Colorado Avalanche Should Consider 5 Hurricanes Players

The Colorado Avalanche should consider a modest trade of picks and prospects to acquire some of Carolina’s players — with one exception.

The Colorado Avalanche should go shopping in the Carolina Hurricanes store. According to Complete Hockey News, the team has informed NHL GMs that everyone except forward Sebastian Aho is available.

It’s a little surprising that the Hurricanes are ready to blow up the team. They finished fifth in the tough Metropolitan Division, with both the New York Islanders and New York Rangers finishing lower. League-wide, they were #21. Those standings aren’t great, but they aren’t even in the bottom 10%.

In any case, GM Don Waddell, et al, is willing to blow up the team. And the Colorado Avalanche might consider trading for some of the ‘Canes players who best fit their vision (speed, high-skill, good hockey IQ) and youth movement.

Here are five players the Avs should consider making a deal for, if it’s the right one.

Noah Hanifin

Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Left
Age: 21
2017-18 Stats: 10 goals, 22 assists (32 point) in 79 games
Career Stats: 18 goals, 65 assists (83 points) in 239 games

I was surprised to find defenseman Noah Hanifin on the Carolina Hurricanes roster because I can’t believe a GM doesn’t put him on the no-trade list. He is one heck of a package. (He was the Hurricanes’ fifth-overall draft pick in 2015.)

At just 21 years old, the 6-foot-3, 206-pound Hanifin just completed his third full year in the NHL. For a defenseman, and a young one at that, he got good stats — 10 goals, 22 assists on a semi-bad Carolina team.

Noah Hanifin would be right up the Colorado Avalanche’s alley. He’s an exccellent and fluid skater with speed. A good puck-mover, he can also both create plays and pot in a few goals. He can even quarterback the power play.

The one down side is his contract. It’s nice and cheap because it’s his entry-level deal. And it’s up this summer. Such a talented defenseman is going to get a sweet pay raise. However, his contract status might make him relatively cheap as a trade option.

Willing to give up: Second-round draft pick OR Vladislav Kamenev-level prospect
Line in the sand (no go): First-round draft pick, Conor Timmins-level prospect

Teuvo Teravainen

Position: Right wing
Shoots: Left
Age: 23
2017-18 Stats: 23 goals, 41 assists (64 points) in 82 games
Career Stats: 55 goals, 95 assists (150 points) in 278 games

Here’s another name I was surprised to see off of Carolina’s no-trade list. Right wing Teuvo Teravainen was second only to Sebastian Aho on the team for points.

The 5-foot-11, 178-pound winger is a little slight, but he’s got so much talent. He’s versatile about making plays and in his position — he can play all three forward positions. Teravainen has some two-way ability but is mostly known for his playmaking. And he skates very well.

As a bonus, Teuvo Teravainen is from Finland, so Mikko Rantanen would be happy.

Teravainen is midway through his two-year bridge contract, which carries a cap hit of $2.86 million. He’ll be RFA next season. Carolina acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks for a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2017 draft.

I’d love it if the Colorado Avalanche could get a deal like that for Teravainen. But the Hawks were just trying to get Bryan Bickell’s $4 million cap hit off their books and were willing to cough up Teuvo to do it.

Willing to give up: Second- and third-round draft picks, especially those acquired in the Matt Duchene trade, OR a later draft pick and Vladislav Kamenev-level prospect
Line in the sand: First-round draft pick (especially Ottawa’s), Conor Timmins-level prospect

Trevor van Riemsdyk

Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Age: 26
2017-18 Stats: 3 goals, 13 assists (16 points) in 79 games
Career Stats: 11 goals, 36 assists (47 points) in 237 games

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Trevor van Riemsdyk is one of those names that gets attached to trade rumors all the time. Before the expansion draft, it was thought the Chicago Blackhawks would trade him to Vegas so the Golden Knights would take Marcus Kruger. Instead, though, Vegas just chose him in the expansion draft… and promptly traded him and a 2018 seventh-round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for the No. 62 overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft.

The 6-foot-2, 188-pound  defenseman is a solid and dependable player. He displays some versatility and hockey smarts. He also has a good shot from the point. He’s not going to wow you with skill, but he’s not going to make a ton of costly errors either.

He’s also a right-hand defenseman. You can never have too many of those, though Colorado does have three on the current roster and Conor Timmins coming in.

Van Riemsdyk is a pending RFA who’s coming off his two-year bridge contract, worth $825,000 annually. That contractual status should make him pretty cheap.

Willing to give up: Sixth-round draft pick
Line in the sand: Any prospects or draft picks higher than the sixth round

Justin Faulk

Position: Defenseman
Shoots: Right
Age: 26
2017-18 Stats: 8 goals, 23 assists (31 points) in 76 games
Career Stats: 74 goals, 149 assists (223 points) in 477 games

I vacillated about including defenseman Justin Faulk on this list. It’s not because of skill — or rather, it’s because he has a lot of skill and a lot of experience for a man who’s only 26. And he’s the Hurricanes’ captain, which always adds another layer of complexity to changing teams.

I finally decided to include Justin Faulk on this list because he’s the perfect Colorado Avalanche player. He’s fast and thinks the game fast. He’s agile on his skates and plays with confidence. He’s who we all hope Sam Girard will be in a couple years.

Justin Faulk is in the prime-time of his contracts. He’s four years into a six-year contract worth $29,000. His cap hit is $4.833 million, but he’s scheduled to make $6 million each of the next two years. He’s not cheap on the books, and he won’t be cheap to acquire.

Willing to give up: Tyson Barrie (Faulk is better and his cap hit is a wee bit smaller) and either a third-round draft pick (preferably ours, not Ottawa’s) OR a Vladislav Kamenev-level prospect
Line in the sand: Sam Girard or a player of his level, a first-round pick, especially Ottawa’s

Next: Avalanche Should Add Defensive Help

To be honest, I don’t think the Colorado Avalanche are going to trade for any of the Carolina Hurricanes players. I’m sure Carolina wants to do what the Avs are doing — stock up on picks and prospects for a rebuild. And one team already in the middle of such a rebuild can hardly provide the materials for someone else’s.

Of all the above players, though, it’s Noah Hanifin I’d most want to see coming to Colorado. Could you imagine him feeding off of and protecting our little Sammy G? That would be a defensive pairing for the next generation.