NHL Trade Rumors: 3 teams who should trade for Kyle Palmieri
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have a wide-open Stanley Cup window with plenty of cap space, so they’ll be a team to watch this offseason. Looking at their roster, it’s pretty darn strong. However, I think they could stand to use an upgrade on their second line at right wing. I’m a big fan of Joonas Donskoi, but he’s better off in a top-nine forward role than a top-six role.
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If the Avalanche are looking to add a top-six forward, Palmieri would be a nice fit. Unlike the Islanders, their cap space isn’t a huge issue. Sure, they have to re-sign Andre Burakovsky, Tyson Jost, Nikita Zadorov, Ryan Graves, and Valeri Nichushkin, but I think they’ll still have enough cap space after making decisions on those players to make a big move.
One thing the Avalanche need to keep an eye on is Calder Trophy-winning defenseman Cale Makar’s next contract. He’s been nothing short of outstanding thus far in his young career and re-signing him after next season won’t be cheap. Since Palmieri’s contract has just one year left on it, it wouldn’t necessarily interfere with Makar’s next contract.
Joe Sakic has shown interest in some big names recently, including Taylor Hall last season and even Artemi Panarin and John Tavares in the past two offseasons. So don’t count the Avalanche out on Palmieri if they’re looking to give their second line a scoring punch.