"What are the Avs going to do about the 2C?" "What are the Avs gonna do about all the defensive problems?" "Who will be the defenseman to get traded Girard or Byram?" These, and MANY other questions were circulating about the Avalanche leading up to the trade deadline. The trade deadline came and left, and the Avs added a group of players that all provide various skills to the lineup.
One thing that all of the players we added have in common is the they are a little bigger players than we are use to having on the roster. This team looks FAR more like the Cup winning team than last years team, or even this years team leading into the trade deadline. I know prior to the trade deadline there were people in the media, and a growing number of fans saying that the team as constructed prior to the trade deadline would either be eliminated in the first round, or win one series, and be done in the 2nd round.
All, or at least most of those opinions went away as the Avs began to make moves going into the trade deadline. The first trade was one that didn't go over well with the fan base, and that was trading Kurtis MacDermid to the New Jersey Devils. The team saved just under a million dollars, but lost the heavyweight champ of the league as far as enforcers go. This trade made sense however because MacDermid didn't get more than 5-7 minutes of ice time per game. It was after this trade that the chaos began.
The next trade was the one that would end up being the most notable trade for the day. The Avalanche reached into their pool of talented young defensemen, and sent the 22 year old Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres for 25 year center Casey Mittlestadt. Ever since the Avalanche lost Nazem Kadri to the Calgary Flames they have been in need of a second line center to play behind Nathan Mackinnon. They tried with JT Compher before they looked outside the organization, so when Compher didn't work out the Avs traded for veteran Ryan Johansen, and when he didn't work out the Avalanche front office decided to make a move. Getting a young player like Mittelstadt not only solves the 2C problem, it makes what was once a weakness a strength.
Losing Byram created a hole in the defensive core. To solve this problem the Avalanche made another rather large trade in trading Ryan Johansen, and a first round pick to the Philadelphia Flyers for the defenseman Sean Walker. Walker is 29 years old, brings experience, and is an offensive defenseman like Bo Byram is. Walker is grittier than Byram, and will throw his body around more than Byram would. Being 22 years old Byram has a much higher upside than Walkers, but for what we are asking out defensemen to do Walker is more than sufficient.
The next two trades are trades that are just as important as the trades for Mittlestad, and Walker. They players we got in these trades are exactly the type of players teams need to win in the playoffs. They are players who will be fan favorites. The first player we traded for was wing Brandon Duhaime from the Minnesota Wild. Duhaime is known as a player who can get under other teams skin, and he is a talented fighter when it comes time to drop the gloves. While he isn't on the level of MacDermid, he is a better hockey player than Macdermid, and will be on our 4th line in the playoffs. Duhaime is known to be a player who gets other teams to take bad penalties, and will always stand up for his teammates, which will be a nice change here for the Avalanche. Duhaime is 6'2, and 200lbs, and while he is not known for his scoring ability, he is known for his skating ability, so he should fit in just fine with the Avs.
Yakov Trenin was the last player we were able to get prior to the trade deadline. We traded a 2025 3rd round pick, and a Jeremy Hanzel to Nashville for Trenin, and a minor league player named Graham Sward. The central piece of this trade was Trenin. While he played wing in Nashville, the Avs are going to turn him into their 4th line center. Trenin is known as being one of the best forecheckers in the league, and is also a very physical player as far as throwing his body around, and dropping the gloves when need be. Having a 4th line with guys like Trenin, Duhaime, and Cogs brings speed, and toughness to the bottom six we haven't seen in a long time.
Other than the obvious reason to trade for Mittlestadt, why would the Avs bring in a Brandon Duhaime, and Yakov Trenin? I can hear the Avs fans now saying "don't we already have Miles Wood, Ross Colton, Logan O'Connor, etc for that?" The answer is yes, that is why they were brought in, but playoff hockey is a different animal all together. In a 7 game series having a 4th line with Duhaime (he is an amazing skater), Trenin (known as one of the best forecheckers in the game), and Cogs (known for his speed and forechecking) where not only will they forecheck, they will wear down the defense by hitting them over, and over again how playoff series are won! Imagine the roaring 20s line as the 3rd line, and Duhaime, Trenin, and Cogs as your 4th line? They will wear down other teams with their skating ability, and physical play. This will make the top two lines jobs much easier. This team is now built for a playoff run.
