The Colorado Avalanche sent Nick Holden to the Rangers for a 4th round pick in the 2017 draft on Saturday. This could be a good sign that Sakic is actually committed to improving the Avs defense.
Nick Holden was a good man. And though he is not dead, he is no longer with us. That’s because the Colorado Avalanche have packed him up and flew him out to New York for a pretty measly fourth round pick. Now this trade has its pros and cons; mostly related to the effect it will have on the rest of the Av’s D next year.
Pro’: Sakic Is Actually Going To Upgrade Defense
For right or wrong, Nick Holden was a major contributor on the Avalanche blue line last year. He played over 20 minutes a game and was the number 4 defenseman throughout the entire year, even though he didn’t necessarily have the skill to be a 2nd pair player. But to me, the fact that GM Joe Sakic was willing to let go one of their top four D means he has actual intentions of signing a true difference-maker at D.
Now before you get to excited remember at one point Brad Stuart was thought to be a difference-maker (we’re only talking positive difference here). But Sakic seems to be wising up to the fact that journeyman defenseman are usually that way for a reason, and old defensemen that other teams no longer want probably aren’t wanted for a reason.
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So the Colorado Avalanche now have at least a top 4 gap to fill, possibly higher depending on how the Tyson Barrie situation works out. This leaves me really interested to see Sakic’s next move.
To my mind, the only reason Sakic would clear this spot (instead of relegating Holden down to the 3rd pair) is if he is bringing someone in who is without question a top 4 player. Not necessarily because of skill, but because Holden was playing over 20 minutes a game,. There’s no way Chris Bigras Or Nikita Zadorov is going to step in and play those kind of minutes. So I’m 98.2832% sure an outside hire is coming our way. Now we just have to wait and see who that is.
Cons: Nick Holden Is Gone!!!
As much as I complain about the Avalanche defense, I always had a bit of a soft spot for Holden. He was a 3rd pair defenseman who was thrust into the second pairing with a very unreliable defensive partner in Tyson Barrie and told to swim during a hurricane of shots. He was not nearly skilled enough for his role, but he worked hard, finished checks, saw the ice decently well and was generally in good position.
That’s ignoring the fact that he ate up a fair amount of minutes, and did it without me going, “crap, Holden is out there,” every time he touched the ice, which is valuable in itself. Considering I cuss to myself when half the Avalanche lineup steps on the ice, the fact that I trusted Nick Holden really says good things about him — and really bad things about the rest of the lineup.
Conclusion
Although what the Colorado Avalanche received in the trade is pretty minuscule, this to me is really a trade about opening possibilities for other defenseman. I think it’s possible we all miss Nick Holden more then we ever knew we could, but hopefully Sakic makes a smart move to replace those minutes that can help us forget the pain. You will be missed, Nick.