With the 4 Nations Face-Off firmly in the rearview mirror, the Colorado Avalanche must turn their attention back to the 2025 Trade Deadline, which is less than two weeks away (Mar. 7). The team dropped its first two games back from the break to teams well behind them in the standings, and need both inspiration and reinforcements if they are to lock down a playoff spot.
The Avalanche currently occupy the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with a record of 33-24-2 through 59 games (68 points). They are five points ahead of the Vancouver Canucks who hold the second wild card spot and six points ahead of the on-the-margin Calgary Flames, but those two teams have two and three games in hand on Colorado respectively. They hold an advantage for now, but such a slender lead can slip away in the blink of an eye and thus demands moves to be made.
In particular, the Avalanche should be in the market for an upgrade on the blue line. Head coach Jared Bednar can rely on Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Samuel Girard as his top trio, but a revolving door of Josh Manson, Calvin de Haan, Sam Malinski, Oliver Kylington, and Keaton Middleton have struggled in the four-to-six spots on the back end.
THW colleague Stefano Rubino dove into a few high-profile top-four trade targets which would require the Avalanche to part with significant assets, but there are other players who could be acquired for more of a bargain-bin price. Let’s dive into three attainable targets, each listed with their remaining contract terms including this season.
Daniil Miromanov, Calgary Flames
Contract: Two years, $1.25 million average annual value (AAV)
The first target for the Avalanche is Daniil Miromanov, a 27-year-old, right-handed, 6-foot-4 defenseman from the Flames. He made his NHL debut during the 2021-22 season as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights and has flashed some offensive potential (21 points in 85 career NHL games and 68 points in 95 career American Hockey League (AHL) games) to pair with his massive frame.
Miromanov is currently on the fringes of the lineup, having averaged 18:31 minutes per game in 36 games this season. When he has played, he’s seen top-four usage at five-on-five (fourth among Flames defensemen in average time on ice) but has seemed slightly overmatched in that role. The Flames have accounted for 50.3% of shots but only 47.1% of scoring chances when he takes the ice. It bears to reason that if placed in a third-pair role and with better players in the Avalanche system, his possession numbers could see an uptick.
Miromanov has very little experience on the penalty kill, but his physicality and long reach could be welcome assets for an Avalanche penalty kill that has hovered around the middle of the league for most of the season (currently 13th at 79.9%.) If successful, that could allow Bednar to give Devon Toews and Cale Makar (first and second in shorthanded ice time) some rest and perhaps knock Manson out of the rotation.
Coming in at only a $1.25 million cap hit and for only one additional season, the Avalanche could do a lot worse than Miromanov in the trade market. The Flames have a logjam on the blue line, making the Russian defender a likely trade candidate.
Juuso Valimaki, Utah Hockey Club
Contract: Two years, $2 million AAV
The second target is 26-year-old defenseman Juuso Valimaki, who was recently waived by the Utah Hockey Club and went unclaimed before being assigned to the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners. He could be one of Utah’s likeliest trade candidates, given his newfound ability to be called back up without having to pass through waivers for 30 days.
While that may be a sign that the Avalanche should stay away, Valimaki is a big body (6-foot-2, 201 pounds), represented Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off (but was a healthy scratch), and recorded 34 points in a single season as recently as the 2022-23 campaign. He only has two goals and five points in 43 games to his name this season and has been pushed to the fringes of the lineup, but he was one of the Arizona Coyotes’ most important players just last season.
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Valimaki ranked second in average ice time at five-on-five while putting up respectable results for the middling Coyotes last season. He led the team with 52.2% expected goals and 52.3% of high-danger chances and ranked among the Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club leaders in shorthanded ice time over the past three seasons.
The risk for the Avalanche is that Valimaki is more the player he has been this season rather than the dependable presence of years past, while still having another year on his contract at a not-insignificant $2 million AAV. If he is more the former, that is a home run for a front office in dire need of reinforcement for the bottom pair. If not, it’s just another headache on the cap sheet.
Brian Dumoulin, Anaheim Ducks
Contract: One year, $3.15 million AAV
If the Avalanche are looking for a reliable veteran with valuable Stanley Cup experience, they can look no further than 33-year-old Brian Dumoulin of the Anaheim Ducks. The rearguard has 763 combined NHL regular-season and playoff games to his name, and was a key defensive cog of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017. He is no longer the same player who ranked second in ice time behind only Kris Letang over those two playoff runs, but his defensive awareness and positioning remain strengths that could benefit a Stanley Cup contender in a reduced bottom-pair role.
Dumoulin ranks third on the Ducks in average ice time across all situations, second at five-on-five, and is the team’s top penalty-killing defenseman. He has struggled as a top-three defender (the Ducks account for only 41% of scoring chances with him on the ice), but he would not assume that role with the Avalanche.
The Ducks are on pace to post a season with a points percentage (PTS%) of .500 or more for the first time since the 2017-18 season, and some of that can be attributed to Dumoulin’s steadying veteran presence. There is no doubt his results should improve in a sheltered role behind some of the league’s best defensemen in Toews and Makar, though he would need to be paired with a puck-moving defender (Girard or Malinski, perhaps?) to make up for his puck-moving deficiencies.
Avalanche Need Upgrade on Blue Line
While the Avalanche may need to do some maneuvering around the cap, they have the means to bolster their suddenly shaky blue line with unheralded-but-steady upgrades.
The front office will have more cap room to wield during the offseason as the upper limit of the salary cap is rising to $95.5 million for the 2025-26 season, but that doesn’t mean they should let another season of the Nathan MacKinnon/Makar era pass by without attempting to win the Stanley Cup again. Championship contention windows often close abruptly, and no one is immune.
Data courtesy of Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick and the NHL.
This article first appeared on The Hockey Writers and was syndicated with permission.
