Three players that could help the Avalanche for the playoff push

As it’s NHL trade deadline season, rumours are swirling rampant. Colorado Avalanche nation has been clamoring for more steady play from its goaltending this season, and it appears Justus Annunen has thrown his name into the mix for consideration as he’s had two consecutive shutouts in his last two starts.

Fans have also been clamoring for steady play from a second-line center. The hope is that the Avalanche make some moves to bolster that position via a trade before the deadline coming up.

As team defense in general has been lacking, with far too many high-paced, high-scoring affairs, Colorado could use some depth on defense as well.

As these decisions loom and crunch time comes on the non-waiver deadline, Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland has several decisions to make. It’s not an envious position to be in, as the team needs help for the stretch, and he’ll have to be creative with the salary cap situation.

We look at three players the Avalanche should target with trades in order to help the team the most for its playoff run.

Kaapo Kahkonen

The Avalanche need to address their goaltending situation. Alexandar Georgiev has not taken a stranglehold on the number one spot as was hoped, and the Colorado Avalanche have had inconsistent play from its backup netminders Ivan Prosvetov and Justus Annunen, although Annunen has played well of late.

Kahkonen is a player the Avalanche can target, especially in a backup role if they do believe Georgiev can lead them through the playoffs. Kahkonen’s win-loss record has been subpar this season, at 6-20-2, but the Sharks are a subpar team and clearly in rebuilding mode.

Kahkonen has an .897 save percentage this season over 30 games, percentage points below Georgiev’s .900 save percentage. Kahkonen has 858 saves in 30 games, where Georgiev has 1,269 in 50 games. Kahkonen has had to make an average of more than three saves per game more than Georgiev has this season. (28.6 to 25.38).

While playing in a limited role his first four seasons in the league, Kahkonen never had a save percentage below .902. He’s also a bigger goaltender at 6’2” and 217 pounds, and the Avalanche prefer size in their goalies.

Potentially most importantly, Kahkonen is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and has a cap hit of $2.75 million. It’s likely that he could be had for mid round draft picks.

Sean Walker

DISCLAIMER: This piece was made ahead of the Sean Walker to Colorado Avalanche trade.

Current Philadelphia Flyers' defenseman Sean Walker is a curious case. The Flyers are in playoff position, third in their division, and the team seems to be playing well for coach John Tortorella. Walker’s been a vital part of their team defensive play, and it doesn’t make much sense to me why the team would be shopping him, or rumored to be.

Whatever the case, the Avalanche could stand to greatly benefit from adding a player like Walker to the lineup. A defensive minded defenseman, Walker seems to be thriving in Philadelphia this season, with 22 points over 63 games, and holding a +9 overall (goals scored vs goals allowed while a player is on the ice). Walker is on pace for a career high in points, as he had 24 points over 70 games in 2019-2020.

Walker is not a huge guy at 5’11” and about 190 pounds, but uses his leverage well to keep opposing offensive players at bay.

He would likely be a nice fit on the second or third pair for Colorado, and help the overall defensive structure, as they could use it.

Importantly from a salary perspective, Walker is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and only carries a $2.65 million cap hit. With interest in him high across the league, it’s likely the Avalanche would have to offer a significant ransom to acquire his services for the rest of this season. It would likely take one of Colorado’s higher-level prospects as well as a high round draft pick to do so.