The Colorado Avalanche’s season so far has been a tale of two drastically different teams. The early-season goaltending tandem of Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen sank the ship most nights, posting a combined save percentage of .873 to keep the Avs on the outside of the playoff picture, despite solid play from the crease out.
Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland simply could not keep watching the offensive juggernaut he built be undone by goaltending night after night. The poor play of both netminders forced MacFarland’s hand, and he became the first GM in NHL history to trade both of his goalies away before the Christmas break.
Adding both Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood in a two-week span revitalized the dressing room completely. Bolstered by Blackwood’s league-leading .940 save percentage since joining Colorado, the 2022 Stanley Cup champions have vaulted up both league standings and ClutchPoints’ NHL Power Rankings. Since the Wedgewood trade on November 30, this new iteration of the Avs is winning at a prolific pace, bringing them neck and neck with the Dallas Stars for third place in the Central Division and placing them in striking distance of the league-leading Vegas Golden Knights.
Despite replacing both of their goalies and making a depth trade for Jusso Parssinen from Nashville, MacFarland will undoubtedly be active at the March 7 NHL trade deadline to give his elite core a shot at a potential second championship in four seasons.
Avalanche need to move money out
The Avs have shown that their supertstar core of reigning MVP Nathan MacKinnon, along with Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar, is capable of taking over and winning games on their own. But the front office hasn’t been able to insulate their stars with the quality of depth they had during the Cup run. The reality is that talent costs money, and between MacKinnon’s $12.6 million AAV and Rantanen’s upcoming mega-extension, Colorado is cap-strapped in both the short and long term. To bring in depth help for their superstars, they will need to move players (and their salaries) out.
However, the spectre of team captain Gabriel Landeskog’s knee injury (and his $7 million cap hit) still looms large over the team, casting a shadow of uncertainty on their cap situation. While the heart and soul winger has been pushing himself at morning skates lately, no one knows when, or if, he will be back. This will determine whether the front office has roughly $2.5 million to spend on new players, or has to move out around $4.5 million to fit Landeskog back onto the roster.
While some fans might point to defenseman Josh Manson ($4.5M AAV) or Sam Girard ($5M AAV) as perfect trade candidates, Colorado simply does not have the defensive depth to effectively replace either player in the top-four, meaning they will have to move out a forward. In that vein, Ross Colton makes the most sense to get a change of scenery ahead of the deadline.
Avalanche should trade Ross Colton at deadline
Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton (20) celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period at Xcel Energy Center. Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Drafted out of the United States Hockey League in the fourth round by the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2016, Colton spent two seasons developing at the University of Vermont before joining the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch to further hone his game in a faster setting. Back-to-back seasons of 31 and 41 points earned him a call up to the Bolts in 2021, and he never looked back, adding a net-front presence and tenacity to the club’s bottom six on their way to winning the Stanley Cup. Between playing in every single game of that run as well as the following season’s heartbreaking Game 6 loss to the Avalanche in the Finals, Colton is a young playoff veteran with 60 games of experience.
While his status as a Cup winner will make him valuable to NHL GMs at the deadline, this season, Colton’s versatility has been his calling card. Despite starting the campaign as the team’s 3C on a checking line, Colorado’s ridiculous stretch of injuries pushed him into a top line and top powerplay role alongside MacKinnon and Rantanen. Instead of crumbling under the pressure, Ross thrived, scoring nine goals in 10 games before breaking his foot and missing a couple of months. Since his return, he has bounced around the middle-six.
The Avalanche certainly don’t want to move Colton. He’s a great fit for the team, and is an absolute warrior in the playoffs. But on a healthy roster, he projects best as a middle-six player. On a team with so many big contracts, $4 million is not a luxury the Avs can afford to pay for that roster spot, and if Landeskog comes back, Colton’s days in Colorado are numbered.
Regardless of the direction MacFarland and the front office goes at the deadline, the Avalanche are looking like a lock to advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2025. And with the plethora of talent on the roster, they should be as tough an out as any team in the Western Conference come April.
This article first appeared on NHL on ClutchPoints and was syndicated with permission.
