4 Colorado Avalanche Players Who Might be Traded
The Colorado Avalanche are likely to make a roster move during the NHL trade deadline. The deadline is February 29.
The Colorado Avalanche front offices are movers and shakers — especially when it comes to the NHL trade deadline. It’s almost as if they don’t want to be left out of the fun.
Two years ago, with GM Joe Sakic and head coach Patrick Roy still freshmen in their administrative roles for the Avalanche, Colorado traded a second round pick for goalie Reto Berra from the Calgary Flames.
Last year, the Avalanche were even busier. Colorado traded forward Max Talbot for forward Jordan Caron from the Boston Bruins. They also traded Michael Sgarbossa and a seventh round pick for defenseman Mat Clark from the Anaheim Ducks. Colorado also sent Karl Stollery to San Jose for forward Freddie Hamilton.
Just a quick recap — Berra is still with Colorado, of course, though he’s currently in San Antonio for conditioning with the Rampage. Hamilton and Caron are long gone. The Avalanche waived Caron and traded Hamilton to Calgary for a seventh rounder. Clark is still with the Rampage.
Joe Sakic is definitely wheeling and dealing. During a press conference, he talked about some of the moves the Colorado Avalanche would be willing to make — specifically bolstering the blueline and adding some forward depth. He also remarked that the organization would not trade away prospects and high draft picks for “rental players.”
We’ve already looked at players the Colorado Avalanche would consider untouchable as well as both defensemen and forwards the team might be targeting:
5 Avs Players Untouchable for Trade
3 Defensemen the Avs Might Target
4 Forwards the Avs Might Target
Let’s look now at four players the Colorado Avalanche might be using as trade bait.
Next: Reto Berra
Reto Berra, Goalie
When the Colorado Avalanche first acquired goalie Reto Berra from the Calgary Flames, he was a hot mess. The goalie had almost no technique, and he seemed the odd man out on a team that already employed Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere.
Berra continued to struggle last season until he finally found his mojo. He was solid toward the end of the year. Even so, coach Roy openly stated Berra had to win his backup job from Calvin Pickard.
Berra did, and he was good this year until a freak soccer accident took him out of commission. Nonetheless, Berra managed to put up good numbers even when the team was struggling. His goals against average (2.41) and save percentage (.922) are both team best. He’s also recorded two shutouts this season alone.
That said, Berra still seems like the odd man out for the Colorado Avalanche goal tending situation. Calvin Pickard isn’t throwing up quite as good of numbers yet, but his upside is much greater than Berra’s. Not only do most Avalanche fans see him as Semyon Varlamov’s backup, we see him as his eventual successor in the #1 spot.
Best of all, thanks to the magic of goal tending coach Francois Allaire, Reto Berra now has some solid technique to go with his athleticism. A team with a goal tending crisis might be willing to cough up something decent for Berra.
Next: Nick Holden
Nick Holden, Defenseman
Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nick Holden may be a surprising addition to this list. However, some of what I said about Reto Berra is true for Holden as well.
Nick Holden was an undrafted player who couldn’t even really cut it with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He played only seven games with the Blue Jackets, spending more of his time with their AHL affiliate.
Holden became one of the first free agency signings Sakic and Roy made in the summer of 2013. He wavered in and out of the lineup that first season, but he eventually impressed enough to earn a contract extension in the summer of 2014.
Last season wasn’t a fabulous year for Nick Holden. He “led” the Colorado Avalanche in plus/minus rating with a -11. (It was -15 for most of the season.) He made a lot of mistakes and was showing pretty poorly even among the lower levels of the Avalanche blue line.
Just like with Reto Berra, Nick Holden got better as the season went along, and he’s solid this year. He’s Tyson Barrie‘s current defensive partner.
This is what would make Nick Holden such valuable trade bait — he looks pretty good as a defenseman in a league that covets good defensemen. What’s more, his contract is team-friendly at two more seasons for a $1.65 million cap hit.
The future of the Colorado Avalanche defense includes current staples Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie along with Nikita Zadorov and Chris Bigras. Andrew Bodnarchuk is ok for now, and the Avs also have Mason Geertsen, Mat Clark and Cody Corbett waiting in the wings. In other words, they can afford to dangle Holden for a possible return on forward depth.
Next: Duncan Siemens
Joey Hishon, Center
As badly as you might feel for Duncan Siemens, you feel even worse for Joey Hishon. Granted Hishon didn’t have to contend with an unfortunate draft partner — and he could have held his own anyway:
Joking aside, Hishon was drafted a year before Siemens (and Landeskog). He went 17th-overall in 2010, the year after Matt Duchene (and Ryan O’Reilly).
Joey Hishon has been given a lot more of a chance to prove himself than Siemens — 13 regular season games and three playoff games. He even scored his first NHL goal and got doused by the captain:
Unfortunately, injury has really set Hishon back. He suffered a terrible concussion injury in 2011. He missed an entire year with post-concussion syndrome. He suffered a second concussion in 2013.
Joey Hishon has such offensive upside with his speed and stick handling. He’s worked on his defensive game as well, but it’s never going to be a strong point for him. Hishon is small — just 5-foot-10, 170 pounds — and apparently fragile. He’s unlikely to make it with Colorado’s big, aggressive style — especially in the brutal Central Division.
Next: Avs Distributing Offensive Talent
Hishon only has a year left before he becomes a restricted free agent. Colorado already waived him early in the season, and he cleared waivers. However, an Eastern team looking for speed and skill might be willing to cough up a draft pick for him, especially a later one. As Colorado is unlikely to re-sign Hishon, they’d probably take it.