Grading the Avalanche trades

The 2023 NHL trade deadline was one of the league’s most thrilling in years. The Avalanche made three trades in the last week before Friday’s cutoff, bringing their trade total this season to five.

Here’s how we graded every one of those trades, plus other notable trade characters in Colorado’s orbit.

Dec. 19 with Toronto: B+ Maple Leafs acquire: Dryden Hunt,

LW

Avs acquire: Denis Malgin, RW Malgin has given the Avalanche more minutes, more scoring chances and more scoring. The exchange of depth forwards added a right-handed shot on an imbalanced Avalanche roster of lefties. Plus, Hunt was a waiver claim earlier in the season, so Colorado effectively got Malgin at no cost.

Jan. 25 with San Jose: A

Sharks acquire: Jacob Macdonald, F/D; Martin Kaut, RW

Avs acquire: Matt Nieto, LW; Ryan Merkley, D

A low-level steal. Kaut and Merkley had both requested trades, so the teams did each other a favor. Nieto is a familiar face with connections throughout the Avalanche roster, and he brought more secondary scoring, which was diagnosed as Colorado’s biggest weakness. He and Malgin have been linemates in a retooled bottom six. Hunt and Macdonald combined for one goal in 58 games this season with Colorado. Nieto and Malgin have combined for six goals in 37 games.

Feb. 25 with Boston: C+

Bruins acquire: Shane Bowers, F Avs acquire: Keith Kinkaid, G

An AHL trade shouldn’t be considered anything more or less than average. But the Avs did fill a need. Even if backup goalie Pavel Francouz is healthy soon, contenders like to carry three netminders they can trust in the playoffs. Justus Annunen is a promising prospect, but he’s not quite there yet, as evidenced by a 7-5 loss during deadline week. Kinkaid has plenty of experience.

Feb. 26 with Chicago: C

Blackhawks acquire: Andreas Englund, LD

Avs acquire: Jack Johnson, LD

Chicago won the trade from a numbers standpoint. The Avs won it from a vibes standpoint, and they seem OK with that. Everyone in the locker room likes Johnson. The organization felt nervous about the unknown of how Englund will handle playoff hockey for the first time, whereas Johnson was a Stanley Cup commodity months ago. Jared Bednar loved how Johnson played in his first game Monday vs. Vegas.

March 1 with Washington: B 2025 second

Capitals acquire: round pick

Avs acquire: Lars Eller, C; 31% of salary retained

A second-rounder was debatably an overpay for Eller, a pending UFA bottom-six center. But that tends to be the cost of salary retention. The Avalanche needed more bodies in the middle of the ice, and they got one who wins the draw at a 6% better clip than previous team-best faceoff taker J.T. Compher. Whether Eller was enough — translation: whether Compher suffices as a playoff 2C — is in the eye of the beholder.