NHL trade rumors: Colorado Avalanche interested in Niklas Hjalmarsson
According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Colorado Avalanche are interested in trading for Niklas Hjalmarsson.
The Colorado Avalanche took the Dallas Stars to seven games in the second round, but clearly that’s not good enough for them. They’re looking to make some improvements to their roster, especially on defense. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Avalanche, among other teams, have shown interest in Arizona Coyotes defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson.
This report comes from Elliotte Friedman’s latest 31 Thoughts column. In it, Friedman discusses numerous candidates to be traded and the Avalanche were the only team he mentioned by name for Hjalmarsson (though he said there are likely more teams interested).
Hjalmarsson has a $5 million cap hit for one more season before hitting free agency. He’s due a $2 million signing bonus and his salary is $2 million, which is $4 million combined.
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Though Hjalmarsson has a no-movement clause, it’s plausible for him to waive it to go to a Stanley Cup contender. The Avalanche are unquestionably a Stanley Cup contender. They might still be playing right now if Philipp Grubauer didn’t get injured.
Against the Stars, the Avalanche’s lack of shutdown depth showed when Erik Johnson got injured. This forced Colorado to turn the series into a ridiculous high-scoring affair. Dallas, however, was able to adjust and somehow beat them in one of the most entertaining series in recent memory.
Hjalmarsson would give the Avalanche another strong shutdown defenseman. This would ease the pressure on Johnson and give them another option when having to face top competition. It’s not likely Hjalmarsson and Johnson would see much time together, but that could certainly be an option late in games.
While Hjalmarsson brings virtually nothing to the table on offense, the Avalanche don’t need much help there. An added bonus is his versatility, as he has experience playing on both the left side and right side.
Hjalmarsson would also give a fairly young blueline another veteran leader. Samuel Girard and Cale Makar are both under 23 years old. Both play huge roles. So does Ryan Graves, who is 25 years old. Not to mention top prospect Bowen Byram, who could be making his NHL debut as soon as next season.
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I think the Avalanche’s interest in Hjalmarsson is telling for two reasons. First of all, the Avalanche are probably trading Nikita Zadorov at this point. Otherwise, trading for Hjalmarsson wouldn’t make too much sense. Secondly, they might be having second thoughts about Byram being NHL ready, though they could just bench Ian Cole.