Avalanche make two more trades, add depth for Stanley Cup run
Mar 7, 2024, 2:22 PM
One day after making two big trades, the Colorado Avalanche made a couple of smaller but still important moves on Thursday.
With the NHL trade deadline looming on Friday afternoon, president Joe Sakic and GM Chris MacFarland are still dealing.
The Avs brought in forward Yakov Trenin from the Nashville Predators in exchange for defenseman Jeremy Hanzel and Colorado’s 2025 third-round draft pick. They also acquired the rights to prospect Graham Sward in the trade.
In 60 games with the Predators this season, Trenin has 10 goals and four assists, good for 14 points. He provides the Avalanche an additional option at forward, and could see time on the fourth-line as a depth player. Head coach Jared Bednar didn’t rule out him playing tomorrow night at Ball Arena against the Wild.
The team also did a deal for forward Brandon Duhaime from the Minnesota Wild, giving up a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. In 62 games with the Wild this year, Duhaime has four goals and four assists. Bednar also mentioned him as an option to be in the lineup on Friday night.
Overall, MacFarland and Sakic have now made four deals in the last 24 hours. This will remind some fans of the 2022 Stanley Cup team, when Sakic also made four moves. That included bringing in the likes of Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson, who are now household names.
On Wednesday, it was Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres and Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers both being acquired.
Mittelstadt hopefully solves the second-line center problem Colorado has looked to address since Nazem Kadri left after winning the 2022 Stanley Cup. Walker replaces fan-favorite Bowen Byram, who had to leave town in order to acquire Mittelstadt.
With about 23 hours to go until the trade deadline, who knows if the Avalanche are done. They could still make another deal or two, or think this team is now good enough to win another Stanley Cup.
