NHL Trade Rumors: Colorado Avalanche Need to Re-Tool

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NHL Trade Rumors: Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) controls the puck during the third period against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center. The Stars defeat the Avalanche 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

A Look at the Future Depth Chart

1/2 Center Locked Down With MacKinnon, Jost, Rantanen Locked into 1RW

Why do we keep hearing Matt Duchene‘s name in NHL trade rumors? Well, with the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Tyson Jost, Carl Soderberg, and others in the mix, there’s not a lot of room for a guy who best excels playing up the middle.

Let’s take a look at that future depth chart with the best options at each forward slot (top nine):

Rough sketch of future depth chart (some players have more positional availability):

Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Greer/Grigorenko – Jost/Duchene – Compher/Grigorenko
Greer/Grigorenko/Colborne – Soderberg/Grimaldi – Compher/Grigorenko/Colborne
Martinsen/Comeau/McLeod – Mitchell/Grimaldi – Martinsen/Comeau/McLeod

Colorado has a rare luxury. It’s not often that teams can afford to move such a valuable center, but such is the case with Duchene. His trade value is high enough that the Avs should be able to address at least one major issue, if not multiple.

NHL Trade Rumors: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie (4) controls the puck in the second period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

LHD vs RHD

The Avs blue line has been a joke for awhile now. Why Joe Sakic thought he could patch the holes with Tyutin and Wiercioch is beyond me. The problem is simple, they’re without a true no.1 defenseman, and instead their top two defenders are better classified as no.2’s or 2/3’s (that are both right-handed by the way). Meanwhile, there’s a huge drop-off for LH shots. Don’t get me wrong, Zadorov has served admirably in his elevated role, but fans shouldn’t get too excited about a guy who will probably eventually settle into a 5/6 spot on a winning team.

Below is a list of RH vs. LH shots and projected roles on a much-improved Avalanche squad:

Left-Handed: Francois Beauchemin, Nikita Zadorov, Fedor Tyutin, Patrick Wiercioch, Eric Gelinas, Chris Bigras, Duncan Siemens

Right-Handed: Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie, Cody Goloubef

No.
1 – none
1/2 – none
2 – Tyson Barrie
2/3 – Erik Johnson
3 – none
3/4 – Francois Beauchemin
4 – none
4/5 – Nikita Zadorov, Chris Bigras (projected potential), Fedor Tyutin
5 – Patrick Wiercioch
5/6 – Duncan Siemens (projected potential)
6 – Eric Gelinas
Depth – Cody Goloubef

Between Zadorov being passed off as a top four LHD and Beauchemin’s diminishing play, it’s pretty clear that Colorado has a gaping hole on the left side on their blue line. This is something that will need to be addressed via trade.

NHL Trade Rumors: Colorado Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard (31) reacts following a timeout to review the sixth goal scored in the third period against the New York Rangers at Pepsi Center. The Rangers defeated the Avalanche 6-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Pickard the Future in Goal

It seemed the writing was on the wall for Russian netminder Semyon Varlamov before the season even began. An inevitable expansion draft made the older, more expensive goaltender the likely one to go unprotected. Maybe that rattled Semyon psychologically, and perhaps explains his poor play prior to going down with a recent injury?

Either way, it seems Calvin Pickard has played himself into the starter role. The jury is still out on whether Pickard can be a quality NHL starter, but one thing is for sure, that extra $5.9 million dollars/year would be valuable money to get off the books – whether Varlamov is traded or taken by Vegas in the expansion draft.

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