The Colorado Avalanche have had an incredibly turbulent season. At one point earlier in the year they looked like they were going to battle for the Presidents Trophy, sitting at 15-6-4 through 25 games and boasting one of the most dominant lines in hockey. Since then, the team has gone 9-18-7 and would have dropped completely out of the playoff race if the Western Conference wasn’t littered with struggling teams. A huge part of that slide for the Avalanche has been the lack of production from previously reliable options, perhaps most notably Sven Andrighetto.
The undersized winger was a find for the Avalanche in 2017, coming over from the Montreal Canadiens and scoring 16 points in 19 games down the stretch. He then added a 22-point season in just 50 games last year, but hasn’t been able to even come close to those numbers this time around. In 41 games this season Andrighetto has just seven points and has routinely seen fewer than ten minutes of ice time. Now, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet notes in his latest 31 Thoughts column that the Avalanche are trying to move the 25-year old forward before the deadline.
Andrighetto signed a two-year, $2.8MM contract after that solid end to the 2016-17 campaign and is earning $1.55MM in salary this year. While still a restricted free agent at the end of the year, the fact that he will be arbitration eligible may make the Avalanche hesitate to even advance a qualifying offer. That offer would have to be for $1.55MM once again.
Still, perhaps another team will think they can get the same kind of late-season production out of Andrighetto this year. Originally a third-round selection of the Montreal Canadiens back in 2013, the Swiss forward has at times looked like a dynamic offensive player in the NHL. It likely wouldn’t cost much to acquire him, and for a team with ample cap space and roster spots there could be some substantial upside.
In an interesting turn, Andrighetto played more than 18 minutes last night for the Avalanche, third most among Colorado forwards and easily his highest total of the season. If the team is trying to move him as Friedman suggests, perhaps it was a showcase of sorts.