With the NHL now firmly in the Olympic trade freeze period through February 22nd, it’s time to look at what roster holes the Colorado Avalanche might try to address before the March 6th NHL trade deadline.
Candidates
Third Line Center
The center market isn’t shaping up to be fantastic this season but it’s the area of a most obvious upgrade for the Avalanche. There’s been some pushback to this idea citing that Jack Drury can do the job just fine but what makes an even stronger Stanley Cup contender is the depth to withstand the two-month long war of attrition. Drury starting the postseason at fourth line center makes Colorado just that much stronger.
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Seventh Defenseman
In the grand scheme of things, an extra roster player isn’t all that important, which is true until he’s in the lineup every night when even one injury strikes. This is what the Avalanche have just experienced with the Devon Toews injury. Acting seventh defenseman Ilya Solovyov was shipped out on January 20th, which opened a revolving door of AHL recalls. It’s pretty obvious this hole is going to be addressed before the trade deadline because fortifying depth on defense is always an objective for Stanley Cup contenders.
Middle-Six Scoring Winger
This is an area where there might be the greatest number of options on the trade market and an extra winger could be the backup plan if the third line center upgrade doesn’t materialize. It also means replacing the player, or at least their role, on the Avalanche. Victor Olofsson has gone cold with just five points in his last 23 games and Gavin Brindley still doesn’t have a defined role on this team. In 2022 both Andre Burakovsky and Alex Newhook began the postseason as healthy scratches, something both Olofsson and Brindley could be if the Avalanche find enough forward depth prior to this year’s playoff run.
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Top Line Left Wing
It is a wish list item and would come at a price but if the Avalanche are truly fortifying for a long playoff run, they need to make an addition that moves the needle. Recently there’s been tantalizing glimpses of the impact Artturi Lehkonen makes on the second line but at the cost of the failed experiment of Olofsson on the top line in his place. Jared Bednar hasn’t made a secret that he likes the look of that second line but a solution for the top line is still needed. Bringing in a top player could also help the hapless power play giving them a true trigger man on the right side again.
Objectives
The idea of making four roster moves might threaten the chemistry, consistency and continuity of this team, so GM Chris MacFarland should tread lightly. Ideally the goal would be to just add extra depth but as previously discussed, the Avalanche are light on trade chips and assets so to make upgrades might mean moving a few more players out and making additions with term on their contract.
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A return to a previously successful strategy, which helped shape the 2022 Stanley Cup championship team, of targeting Restricted Free Agents or at least players with term beyond this summer would help to add talent greater than the usual trade deadline rental fodder and hopefully find someone that can contribute for multiple playoff runs such as the aforementioned Lehkonen addition in 2022 was. Again, this takes assets and is tougher to pull off in-season but is much more impactful than a bunch of temporary rentals.
