NHL Trade Grades: Avalanche Land Brock Nelson From the Islanders

The Colorado Avalanche lost Nazem Kadri to free agency immediately after winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. They've tried different options to replace him, but with no success.

Brock Nelson is the latest attempt, and the Avalanche have paid a hefty price to make it happen:

Meanwhile, the Islanders have traded a franchise icon who has been with the team for 13 years. It signals a new direction for an organization that tries to maintain a competitive window for as long as possible.

It's a franchise-altering transaction for both teams. Let's analyze the pieces involved and grade the trade for both the Avalanche and Islanders.

Colorado Avalanche

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Nobody is going to pity a team that has Nathan MacKinnon at the top of its depth chart, but the weak options behind him have kept Colorado from making a deep playoff run the last two seasons.

Casey Mittelstadt has 44 points in 82 games in Colorado since 2023-24 and is a liability defensively. The skilled center can help a team, but he's best reserved for sheltered minutes in a third-line role.

Nelson is no one's idea of a shutdown center, either, but his offensive output wins out. He is a threat to make a play in possession from practically any area of the ice. He's a high-end finisher with a lethal wrist shot and the ability to in-motion.

Nelson will be the shooting threat on an Avs power play stocked with creators but the Avs will also love his ability to score at even strength. The Minnesota native ranks 10th in the NHL in 5v5 goals over the past four seasons.

The 33-year-old creates both off the rush and from offensive-zone possessions. He works well in units and has playmaking in his toolbox. He is a mature, low-maintenance player who knows how to lean into his strengths.

A weakness becomes a strength. Few teams have a second-line center as good as Nelson. His defensive game is weak, but the Avalanche—with several players with motors and strong defensive outputs—have the infrastructure to let him stick to what he does best.

Now behind MacKinnon, the opposing team's best players won't be on the ice against Nelson as often, either.

Does the 2023 All-Star address the weak point of the lineup? Yes. Are the Colorado Avalanche contenders for the Stanley Cup now? Yes, and maybe even the team to beat in the Western Conference.

It's still a deal that should make Avs fans nervous. The trade is latent with risk. Nelson can walk to free agency in less than four months, and there are no guarantees he will stick around. Who's to say a player who spent 15 seasons with one organization won't struggle to adjust to a culture shock of a brand-new team?

There aren't many center prospects around the NHL better than Calum Ritchie and the Avs accompany his departure with a first-round pick. Those two absences will be felt in an organization with a shallow prospect pool, and it's an expensive price to pay for a player who may only give you one run at the Cup.

It's a bold trade with potential outcomes that seem pretty black-and-white.

If the Avalanche win the Cup this year, then that's the entire point of the exercise and nobody cares what they gave up to make it happen. If they don't, then they're going to regret shoving two premium assets into a trade for one player who could only be around for a few months rather than diversifying that investment for players with more shelf life.

Either it works and a banner gets raised or it doesn't and it will be tough to recover. The afforded grade is hedging on the disparity between those two outcomes.

One way or another, it won't age well.

Grade: C

New York Islanders

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The phrase "better late than never" comes to mind here.

The New York Islanders have been adrift in mediocrity the last few seasons with no clear direction or discernible path toward getting better.

The team was not good enough and had too many aging players with multi-year contracts that limited options to improve with additions. The prospect pool was one of the worst in the NHL, which made improvement via internal additions also impossible. GM Lou Lamoriello stubbornly refused to see the situation for what it was.

However, the Islanders are finally taking a step back as an organization. It's multiple seasons delayed from when it should have happened, but at least they've arrived at the right conclusion.

To be fair to the Islanders, the payoff is worth it here. Nelson is a really good player, but he's still a 33-year-old rental. The package they wrangled from Colorado is as healthy as anyone could have hoped.

Ritchie would be the top prospect in many league organizations. The 6'3" center forced the Avalanche to put him on the NHL roster to start the season after an electric preseason. His work ethic in all three zones is excellent.

He is an intelligent player who knows how to impact the game both with and without the puck. He plays with good habits and does a lot of little things to impact the game on a shift-by-shift basis.

And once in a while, he'll stun the other team with a highlight-reel display, either beating a defenseman one-on-one or embarrassing a goaltender. He projects as a two-way second-line center.

Ritchie is the best forward prospect the Islanders have had since drafting Mathew Barzal in 2015. With a future first-round pick also coming over, they are finally conceding their product is stale and the organization needs to shift toward a youth movement.

Grade: A