Avalanche have three of four trade deadline acquisitions leave town

The Colorado Avalanche made four deals at the NHL trade deadline this past season.

Three of those four players have now left town.

Brandon Duhaime, Yakov Trenin and Sean Walker all departed in free agency on Monday, leaving Casey Mittelstadt as the lone deadline acquisition to re-sign with the Avs. That deal got done last week.

Losing Duhaime and Trenin hurts the Avalanche’s depth on the fourth-line, while Walker was regarded as a solid top-4 NHL defenseman.

Duhaime is reportedly headed to Washington, Trenin to Minnesota and Walker to Carolina.

Brandon Duhaime 2 x $1.85M Washington

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2024

Hearing the #MNWild are expected to sign 27 y/o UFA C Yakov Trenin to a 4-year deal of around 3.5 mil.

Definitely priced himself out of #GoAvsGo.

— Stefano Rubino (@StefanoFRubino1) July 1, 2024

Not sure yet how this is going to look contract-wise, but hearing Sean Walker to Carolina

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2024

Some reports say Walker is going to get around $5 million per season from Carolina, so clearly too rich for the Avalanche as they navigate a tricky cap situation headlined by the uncertainty with Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog.

Trenin earning $1 million more than Jonathan Drouin is also a surprise, so Colorado did well to bring the forward back for $2.5 million on Monday morning. Duhaime would’ve been a nice depth piece to retain, but clearly he was looking for a new challenge.

In the playoffs, the three players combined for just two points. Trenin and Duhaime had one each, while Walker had zero. Postseason production is why they were brought in, and the three failed to deliver for the most part.

Now, as free agency rolls on, Avalanche GM Chris MacFarland will be hunting new depth pieces. That’s the life of a team pursuing a title each year.