While Colorado ultimately wasn’t able to re-sign defenseman Ryan Lindgren (who instead inked a four-year deal with Seattle), their efforts to do so called into question the future of Samuel Girard with the team. Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now speculates that the Avalanche could be open to moving the blueliner. While he was deployed as their third defender during the regular season, his usage dropped to third-pairing minutes in the postseason and if head coach Jared Bednar feels that’s the more optimal spot for him moving forward, he’d be a pricey third-pairing player at $5MM through the next two seasons.
Although the Avs are into cap compliance after some offseason shuffling, they could still use some more flexibility on that front, especially with Martin Necas eyeing a significant extension for 2026-27. On the other hand, Girard is one of just two left-shot blueliners in the Avalanche’s top six so if they were to move him, it might be more of a player-for-player swap that would see them get another blueliner in return rather than a true cap-clearing move.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Predators prospect Jakub Milota has been traded in the QMJHL as Cape Breton announced that they traded the netminder to Blainville-Boisbriand. The 19-year-old was a fourth-round pick in 2024, going 99th overall and is coming off a decent season with the Eagles that saw him post a 3.22 GAA and a .903 SV% while also earning a late-season ATO with AHL Milwaukee. The Preds have until June 1, 2026 to sign Milota so it’s safe to say 2025-26 will be a key season for him.
- Wild draft pick Matvei Guskov is on the move in the KHL as the league announced earlier this week that he has been traded from Traktor Chelyabinsk to Severstal Cherepovets. The 24-year-old was a fifth-round pick back in 2019 with Minnesota holding his rights indefinitely with no transfer agreement in place between the NHL and the Russian Hockey Federation. Guskov is coming off a tough year that saw him record just one goal and three assists in 38 games between three different KHL teams.