Who will Avs target at trade deadline?
Q >> At this point, what do you see as the priorities for the front office going into the trade deadline? Safe to say 2C/forward is priority No. 1?
— @Milehighlycertain via X
COREY >> The first priority is likely to see what this team looks like once Samuel Girard and Artturi Lehkonen return to the lineup. A healthy Girard, not to mention a continuation of the positive early returns on Sam Malinski and Caleb Jones, could make the Avs feel really good about this defense corps and not just the top half of it.
A healthy Lehkonen could be the key to finding some balance up front. Getting him and either Valeri Nichushkin or Mikko Rantanen together with Ryan Johansen could fix what ails the club’s second-line problems.
Johansen, Lehkonen and Nichushkin have played only 38:30 together at 5- on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, but the underlying numbers were very strong. If that line worked, then coach Jared Bednar could keep Nathan Mackinnon and Rantanen together with someone else (right now, it’d likely be Jonathan Drouin). Toss in what has been a successful third line of Ross Colton between Miles Wood and Logan O’connor, and the Avs could be in business.
Now, if Lehkonen coming back doesn’t solve the secondline issue, then adding someone who can would be the next priority. Given Johansen’s diminished ice time, finding someone else to be the No. 2 center seems like a relatively obvious move.
That said, the financial complications, not to mention what could be a relatively light trade market for guys who would clearly be the No. 2C in Colorado, could complicate things. If Calgary’s Elias Lindholm is the top center available, will the Avs even be able to both make his salary fit and outbid what could be several other suitors?
Colorado can get to a little more than $3 million in space once Lehkonen is back, but that could also mean going back to carrying only 20 or 21 players, at least until the playoffs start. To make a play for someone who costs more than that, there’s going to have to significant money going out in the trade.
Will a rebuilding team be willing to take Johansen back, given he’s got another year left? How would Avs players, many of whom have made it clear they love what Johansen has brought to the team off the ice, react to that?
Colorado also has a pretty shallow prospects pool and is already missing two of its top three draft picks in 2024. This should absolutely be a pushthe- chips-in type of season, but it’s going to be tricky for general manager Chris Macfarland even if he is motivated to make a big move.
As for where the Avs could look for additions beyond a No. 2 center, any type of topnine forward might help alleviate some of the depth concerns. Maybe it’s someone who could be a little better in the No. 3 center slot, which would allow the Avs to move Ross Colton to the wing. Or it could just be another wing who just simply makes the lineup deeper.
Before the season, an obvious need was a depth defenseman. Jones and especially Malinski might have alleviated some of those concerns already.
Q >> Any word on when Samuel Girard will return?
— @Mighty_taco1 via X
COREY >> Girard has been cleared to return to practice by the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. He has not, as of Tuesday and contrary to other reports, been cleared to return to game action. He’s still receiving care from the program, and when he might be given the green light for games is still to be determined.
The Avalanche has also made him off-limits to the media to this point, which is similar to the policy for when players are injured. It is unlikely that he will return during the twogame road trip in Arizona or St. Louis, but anything beyond that is just pure speculation.