NHL Trade Deadline: Colorado Avalanche Outlook, Fits, Trade Candidates
With the trade deadline approaching, we will be looking at each NHL team’s in-depth trade deadline strategy. This time, we’ll be taking a look at the basement dwelling Colorado Avalanche.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Depth Chart
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Mikhail Grigorenko – Matt Duchene – Matt Nieto
Blake Comeau – John Mitchell – Jarome Iginla
Andreas Martinsen – Carl Soderberg – Joe Colborne
Rene Bourque
Francois Beauchemin – Nikita Zadorov
Mark Barberio – Cody Goloubef
Patrick Wiercioch – Fedor Tyutin
Eric Gelinas
DEADLINE HISTORY
The Colorado Avalanche find themselves in fire sale territory with every player not named Nate MacKinnon expendable. Previously, the Avs have been a team on the bubble of the playoff picture, resulting in them adding to their club at the deadline.
At the 2015 deadline, GM Joe Sakic swapped out veteran Maxime Talbot along with minor leaguer Paul Carey to acquire failing prospect Jordan Caron from the Boston Bruins. Caron went pointless in his 19 games with the Avalanche and wasn’t given a contract at season’s end. Sakic also made a few minor league swaps on the same deadline.
The Avs were in the thick of the playoff race on deadline day last season, and they decided to go after one of the better rental players available. After acquiring Shawn Matthias a week before deadline day, the Avalanche sent a package containing former first-round pick Connor Bleackley, veteran Alex Tanguay and prospect Kyle Wood to the Arizona Coyotes for Mikkel Boedker.
Boedker performed admirably, scoring four goals and eight assists in his 18 games with Colorado. Despite Boedker’s play, the Avalanche missed the playoffs and the trade is looking terrible today. The prospect the Avalanche sent, Kyle Wood, is one of the top rookie defensemen in the AHL this year with the Tucson Roadrunners, scoring 10-23-33 in 40 games. Just goes to show you, mistakes can happen on deadline day.
BIGGEST NEED: Sell off anything for assets
To sum up the Avalanche’s 2016-17 season in one word is easy; putrid. The Avalanche are on pace to finish with the worst record in the post-lockout era. This team needs to clean house and tear it all down.
The Avalanche have various expiring contracts including Jarome Iginla, Rene Bourque, John Mitchell, Fedor Tyutin and Cody Goloubef. It would be in the team’s best interest to move any and all of those players to acquire any sort of asset going forward.
While captain Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene have been rumored to be on the block, it would be very difficult to trade both players before deadline day. One could move, but it’s more likely that they are dealt in the offseason when the salary cap isn’t as big of an issue.
The club could also take on another team’s bad contract in order to acquire a prospect or high draft pick. The Maple Leafs did this last year acquiring d-man Connor Carrick in a deal that saw them take on Brooks Laich’s contract.
DEADLINE PREDICTION: Selling at its finest
GM Joe Sakic knows he will be very active, and he will sell as much as he can to add a plethora of draft picks and prospects to aid his team’s turnaround.
Matt Duchene will still be an Av by the time the deadline rolls around, but Gabriel Landeskog will not.
Jarome Iginla will be dealt to a contending team. Fedor Tyutin will add depth to a playoff team’s “D” core. Somebody will bite on John Mitchell’s expiring contract, especially one that lacks penalty killers.
The Avalanche will also move one of their bad contracts (Joe Colborne or Carl Soderberg) in exchange for another team’s even worse contract while adding a good prospect that can audition during the deadline.
Also expect the Avalanche to make a few waiver claims to fill out the roster for the remainder of the season similar to how the Oilers added Adam Cracknell and Adam Pardy from the waiver wire last year.
POSSIBLE TRANSACTIONS
BOS: LW Gabriel Landeskog
COL:C Ryan Spooner, D Jeremy Lauzon, 2017 1st round pick
CBJ: RW Jarome Iginla
COL: D Dalton Prout, 2017 4th round pick
WSH: D Fedor Tyutin ($500,000 retained by Colorado)
COL: 2018 4th round pick
EDM: RW Joe Colborne
COL: LW Benoit Pouliot, D David Musil
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