Trade Deadline Primer: Colorado Avalanche

Although we’re now just two months into the season, the trade deadline is only a month away.  Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Colorado Avalanche.

It has been a trying year for Colorado so far, one that saw them head into the season as a perceived Stanley Cup contender.  They’ve been hit hard by injuries as well as a COVID-19 outbreak and the end result has them in fourth in the West Division although they’re still within striking distance of first-place Vegas.  With some big-ticket raises on the horizon and several pending free agents of note, this could be their best shot to truly contend.  Accordingly, expect GM Joe Sakic to be active in terms of trying to add to the roster over the coming weeks.

Record

14-8-2, 4th in West Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$582Kin full-season space ($1.299MM at the trade deadline), $7.4175MM in LTIR room*, 1/3 retention slots used, 43/50 contracts used per CapFriendly.

* – The majority of this space comes from Erik Johnson ($6MM).  He was transferred to LTIR this week but if Colorado believes that he will return this season, they won’t be able to use this room at the trade deadline.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: COL 1st, COL 3rd, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th
2022: COL 1st, COL 3rd, COL 4th, COL 5th, COL 6th, COL 7th

Trade Chips

Last offseason, Tyson Jost wound up accepting his qualifying offer worth just over $874K, a deal that basically took advantage of him having minimal leverage coming off of a tough season without arbitration eligibility.  It felt like a make-or-break year as a result.  Unfortunately for both him and the Avs, this season has leaned towards the latter for the 2016 tenth-overall selection.  Jost has just a goal and two assists in 22 games despite averaging nearly 14 minutes per night.  It’s just not working for him right now.  As a result, this feels like a prime change of scenery situation.  He’s still just 22 which should be appealing to a selling team as adding him would give them a look to see if a new situation can help unlock some potential.  If it doesn’t happen, he’s still a cost-effective player for the rest of the year.

In 2019, Colorado signed Joonas Donskoi to a four-year deal with a $3.9MM AAV, a contract that raised eyebrows given his limited track record.  He isn’t a top-six player and that price tag is high for a third liner.  By no means is Donskoi necessarily playing poorly but staring down new contracts for Gabriel Landeskog (UFA) and Cale Makar (RFA) among others, this is an above-market deal that will hinder them this summer.  Of course, the two years remaining will make it challenging to move but knowing what’s coming, Sakic should be sufficiently motivated to find a way to move him.  J.T. Compher (two years remaining, $3.5MM AAV) could fall in this particular cap-clearing category.

Greg Pateryn has already cleared waivers and been traded this season while spending more time in the AHL than the AHL.  He also has a $2.25MM AAV.  Normally, this wouldn’t be someone to list as a trade chip but the 30-year-old would appear to be a strong candidate to move if Colorado needs to offset some money in an acquisition.  Pateryn is an unrestricted free agent so there wouldn’t be any long-term ramifications for whoever was to take him on.

Others to Watch For: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare ($1.8MM, UFA)

Team Needs

1) Backup goaltender – Pavel Francouz has yet to play this season due to a lower-body injury and there is no timeframe for his return; he’s the other player joining Johnson on LTIR.  That has forced Philipp Grubauer to take on the bulk of the workload with the relatively untested Hunter Miska serving as the backup.  Grubauer isn’t accustomed to playing this much and as last postseason showed, injuries can happen.  A more proven NHL netminder would go a long way but even if they don’t aim that high, a player to fill the role Michael Hutchinson did last season could also be useful with their current minor league options not yet NHL ready.

2) Defensive depth – The state of Colorado’s back end isn’t the greatest right now but to be fair, they’re missing four players right now.  Not many teams can comfortably withstand that but as a result, the Avalanche have been icing several minor leaguers.  Considering they’re only in fourth in the division, it’s a group that can’t afford to take another hit and could stand to be bolstered.

3) Scoring help – Part of this is due to all of the injuries but the Avs somewhat surprisingly have had trouble scoring this season, sitting 21st in the league heading into play on Friday night.  Mikko Rantanen is their only double-digit goal scorer and only five players have more than five.  A middle-six winger with some offensive ability would help lengthen the lineup and give the top unit some extra support which would go a long way in the postseason.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.