Even with the Olympics reaching their climax, Colorado Avalanche rumors have not taken a break. An idea initially discussed here at Mile High Sticking seems to be gaining momentum.
According to prevailing chatter, the Avalanche could be looking to add Evander Kane from the Vancouver Canucks at the NHL trade deadline.
While that idea seems like a solid one, it largely depends on one condition. Per insider Rick Dhaliwal, the idea of Kane heading to Colorado seems to be maturing. However, that idea depends on the Canucks retaining salary on Kane to make the math work.
It wouldn’t be hard for the Canucks to retain on Kane. He’ll be a UFA at the end of the season, so it wouldn’t be an outrageous idea for Vancouver to retain even 50% of Kane’s Salary.
It’s worth pointing out that Kane has a $5.125 cap hit. With more than half of the season gone, that cap hit would be down to about $2 million. Assuming a 50% retention, Kane could cost the Avalanche about $1 million against the cap.
With the Avs projected to have about $1.7 million in cap space, the retention could work. However, with other players coming up from the minors to round out the roster, the cap situation could get tight.
O’Connor’s return could complicate things
Logan O’Connor has been out for the entire season. However, he could be close to returning at some point before the end of the season. If that’s the case, his return could complicate things for the Avalanche. The main reason would be his cap hit.
At the moment, O’Connor’s cap hit is on LTIR. That’s bought the Avalanche some artificial cap space. But if and when he returns, that relief will come off the boards. That’s why the Avalanche may find a slight cap crunch, especially if they add Kane.
Unless the Avalanche believes O’Connor won’t return this season, adding Kane wouldn’t be a major issue.
Again, much of what the Avalanche do at the NHL trade deadline will depend on how the Canucks approach a trade for Kane and what the price tag would be. If retention drives the price up way too high for Colorado, the best approach might be to pivot towards a cheaper alternative.