1.) Egor Zamula
The Avalanche could also attempt to flil the void left by Girard via a trade. A possible trade target could be a player like Egor Zamula, currently of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Zamula has been up in the NHL with the Flyers for 17 games this season, but with Rasmus Ristolainen back from injury, Zamula will now be a healthy scratch and possibly sent back to the American League. Zamula is on a one year, $775k contract, and it’s likely the Avalanche could work with that under their current salary cap situation.
The Russian-born Zamula played junior in the Western Hockey League. He was drafted in the import draft by the Regina Pats but played most of his career with the Calgary Hitmen.
Zamula was signed by the Flyers as an undrafted free agent in 2018 and has spent the last few seasons splitting time between the big club and their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Zamula appears to be a highly regarded prospect by the Flyers but has yet to fully establish himself at the NHL level, playing no more than the current season’s 17 games. He’s played well with Lehigh, totaling 54 points over parts of three seasons.
Zamula uses his size (6’3” 200 lbs) to play a physical style of game and can move the puck, but scouts say he lacks consistency at this point. This can be gained with more ice time as Zamula is only 23 years old.
If Colorado were to trade for him, he’d fit right in as there are other Russian players on the team. There would instantly be a level of comfort for him. It is currently unknown what the Flyers would be expecting in a trade package for Zamula.
As his contract is a short one in length, the Avalanche could get an extended look at Zamula over the rest of the season and have plenty of sample size to determine if they believe he’s part of the future in Colorado.