Colorado Avalanche: Analysis of Shawn Matthias Acquisition

The Colorado Avalanche traded forward prospect Colin Smith and a fourth round pick for the 2016 NHL draft to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Shawn Matthias. Matthias is a 28-year forward.

When I first saw the Colorado Avalanche’s recent acquisition, Shawn Matthias, my first thought was “Who?” Sorry, but I don’t spend a lot of time scouting Eastern Conference grinders.

Now that I’ve had a little time to research Shawn Matthias, the trade makes more sense to me.

Here’s Altitude Radio’s Marc Moser’s take on Shawn Matthias:

Pieces of the Trade

The Colorado Avalanche traded away Colin Smith, a seventh-round draft pick from 2012. Smith played just one game for the Avalanche, last season. He didn’t do much.

Smith is small — just 5-foot-10, 179 pounds. While he has offensive upside at the lower levels, the 22-year-old just doesn’t seem to have enough to make it at the NHL level. It’s highly doubtful Colorado even intended to use him as an injury call-up.

On the flip side, Shawn Matthias is a big boy — a 6-foot-4, 205-pound center. That’s right, Colorado still craves, big, mean centers, and that’s exactly what Shawn is.

Shawn Matthias is also a decent two-way forward who can spend time on the penalty kill. Colorado is down to #19 in the NHL for the penalty kill, so they’re likely looking for some help there.

Matthias can score some goals, too. In 459 NHL games, he has 75 goals and 73 assists. He’s also seen 14 playoff games in two seasons with the Florida Panthers.

Shawn Matthias Videos

Since as Colorado Avalanche fans we don’t get to see Eastern Conference players all that often — and Shawn Matthias has mostly been in the Eastern Conference — let’s look at some video of the big guy.

Here’s a really good example of what the Colorado Avalanche need — a player who knows how to position himself after driving the net:

Bonus points for doing it against a Western Conference team.

Here’s an example of what such a play looks like from the other side — or from Shawn Matthias setting up a teammate for the same kind of goal:

Extra bonus points for doing it against Central Division rivals, the Nashville Predators.

Here’s Shawn Matthias going crazy and scoring a hat trick:

Not too shabby, eh?

Here’s a lovely example of what 6-foot-4, 205 pounds of hockey player can do when it hits:

Even better, here’s Matthias making minced meat of a Chicago Blackhawks player, Trevor van Riemsdyk:

We’d like to see more of that, eh, Avs Nation?

Colorado Avalanche Moving Forward

More from Mile High Sticking

• Could Colorado Avalanche move on from Pavel Francouz next offseason?
• 4 goalies to replace Pavel Francouz if he has to miss time
• Colorado Avalanche make sneaky signing with Tatar
• Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could return in 2023-24 playoffs
• Colorado Avalanche rookie face-off tournament roster

Avs fans and sports writers have been fretting that the Colorado Avalanche are maxed out in contracts with 50. However, during a press conference, GM Joe Sakic seemed far from concerned.

You have to remember that while 28-ish of those contracts are players you can’t or won’t move, the other 20-something are contracts that are relatively easy to unload because they’re insignificant. Colin Smith’s little contract — being in the final year of a contract worth a maximum of $700,000 (and only $70,000 at the AHL level) — is one such.

The Colorado Avalanche are trying to do two things simultaneously — rebuild their prospect pool while being competitive now. Acquiring Shawn Matthias is a trade for right now. The 28-year-old Matthias is in the final year of his contract with a cap hit of $2.3 million.

That means the Colorado Avalanche genuinely believe they can make a run at the playoffs this season. They also acknowledge what they need to do so in the hardcore Central Division — grit and tenacity. Matthias comes with both.

Shawn Matthias is likely to collect his belongings and travel to Denver directly to take up shop in the team hotel. He’ll probably make his Colorado Avalanche debut in Wednesday’s home game against the San Jose Sharks.

Next: Has Jamaal Charles Lost a Step?

The Colorado Avalanche are not done making trades, methinks. I really believe Joe Sakic gets a rush from those last-minute, trade-deadline deals. However, whatever move he makes is likely to be small — and one for the future. Look for him to trade a low pick for a promising prospect.