Avalanche Strike Key Areas With Trades

While there were many rumors, connections, and possibilities of specific teams looking at certain players heading into Friday, March 8 trade deadline, only a little noise was made, which included the Colorado Avalanche. Many names were linked to backup goaltenders to help Alexandar Georgiev or a “2C” with term to assist with the top-six. Still, out of nowhere, general manager Chris MacFarland and president of hockey ops Joe Sakic saw the opportunity to make changes that could better the team and struck immediately.

They traded for Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Sean Walker and acquired Buffalo Sabres’ Casey Mittlestadt. They are potentially fixing the “2C” issue with Mittlestadt but bolstering the defense with Walker and what he brings with his skill set. If you ask around the fanbase and the NHL community, the prices were pretty steep, but you pay what you believe is necessary to make your team better the next day and onward. Let’s go over these trades that occurred and see how they impact the team and how they could open the idea of more moves potentially being made.

Strengthen The Top Six With a Shocking Package 

It was a shock for many to see Byram go with the potential he had, but with the previous trade coming in with Walker, seeing him go isn’t that much of a shock. On the season, Mittlestadt has 14 goals and 33 assists for 47 points, leading the team in points and even strength assists. The Avalanche took on the final year of the contract with a cap hit of $2.55 million, which was a significant factor going into the offseason with Mittlestadt and how much he would ask for in free agency as a restricted free agent. He now joins a more offensive-driven team with ambitions to win another Stanley Cup and prove his worth for the remainder of the season and into the postseason to help drive his following contract numbers.

Losing Byram is tough. He was part of the 2022 Stanley Cup run and has shown a lot of potential to grow in his game, but he wasn’t able to live up to it. Whether injuries or personal reasons kept him out of the lineup, he always had an obstacle in front of him right when he got his game going. He now joins a Sabres team that will let him grow his game more and help bolster their defensive prospect pool at only 22.

Colorado Avalanche Grade: A

Avalanche Bolster the Defence with Surprise Addition

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