The 2024 NHL Trade Deadline has come and gone, and now only the rest of the regular season remains before the Stanley Cup Playoffs arrive. As the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and had a rather disappointing end in the 2023 playoffs, the Colorado Avalanche are hungry to get their hands back on that Cup.
Entering the trade deadline week, many key areas needed to be fixed or adjusted, and it’s fair to say General Manager Chris MacFarland and President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic did just that and went above and beyond what many like myself would have expected to achieve this trade deadline.
Related: 2024 NHL Trade Deadline Tracker
With Nathan MacKinnon playing at a Hart/Art Ross Trophy-winning level and Cale Makar continuing to do what he does best and compete for a Norris Trophy, there shouldn’t be a second of doubt about whether or not you are going to compete with these players playing at that level of excellence. Here are all the deals the Avalanche have made up to the deadline and a grade for each.
Kurtis MacDermid To The New Jersey Devils
Kurtis MacDermid to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Zakhar Bardakov and a 2024 7th Round Pick
It was a slow start, but in the long run, it was necessary. Kurtis MacDermid was a piece that the Avalanche had that could be used whenever an injury or sickness came up to be plugged in the bottom six and comfortable with him on the ice. He always brought physicality on the ice, but his time came to move him for some cap space for future trades.
The 2024 seventh-round pick belonged to the Nashville Predators and wasn’t moved the rest of the deadline. Zakhar Bardakov is a solid prospect in the system. He is 23 years old and 6-foot-2, and he plays for the SKA St.Petersburg in the KHL. In 51 games, he has six goals and six assists for 12 points; seeing what they do with him will be interesting.
Grade: B+
Sean Walker To The Avalanche
Colorado Avalanche receives Sean Walker and a 2025 fifth-round pick.
Philadelphia Flyers receives Ryan Johansen and a conditional 2025 first-round pick. *Conditions: Top-10 protected*
It is a move many didn’t expect, but a move many Avalanche fans will take. Sean Walker has been linked to many teams looking to solidify their blue line, which the Avalanche didn’t need, not with him at least, maybe a depth player. Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Manson, and Bowen Byram (wait for it) are already elite pairings, but they saw the…
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