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The Colorado Avalanche were considered Stanley Cup contenders, but were eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche made multiple in-season moves to shore up depth and progress once again in the playoffs. We now look at three potential trade targets for the Avalanche this offseason.
This regular season, the Avalanche traded away both of their goalies and brought in two new ones. The Avalanche also traded away Mikko Rantanen, but brought in Martin Necas, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Lindgren, and Brock Nelson. While Necas and Coyle are under contract this year, Lindgren and Nelson will both need to be re-signed. The Avalanche will look to have a full season of Gabriel Landeskog if they cannot re-sign Nelson, but still, there are holes to fill in the lineup.
According to CapWages, the Avalanche will only have $6.955 million of cap space to work with. Re-signing the current free-agent group for the Avalanche will most likely exceed that number, so the Avalanche will need to find creative options to fill out their roster.
The Avalanche targets a second-line center
The Avalanche may be looking for a new second-line center this offseason. Brock Nelson filled that role this year, but this has been a pain point for the Avalanche for some time. They held it with Casey Mittlestadt for a while before trading him, and Charlie Coyle is an in-house option. Still, he played better on the third line with Jonathan Drouin. If Nelson is not back with the Avalanche, they could make a play for a big-time second-line center.
Elias Pettersson has been the subject of trade rumors for a while now. His locker room rift with JT Miller was well publicized, and Pettersson has been the subject of critical remarks from the Canucks GM. As a player, Pettersson would be a major addition to the second line. Last year was his worst season, scoring just 45 points in 64 games. Still, he averaged over a point per game in the two prior seasons, and had three straight 30-goal seasons before this year.
Contract-wise, Pettersson is still under contract for another eight seasons. His current contract has an AAV of $11.6 million, though, which would mean the Avalanche would need to shed salary to bring him in. Still, the Avalanche may be able to buy low, with Pettersson coming off his worst statistical season of his career.
Forward depth is added by the Avalanche
With Jonathan Drouin now an upcoming free agent from the third line, the Avalanche will look to add more depth to their set of forwards. One potential is Matias Maccelli. He has been mentioned in trade rumors, especially after being a healthy scratch for over a dozen games late in the season. Maccelli played in just 55 games this year. Still, he was able to bring in eight goals and ten assists in those games. While the numbers from this year were not great, he has shown a lot of potential. In the 2022-23 season, he played in 64 games, scoring 11 goals and adding 38 assists. In the 2023-24 season, he would score 17 goals and add 40 assists in 82 games.
His contract situation would also be helpful for the Avalanche. He will make just $3.425 million this upcoming season. Then, he will become a restricted free agent. This would give the Avalanche a chance to hold on to him, or see him moved through a trade or offer sheet for further draft capital. Draft capital is something the Avalanche is currently without. Not only would this move help this year, but it could impact well beyond.
The Avalanche trade for defensive depth
Currently, the Avalanche has just five defenders under contract for next year, with Ryan Lindgren and Erik Johnson both unrestricted free agents. Further. Sam Malinski is a restricted free agent. The fifth defender under contract is Keaton Middleton, who played just 41 games last year and averaged just 11:29 of ice time per game. With Cale Makar heading towards needing a new contract soon as well, inexpensive and quality depth at defense is a major area of need for the Avalanche.
With just one year left on his deal and the Sharks still needing to improve, Mario Ferraro could be a trade candidate this year. Ferarro is young, turning 27 during this upcoming season. He also has a relatively low cap number this year, costing just $3.25 million this season. This would not only add depth for the Avalanche but also help them work within their tight salary cap confines.
Further, Ferraro has played well on the penalty kill and has played minutes similar to a top-four defenseman. He would add both depth and youth to this defensive core while providing quality play.
