Colorado Avalanche: The Ups and Downs of Sam Girard

The Colorado Avalanche received defenseman Sam Girard as part of the blockbuster Duchene trade. The 19-year-old rookie is developing at the NHL level.

They keystone piece for now that the Colorado Avalanche received as part of the Matt Duchene trade was defenseman Samuel Girard. Defensemen are a prime commodity in the NHL, so it’s not too surprising that the Avs received one in return for one of their best scorers.

Indeed, while the team was shopping Duchene, it was a well-known fact that they were asking for an NHL-ready defenseman, among other pieces. Well, Colorado didn’t exactly get that in return. At the time, they got a rookie defenseman from the Nashville Predators who had five games (1 goal, 2 assists) to his name. That’s not exactly the seasoned young defenseman I think the Avs were hoping for.

That said, they knew the Predators had the best defensive corps in the NHL and so could give up a prime d-man. They had also committed full-fledged to the youth movement, meaning letting their players grow up together. The 19-year-old Girard seemed to slot into the plans.

So, let’s look at how young Girard has been developing with the Colorado Avalanche.