Should Colorado Avalanche trade for Bo Horvat?

The Colorado Avalanche are trying to repeat as Stanley Cup champions in 2022-23. Their journey is not going as planned. Unfortunately, the team has had its fair share of injuries this season, including missing Gabriel Landeskog, Evan Rodrigues, Valeri Nichushkin, Darren Helm, and Nathan MacKinnon for an extended period of time. That triggers the question of whether or not the team should make a trade for Vancouver Canucks forward Bo Horvat.

The injured players I mentioned are either back (Nichushkin), will be back sooner than later (Rodrigues), or are still a ways away from their return.

Horvat is a 27-year old former first-round draft pick by Vancouver. He currently leads their team in goals with 20 and is second in total points with 29.

The Avalanche have experimented with several different lines this season as they adapt to the injury bug that has hit them very hard this season. The initial thought following the departure of star Nazem Kadri was that 21-year old Alex Newhook would try and fit in in the second-line center position.

On Tuesday, the team started Newhook as the fourth-line center.

Obviously, Bo Horvat has been linked to the Colorado Avalanche seemingly way more than any other team. What would the Avalanche be willing to part with in exchange for him?

There are a few names the team has been rumoured to include in a trade, such as Bowen Byram, Sam Girard, and Newhook. Byram hasn’t played since November 4th against the Columbus Blue Jackets due to injury, so if the team wants to include him in a trade package, they’ll have to wait.

At the end of the day, maybe they don’t even make a move at the trade deadline. It will  depend on several things, including how far along the team is with injury recoveries and where they are in the playoff race.

Horvat’ a contract runs out at the end of this season. If the Avalanche were to trade for him, the decision to extend his contract should come soon after.

The NHL trade deadline is March 21st at 3PM ET.