When the Colorado Avalanche traded away Valeri Nichushkin the other day, it had Avs Faithful throwing their arms up and scratching their heads. While the salary cap aspect makes total sense, there is still a disappointment because of the return.
The Avs got a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick, and a 2028 fifth in return.
Yes, the deal boiled down to a salary cap dump by the Avalanche. Yes, they should have demanded more. Fast-forward to Friday, and the Blue Jackets have $25.36 million in cap space. It’s not like they were starving for relief. In this regard, the Avalanche got fleeced.
It would have been nearly impossible for a trade of Nichushkin to the Blue Jackets for their first-round pick to occur. Columbus holds the 14th overall pick, far too high of a climb.
That doesn’t mean that Nichushkin would still be an Avalanche since that idea is too out there. They could have shipped Nichushkin to a team like the Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the 31st pick—or the Ottawa Senators, who pick 32nd.
That would perhaps eliminate the other draft capital the Avalanche got in the actual trade that went down, but it could have been put to good use by the Avalanche, who needed a cheap replacement for their former star winger.
I’m probably just full of wishful thinking. I know there’s a whole “busines side” to every single sport. That’s pretty much with everything. Everything comes at a cost. Now, we can only wonder “what if?”
At the end of the day, the only thing that I and everyone reading this can do is to trust general manager Joe Sakic. He’s had plenty of experience, being the general manager in the past, and it will be up to him to pull Avs Faithful’s trust back into play—if it has ever gone stale.
Having a first-round pick would be so much fun for Avs fans. Sadly, that likely will not happen. The Avs may have messed up.
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