Colorado Avalanche Dealing at The Deadline: 5 More Avs That May Be Traded
The Colorado Avalanche have been incredibly active in the days leading up to the trade deadline. First trading 2009-2010 team MVP Craig Anderson to Ottawa for Brian Elliot. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, the Avs made a major trade when they sent Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart and a conditional second round draft pick to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and a conditional first round draft pick.
This trade was huge for a couple of reasons.
First, it was huge because the Avalanche acquired the 2006 #1 overall draft pick. Not just your every day player, this is a guy who you try and build your team around.
Second, this marked a huge change in the approach to the rebuilding process the Avalanche front office had been so committed to taking a year ago. No longer "building from within", it appears that nobody is now safe from being traded.
With that being said, here are five more players that may find themselves on a new team before long.
Milan Hejduk
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I'm going to start with the least likely player to be traded.
Milan Hejduk is going to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He will most likely be happy to re-sign with the Avalanche as they are the only team he has ever played for, he has a home in Denver, and his family is happy there as well. He also has a no-trade clause in his contract.
Nonetheless, he is one that a team looking to rebuild might be okay with attempting to shop. Any contending team would also be greatly interested in this type of player who is just smooth as silk and has some of the best hands in the game today.
The Avalanche could, conceivably, get a young prospect in return for Hejduk, as well as several draft picks. For a rebuilding team, that is a very attractive concept.
This requires a lot of "what ifs", but I don't foresee Hejduk going anywhere. The most likely scenario is that Foote is going to retire, and Hejduk may be named the next captain.
Cameron Gaunce
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The Avalanche have a lot of defensive prospects in various lower leagues. They have also shown that they are not afraid to trade away young defensive prospects as they did when they sent Colby Cohen to Boston earlier in the year in a trade that has definitely not worked out very well for the Avalanche.
Gaunce has played pretty well in the couple of games he's had with the Avalanche, and even managed to put one in the net.
He isn't a huge defenseman, but he does have some pretty good size and isn't afraid to get physical in the corners. He's shown poise under pressure in his own zone and might be a good piece for another team that is looking to do some rebuilding.
I don't think it would be a good thing for the Avs to move him, but if they could get somebody comperable, or a decent pick for him, they might be tempted.
John-Michael Liles
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Of the Avalanche defense, Liles has some of the highest trade value.
He is a veteran player, but he isn't beyond his prime just yet. He's been one of the most consistent players on the Avalanche all year. He's always been a consistent offensive player, and has 36 points on this season.
He is also very smart about when he jumps up into the play, and rarely gets caught out of position. In the event that he is caught jumping up, he is able to use his speed to get back and help break up odd man situations going the other way.
It seems that Liles ends up as part of the trade rumor circuit every year, but always ends up staying. Liles should stay in Colorado because of the offense that he brings and the veteran leadership that he can show to the younger players.
Those are also the same reasons that other teams might be interested in him. It may be hard to move him, however, because he does have a bit of an inflated contract. He brings a salary cap hit of 4.2 million dollars with him. Something that teams may not be too willing to bring on. He still has another year left on this contract as well.
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Ryan O'Reilly
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Going solely on the basis that people who have recently been in Sacco's doghouse have been traded. Stewart and Anderson were both deep in the doghouse, and were sent away.
O'Reilly was a healthy scratch in one of Sacco's message sending missions a game after he had returned from a shoulder injury.
He also hasn't had as good of a season, this season, and it seems that if you can't match up what you did last season, then there's a chance that Sacco doesn't want you around anymore because you aren't consistent enough.
If this happened, I would be very surprised, but the Avs have shown that nobody is safe.
Philippe Dupuis
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Over the course of this horrendous losing streak, which has reached 10 games now, there has been one player that has brought his A game every single night, Philippe Dupuis.
Dupuis has scored goals, played great defense, brought a physical presence and done well on the penalty kill. Most importantly, he has never quit on his team even once. He is always on the ice giving his all. It's quite possible that teams have noticed that kind of attitude and work ethic.
Dupuis could provide a contending team with a very solid third line center who can log a lot of time on the PK and create some offense as well. He might be worth a prospect or a second round draft pick.
Players That Would Help the Avs By Being Traded
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These last players are ones that, if at all possible, the Avs should try and package in any upcoming deals because it would improve the team if they weren't on the roster anymore. By themselves, they don't have much trade value at all, but could be included in a deal.
Matt Hunwick
Hunwick has been nothing short of attrocious ever since he has gotten to the Avalanche. I have never seen a defenseman do more to try and avoid contact in my life. He is horrible in his own zone, has no physical presence at all, makes horrible decisions and turnovers, and is frequently found just watching as the opposing team scores a goal.
Kyle Cumiskey
Cumiskey made one really great play in his career, and that has justified his continued presence in an Avalanche jersey. Forgetting that one overtime goal against Atlanta a while back, and you basically see another Matt Hunwick. Cumiskey is a fast skater with really no defensive ability or upside. He is prone to injuries, and is tossed around like a rag doll in his own zone. He also panics when pressured, and makes bad decisions with the puck. Losing Cumiskey would be one of the best things the Avs can do for themselves.
Kevin Porter
Porter had about five really good games for the Avalanche, and since then has been very disappointing. He tries to do too much in the offensive zone and makes bad passes that ruin scoring chances. He still manages to log power play time, where he rarely can handle passes, makes bad passes, and can't hold pucks in at the point. He still shows up on the top lines, occasionally, which is mystifying, and just isn't very good in his own zone.
Brandon Yip
Yip had a great rookie season, scoring several times and really surprising people. This year, all Yip seems to do is dump the puck in, chase it down, miss the player he was trying to check, and then try and catch up to the play. He also manages to log power play time, which has proven to be totally worthless. Yip, every now and again, makes a decent defensive play where he'll intercept a pass, but he always tries to shoot the puck too soon. He just gets it and throws it towards that net, no matter how bad the angle is and no matter how much time he usually has.
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