winger Artturi Lehkonen is expected to return tonight versus Edmonton after missing the last two games due to illness, relays play-by-play voice Conor McGahey (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been limited to just 30 games so far this season but has done well when he has been in the lineup, collecting 11 goals and 11 assists.  Meanwhile, McGahey adds that wingers Zach Parise and Jonathan Drouin are also expected to return tonight.  Parise has missed two straight with a lower-body injury while Drouin missed Wednesday’s contest with a lower-body injury of his own.  Parise has seven points in 15 games in his final NHL season while Drouin has done well, picking up 38 points in 64 appearances so far.
• With those returns, the Avalanche announced (Twitter link) that they’ve returned forward Fredrik Olofsson to AHL Colorado. The 27-year-old played in two games on this recall to bring his…