One Player Down, One To Go

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

So the Avalanche are in "re-build" mode and are trying to lose cap space in players that Francois Giguere just happened to have signed. Thank you Francois. Avs fans thank you....not.

OK, now to what I really wanted to talk about in this article, the Avalanche are shedding cap space so they are starting to trade players. Although many people can argue that Ryan Smyth was a leader and was an avalanche scorer. I must say that he did not live up to his contract and just held the Avalanche back.

Also, I truly believe that the Avalanche have done this for a reason, not just because they wanted to lose Smyth, but because he took too much of the salary.

The Avalanche had traded for a couple of good defensemen in Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing, two depth players that can develop into great players in a year or two, if not this year.

So, now Greg Sherman has to make one more move, and that is trade Scott Hannan, arguably the most over-paid under-achieving defenseman that the Avalanche have on their roster. Scott Hannan has a $18 million four-year contract, which is too much for a player that doesn't play to his contract, like Smyth.

One possible trade could be Scott Hannan and a third-round pick for Jack Johnson. Although Hannan has a no trade clause I'm sure Johnson will wave it, or at least I hope.

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