Avs trade Zadorov to Chicago, receive Saad in four-player deal
The Avalanche acquired forward Brandon Saad and defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday in exchange for defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm, the team announced.
The trade was first reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who said the Blackhawks will retain $1 million of Saad’s $6 million contract for 2020-21. Saad can be an unrestricted free agent after next season, so he could become just a yearlong “rental” for the Avs.
Saad, who turns 28 this month, has reached 20 goals in five seasons, including the last two with Chicago. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015 before being traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 30, 2015. Saad had a career-high 31 goals and was selected to the NHL All-star Game in 2015-16. He was re-acquired by the Blackhawks on June 23, 2017.
Gilbert, 23, split his time last season with the Blackhawks and their AHL affiliate, the Rockford Icehogs. Gilbert played three years at Notre Dame before turning pro in 2018.
“In Brandon we are acquiring a twotime Stanley Cup champion who brings veteran leadership and experience to our team. He is a proven goal scorer and at age 27, is in the prime of his career,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a release. “We are also adding a sturdy, young defenseman in Dennis who plays a physical game and will help our depth on the blue line.
“We thank Nikita and Anton for their time with the Avalanche and wish them the best of luck moving forward.”
Zadorov, 25, played 64 regular-season games and all 15 playoff games with the Avalanche. At times a fierce hitter, he likely wore out his welcome in Colorado because of his inconsistent play — he was a healthy scratch three times and benched late in games a number of times last season.
Zadorov agreed to a $3.2 million one-year contract with the Blackhawks on Saturday — the same deal he signed a year earlier with the Avs.
Lindholm, 25, mostly played for the AHL’S Colorado Eagles last season. The 66-game NHL player from Sweden gets a fresh start with a new team.
Acquiring Saad might end the Avalanche’s desire to sign free-agent forward Taylor Hall, 28, in free agency. Saad and Hall are similar left-shooting forwards.
Colorado re-signs Burakovsky, Nichushkin to two-year contracts
The Avalanche on Saturday resigned restricted free-agent forwards Andre Burakovsky and Valeri Nichushkin to two-year contracts.
Burakovsky, an Austrian-born Swede, will have a $4.9 million annual cap hit, and Nichushkin, a Russian, will count $2.5 million against the cap, per a league source.
Burakovsky, 25, is coming off a career-high 20-goal, 45-point season in 58 games in his first year with Colorado, after being acquired from Washington on June 28, 2019. He led the Avs with six game-winning goals and was sixth in the NHL in shooting percentage (19.4%). In the playoffs, he had 17 points (seven goals) in 15 games.
“Signing Andre was a priority for us this offseason. He has been a great addition to our team and was a big part of our success this season,” Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said in a statement. “He’s a very skilled player who brings speed and scoring to our lineup, and we’re excited to have him under contract for two more years.”
Nichushkin, 25, amassed 27 points (13 goals) in 65 games last season, his first with the Avs since being signed as an unrestricted free agent in August 2019 after being bought out by the Dallas Stars. Nichushkin, who had zero goals in 57 games for the Stars in 2018-19, had a career-best plus-26 rating with the Avs — second highest for the Avs and tied for eighth in the NHL.
“Valeri played important minutes for us this season and had one of the best years of his career,” Sakic said in a release. “He is a big, young winger who provides depth scoring, can play up and down our lineup and is reliable defensively. We’re happy to have him back for another two seasons.”
The Avalanche has five more restricted free agents to sign: Defensemen Ryan Graves and Nikita Zadorov and forwards Tyson Jost and Vladislav Kamenev. Graves on Saturday became among 26 NHL players to file for salary arbitration.