Avalanche Use Draft as Time to Trade

The Colorado Avalanche might not have had an overabundance of picks in recent drafts, but they’ve been quite active on the trade market around draft day. The results from those draft-day deals have been very good for the Avs in recent years, and the club might have to make some of that magic happen again this season with very few picks and a few gaping holes.

Here’s a look at some of the draft day trades that have helped Colorado and what they might be looking to make deals for in this year’s draft.

Alexandar Georgiev in 2022

Not long after lifting the third Stanley Cup in franchise history, the Avalanche made a deal with the New York Rangers to acquire netminder Alexandar Georgiev on the first day of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Georgiev hadn’t played more than 33 games in a season in his first five NHL campaigns, thanks to sitting behind the likes of Henrik Lundqvist and Igor Shesterkin in New York. But he showed he could be a No. 1 goaltender in his first full season as a team’s top starter.

Georgiev started 62 games for Colorado in 2022-23 and tied for the NHL lead with 40 wins. His five shutouts were also the second most in the NHL last season. There was a lot of uncertainty in front of him, as well, as the Avalanche dealt with injury concerns all season. However, Georgiev was the anchor at the back, also putting up career-bests in goals-against average (2.53) and save percentage (.918).

Getting goaltenders around the draft has become almost tradition for the Avalanche. Colorado brought in Philipp Grubauer on draft day in 2018, and he wound up being a Vezina Finalist and was the backstop for the team’s Presidents’ Trophy run in 2021. Georgiev replaced Darcy Kuemper, who left in free agency for the Washington Capitals following the Cup win. Kuemper was brought to Colorado via trade just four days after the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and hoisted the Cup in his only year in Denver.

Nazem Kadri in 2019

This deal didn’t happen on draft day but shortly after. Roughly a week after the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, the Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs were finally able to work out a deal for Nazem Kadri that sent Alex Kerfoot and Tyson Barrie to Toronto. Kadri played three seasons in Colorado, racking up 59 goals and 97 assists for 155 points. He totaled 28 goals on his way to a career-high 87 points during his phenomenal 2021-22 season.

This proved to be a great trade for the Avs, even though Kadri left for the Calgary Flames in free agency before the 2022-23 campaign. Barrie lasted just one season in Toronto, managing five goals in 39 points. Kerfoot has played four seasons with the Maple Leafs, scoring more than 32 points in just one of those seasons. Kadri also played an integral role on the Stanley Cup-winning team in 2021, most notably scoring the overtime winner in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final after coming back from injury.

Not only did this deal bring Kadri’s fire to Denver, but it also gave the Avalanche a third-round pick in 2020 that they used to choose Jean-Luc Foudy. Thanks to the rash of injuries last season, Foudy got his first NHL experience in the 2022-23 season, appearing in nine games. While that may not seem like a huge sample size, Foudy’s time on the ice kept growing. He looks like he could make more of an impact down the road, making this deal one that could definitely keep on giving.

Devon Toews in 2020

This deal happened a few days after the 2020 draft, which would set up the blue line for Colorado’s championship team. They sent a pair of second-round picks to the New York Islanders for Devon Toews, giving Cale Makar the experienced wingman on the team’s top defensive pairing. Colorado struck gold the year before by selecting defenseman Bowen Byram in the first round in 2019, and this deal for Toews solidified the team’s depth at the back.

Toews has been a mainstay defensively, averaging more than 25 minutes per contest in his 199 games played with Colorado over the past three seasons. He’s also scored at least 50 points in each of the last two campaigns. Toews was the blue line rock last season, playing in 80 games. His availability was crucial as only one other defenseman on the team played in more than 63 contests.

Toews is entering the final season of his current deal, and it will be interesting to see the path the Avalanche take with him. Byram is a restricted free agent this season. And while Colorado would almost certainly like to have both of them for the foreseeable future, it might take some tricky contract gymnastics to make that happen.

Avalanche May Be Active Again in This Draft

Wheeling and dealing around the draft helped build Colorado’s last squad to build the Cup, and the Georgiev trade last year looks like it was a good start to the foundation toward potentially winning another one. It’s hard to predict anything that teams are going to do on draft day because there are always so many moving parts. However, there are some gaps the Avalanche still need to fill, and there might be some moves to make to create cap space.

The primary issue the team will address is depth in the front six. The team will be without captain Gabriel Landeskog for the entire season, and the Avs spent the entirety of the 2022-23 season trying to find a consistent answer as a the second-line center. The Avalanche have a first-round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, but they won’t pick again until the fifth round – unless something changes. That’s a lot of players off the board between picks, and Colorado still needs to figure out a way to get some forward depth.

The cap is still an albatross for Colorado, even with Landeskog’s salary relieved by long-term injured reserve. Colorado could make a move for a more proven second-line center, but it could come at the cost of players like defenseman Samuel Girard. Colorado has a lot of blue line depth, and Girard’s $5 million average annual value over the next four seasons might make him a piece they try to move. Either way, expect the Avalanche to be active on the phones up to, during, and after the draft – since trades this time of year are a major way they’ve built the team into a contender.