NHL Trade Deadline 2025: Avalanche Trade Board

The NHL Trade Deadline is just six weeks from Friday. Given the fact that the 4 Nations Faceoff is going to eat up two of those weeks, we ultimately have just four weeks of games remaining.

The uniqueness of this year’s schedule is in that 4 Nations break. There are no restrictions against making trades during the tournament. Even players representing their countries could get dealt.

On that note, the Avalanche have holes to fill and are hoping to utilize the deadline they did last year to best prepare them for a Stanley Cup run.

General manager Chris MacFarland has already been one of the busier GMs in the league this season. In November, he dealt backup goalie Justus Annunen to Nashville for Scott Wedgewood. And just nine days later, that was followed up with a seven-piece trade that saw Alexandar Georgiev and Nikolai Kovalenko shipped off to San Jose for goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.

Kovalenko was a solid depth piece for a team that lacked it. So just after the holiday roster freeze, MacFarland made another move with the Preds and acquired young forward Juuso Parssinen.

MacFarland spoke for the first time in 2025 on Wednesday, making an appearance on Altitude Sports Radio. He got a head start on answering questions regarding the trade deadline.

“The reality for our situation is we need our group that’s here to get the job done and accumulate points. That’s first and foremost,” MacFarland said. “We certainly want to improve when we can. But that requires, whether it’s draft picks or prospects, or cap dollars that makes sense.

“There’s no doubt we’re in a stringent scenario to do anything significant. We have a lot of tighter concerns that we have to be mindful of leading into this deadline. History shows, if we can make something workable, we’ll strike.”

The last part of that quote is the most telling. MacFarland and the Avs’ front office have worked every day to accumulate as many cap dollars as possible. Whether it’s utilizing LTIR or constantly sending down and calling up fourth liners to keep the budget tight, they’re doing their part to have as much flexibility as possible leading up to March 7.

With that being said, let’s take a look at who could be on Colorado’s trade board as trade rumor and speculation season begins to ramp up. These are listed in no particular order.

Yanni Gourde, C, Seattle Kraken
Age: 33
Contract: $5.1667 million cap hit, UFA in July.
This would be my main target, and I wonder if the Avs feel the same way. Gourde is the ideal third-line center who also has experience playing on the wing. He’s been out since Jan. 2 with a lower-body injury but is expected back soon.

Gourdie has Stanley Cup pedigree, has played with Ross Colton, and would instantly give the Avalanche more of that tenacity on the third line that translates well in the playoffs.

I know we do this every year, but if they acquired Gourde, in a dream world, Colorado could enter the postseason with a third line consisting of Colton, Gourde, and Gabriel Landeskog. And even if the captain doesn’t return, Logan O’Connor could slot in nicely in his place.

Gourde’s salary is a bit high but retention could do the trick. And I still think this is the year where a roster player also gets traded to clear up more space.

Ivan Provorov, LD, Columbus Blue Jackets
Age: 27
Contract: $4.725 million cap hit, UFA in July.
This one’s a little bit more complicated. On the surface, there probably won’t be a better defenseman than Ivan Provorov who could get dealt before the deadline. But not only is he a left-shot defenseman, which the Avs already have with Samuel Girard and Devon Toews, but he’s also 27 years old and will be an outright rental.

Aside from the top-three defensemen, Colorado doesn’t have much else on the blueline for future years and it makes me wonder if they’re looking for their next Josh Manson to lock up to a multi-year deal after acquiring him. Manson still has one year remaining on his deal but if he makes it to the end of the 2025-26 season, he probably won’t remain in a top-four role.

Provorov will also likely fetch a first-round pick and more.

Scott Laughton, C, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 30
Contract: $3 million cap hit, UFA in 2026.
Feels like he’s brought up every year. Scott Laughton has another year remaining on his contract at a reasonable cap hit. Acquiring him would require the extra commitment from MacFarland in the sense that there would be a commitment for him to remain in the 3C spot next season too. That means Colton would either get dealt or continue to play on the wing (which I prefer).

Laughton is a solid 35-40 point player who plays with an edge and would be a big addition to the PK.

Morgan Frost, C, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 24
Contract: $2.1 million cap hit, RFA in July.
Another Flyers center that has been linked to trade rumors in the past. Unlike Laughton, Morgan Frost is an RFA at the conclusion of his contract. Frost is younger and more skilled but hasn’t always been a great fit for John Tortorella. If the Avs are looking for a longer-term option to add to their middle six, Frost could be the guy.

David Savard, RD, Montreal Canadiens
Age: 34
Contract: 3.5 million, UFA in July
Another piece of the 2021 Tampa Bay Lightning, David Savard has a Stanley Cup and is built for playoff hockey in a depth role. The biggest question with him is, does he still have it? Or would this be the defensive version of the Lars Eller trade two years ago?

Savard has seen his ice time drop to 18:07 per game with the Montreal Canadiens this year after playing at least 20 minutes per night for each of the previous five seasons.

He’s another right-shot defenseman and could slot in on the third pair.

Mario Ferraro, LD, San Jose Sharks
Age: 26
Contract: $3.25 million, UFA in 2026.
How about a longer-term pickup on the blue line? Unlike the other options, Mario Ferraro is under contract for another year after this season at a very manageable cap hit. He’s a minute-munching defenseman who plays a physical game and on the PK.

He’s also a left-shot defenseman, which like Provorov, means Girard would need to shift to the right if Ferraro was to be a part of the top four this year or next.

It would also be fun to bring him in because he played with Cale Makar on the top pair at UMass. He’s also a big personality and has the type of leadership qualities the Avs love to have.

Marcus Pettersson, LD, Pittsburgh Penguins
Age: 28
Contract: $4.025 million, UFA in July.
Another lefty who can play in the top four, Pettersson is likely going to garner a lot of attention as a rental at the trade deadline. I still struggle with whether the Avs want to go the rental route or find their next guy to lock up for a few years. Pettersson seems like the type of player who could have a great playoff and use that to cash in as a free agent.

Jake Evans, C, Montreal Canadiens
Age: 28
Contract: $1.7 million, UFA in July
The biggest issue with targeting Jake Evans is the fact that Montreal is suddenly making a push for the postseason and he’s a big reason why. Evans would be an excellent addition to the bottom six at a manageable cap hit. I’d steer clear of signing him to an extension beyond that because it seems like this season has been an outlier compared to years past. But all that matters is the playoff run for a rental and he’d be a solid addition.

Ryan Donato, C Chicago Blackhawks
Age: 28
Contract: $2 million, UFA in July
This would be a sneaky good pickup. Ryan Donato has done nothing but produce for the struggling Blackhawks. With 14 goals and 27 points in 45 games, he’s well on his way to surpassing his career-high of 31 points. He also had 30 a season ago.

Worth noting that Chicago GM Kyle Davidson was in Denver for the Avs and Jets game on Wednesday and was chatting it up with MacFarland during the first intermission.

Honorable Mentions

Mathieu Olivier, RW, Columbus Blue Jackets — The perfect fourth liner for any team that wants to play a physical brand of hockey. That fight against Ryan Reaves is also an added element to what he brings.
Brock Nelson, C, New York Islanders — If he wasn’t making $6 million, he’d be further up the list. Nelson is likely going to get dealt before the deadline and would be a great addition to any team in need of center depth.
Nick Bjugstad, C, Utah Hockey Club — He was an offensive force in Arizona last year but that didn’t transition with the relocation to Utah quite as well.
Rasmus Andersson, LD, Calgary Flames — I still don’t think Calgary ends up moving him, which is why he’s listed under this section.
Ian Cole, RD, Utah Hockey Club — If Utah is still in the playoff race, they probably won’t want to unload a piece like this. But Cole has been pretty solid over the past three seasons and has familiarity with the organization. I’ll always remember how the 2021 Avs never recovered from trading Cole so early in the year. He was sorely missed and later replaced by Manson.
This article first appeared on Colorado Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission.